ASK ANGIE^TM
By Angela Hallier, Esq.
Answers to your divorce and family law questions

Q My husband and I were divorced five years ago in another state. He stayed there, but I moved here with our children three years ago. I need to change his parenting time schedule. Can I file to do so with the court here, or do I have to file where we were divorced?

A Arizona will likely take jurisdiction over the parenting matters in your case. If Arizona is the "home state" of a child (meaning the child has resided in Arizona for six months with his or her parent prior to the commencement of an action), and Arizona is a more convenient forum than the original state in which to litigate the matter, Arizona may accept jurisdiction to modify your out of state parenting order. In determining which state will be more "convenient", the court will evaluate things like the distance between the states, the length of time the child has resided in Arizona, and where the most evidence exists that is required to resolve the litigation (which might be things like school records, medical records, and so on). In order to file to modify parenting time, you will have to register your out of state orders with the court here. By the way, if your Husband no longer lived in the state in which you were divorced, Arizona would take jurisdiction of the parenting issues without doing the "convenient forum" analysis.

Q My Wife and I were divorced in another state. She moved here with our children, but I remained in the state in which we were divorced. I pay child support. When I was here recently visiting my children, she served me with papers she filed in Arizona to increase my child support. Am I not entitled to litigate child support in the court that granted my divorce?

A Yes. Different laws apply to a determination of Arizona's ability to accept jurisdiction of a child support matter as opposed to a parenting matter. Had you not already been ordered to pay child support, and your former wife wished to establish such an order, service here would have been sufficient for Arizona to establish child support. Or, had you failed to pay her support under the out of state order and she was seeking to enforce the order, serving you here would suffice as well. However, serving you here does not give Arizona jurisdiction to modify an existing out of state child support order when you still live in the state that issued the order. But now that you have been served, you must take affirmative action to get her petition dismissed by filing a Motion for same with the Arizona.

It is always advisable to seek the counsel of a qualified attorney who can advise you specifically about your case. The information in this column is provided for general information only in the state of Arizona, is not specific to any one case and does not create an attorney-client relationship between the author and the reader. ©2003 - 2008 Hallier Law Firm PLC

ASK ANGIE^TM is published monthly in Arizona Trends Magazine.