Arizona Parenting Plan and Legal Decision-Making Agreement

ARIZONA PARENTING PLAN AND LEGAL DECISION-MAKING AGREEMENT

Before you use this: Complete one consistent set of custody and schedule choices. If the parents cannot agree, A.R.S. § 25-403.02(A) calls for each parent to submit a proposed plan. Record any protection order or safety concern before choosing joint decisions, mediation, or exchanges.

Superior Court of Arizona, [COUNTY] County

Case number: [____________________________] ATLAS number, if applicable: [________________]

Date proposed: [__/__/____]

1. PARENTS, CHILDREN, AND EXISTING ORDERS

Parent A name and safe contact address: [________________________________]

Parent A telephone / email for child-related notices: [________________________________]

Parent B name and safe contact address: [________________________________]

Parent B telephone / email for child-related notices: [________________________________]

Existing custody, parenting-time, protection, or child-support orders (court, case, date, and restrictions): [________________________________]

Another state's custody proceeding or order, if any: [________________________________]

Address or contact information that must remain confidential under an existing order: [________________________________]

2. SAFETY AND CHILD-SPECIFIC NEEDS

Domestic violence, child abuse, stalking, coercive control, substance abuse, or other safety concern requiring court review: [________________________________]

Protection-order restrictions: [________________________________]

Requested supervision, protected exchange, confidential communication, or other safeguard: [________________________________]

Child's medical, educational, disability, developmental, language, or other needs that affect this plan: [________________________________]

Child's stated wishes, if age and maturity make them relevant and the court can consider them safely: [________________________________]

A court finding that a parent committed domestic violence triggers the mandatory rebuttable presumption in A.R.S. § 25-403.03(D). The court decides whether the presumption is overcome and which safeguards apply. No term of this plan overrides a protection order or the court's safety findings.

3. LEGAL DECISION-MAKING

Select one proposed designation under A.R.S. §§ 25-401 and 25-403.02(C)(1):

☐ Joint legal decision-making: Both parents share major nonemergency decisions, with any specified exception in the table below. If the court finds that a parent committed domestic violence, § 25-403.03(G)(1) bars awarding joint legal decision-making to that parent unless the court finds the presumption overcome by clear and convincing evidence.

☐ Sole legal decision-making to Parent A.

☐ Sole legal decision-making to Parent B.

Requested reasons and child-welfare facts supporting the selected designation: [________________________________]

When the parents cannot agree on a joint decision: [PARENT WITH SPECIFIED PRIMARY AUTHORITY / PROCESS FOR COURT RESOLUTION]

Emergency decision and prompt notification procedure: [________________________________]

School enrollment address and records access, subject to court restrictions: [________________________________]

Child health-insurance carrier, responsible parent, and card-sharing procedure: [________________________________]

During scheduled parenting time, the parent caring for the child may make routine care decisions consistent with A.R.S. § 25-401(5), this plan, and all court orders.

4. PARENTING TIME

Proposed schedule begins: [__/__/____], subject to court approval.

☐ Alternating weeks ☐ Alternating weekends and weekday time ☐ Custom schedule below

Different school-year and summer cycles, if any (dates, start/end times, and parent): [________________________________]

Optional repeating rotation (such as 2-2-3 or 5-2-2-5), with exact start times and dates: [________________________________]

Child-specific or age-specific schedule exception: [________________________________]

Parent-child calls or video contact during the other parent's time: [________________________________]

5. HOLIDAYS, SCHOOL BREAKS, AND VACATIONS

The following completed entries replace the regular schedule only for their stated periods.

Vacation selection and notice procedure: [________________________________]

6. EXCHANGES AND TRANSPORTATION

Ordinary exchange place, time, and parent responsible for transportation: [________________________________]

School-day exchange procedure: [________________________________]

Delay or missed-exchange notification: [________________________________]

Medication, school materials, and other items accompanying the child: [________________________________]

Safe exchange trigger, exact location, and transportation when the court or this plan requires a safe exchange: [________________________________]

Exchange or parenting-time supervisor and transportation allocation, if applicable: [________________________________]

Notice and requested replacement time after a missed exchange: [________________________________]

7. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

Primary parent-to-parent method, frequency, and expected response period: [________________________________]

Emergency contact method: [________________________________]

School, health-care, activity, and emergency information each parent will share, subject to protective restrictions: [________________________________]

Procedure for updating a contact address without disclosing protected information: [________________________________]

Child travel outside Arizona or the United States: advance notice, itinerary, consent or court-order requirement, and emergency contact: [________________________________]

8. RELOCATION AND DISPUTE PROCEDURE

Current court-order or written-agreement provision for relocation, if any: [________________________________]

Procedure for a proposed move affecting the child's residence: If both parents have joint legal decision-making or parenting time by agreement or order and both live in Arizona, A.R.S. § 25-408(A)-(B) generally requires at least 45 days' written notice before the child moves out of state or more than 100 miles within Arizona, provided by certified mail, return receipt requested, or under the Arizona Rules of Family Law Procedure. Subsection (D) provides an exception for a relocation provision in an order or written agreement dated within one year of the proposed move. Check the controlling order and other facts before sending notice.

Planned destination, moving date, notice date and delivery proof, and proposed revised schedule and transportation: [________________________________]

Ordinary dispute and alleged-breach procedure: [DIRECT DISCUSSION / SAFE MEDIATION OR CONCILIATION / REQUEST TO COURT; DEADLINES AND CONTACT]

Safety exception to direct discussion or mediation: [________________________________]

Periodic review date or event and method of recording agreed changes: [________________________________]

The parents may propose later changes in writing. An existing court order remains controlling until changed through a procedure authorized by A.R.S. § 25-411 or other applicable law. A parent alleging violation of an existing parenting-time order may seek court review by verified petition under A.R.S. § 25-414(A).

9. SECTION 25-403.05(B) NOTICE ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Each parent who initials below states: I have read, understand, and will abide by the notification requirements of A.R.S. § 25-403.05(B). If I know a convicted or registered sex offender or a person convicted of a dangerous crime against children may have access to the child, I will give immediate notice by a method allowed by subsection (B). If the other parent has not acknowledged this requirement, list it as unresolved for the court.

Designated email address for this statutory notice, if chosen by recipient: Parent A [________________] Parent B [________________]

Parent A initials: [____] Parent B initials: [____]

10. SUPPORT AND ADDITIONAL TERMS

Existing support order (case, date): [________________________________]

Support issues reserved for or resolved by the court: [________________________________]

Agreed child-related expense allocation, subject to any controlling support order: [________________________________]

Optional right of first refusal for childcare (select or leave blank): ☐ Applies after [____] hours; offer and response method: [________________________________]. ☐ Does not apply.

Parent information program completion, exemption, or pending status, if applicable: [________________________________]

Other child-specific term for court review: [________________________________]

No private term in this plan limits the court's authority to determine the child's best interests or address safety.

11. PARENT SIGNATURES AND PROPOSED ORDER

Each signing parent requests court review of this completed plan. Both parents may sign an agreed plan; a parent may also submit the plan as that parent's proposal under A.R.S. § 25-403.02(A). Mark disputed or incomplete terms for the court to decide under subsection (D).

Unresolved provision for the court to decide: [________________________________]

Parent A signature: [________________________________] Date: [__/__/____]

Parent B signature: [________________________________] Date: [__/__/____]

Counsel, if any: [________________________________]

PROPOSED ORDER

The Court, having reviewed the proposed plan and the record, orders:

☐ The plan is approved and incorporated into the Court's order, subject to the revisions below.

☐ The plan is not approved. Further direction: [________________________________]

Findings, safety conditions, and revisions: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

Judge or commissioner: [________________________________]

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Current Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 25, Chapter 4