Full custody is not a legal term under current Arizona law. People use it to mean that one parent has all or most of the parental rights and responsibilities for a child. Under Arizona law the concepts that correspond to full custody are sole legal decision making, primary parenting time, or both.

When a client says they want full custody the first conversation is about what they actually mean. Do they want to be the only one making major decisions for the child? That is sole legal decision making. Do they want the child to live primarily with them? That is primary parenting time. Do they want to eliminate or severely restrict the other parent's involvement? That is a different question with its own legal analysis.

Understanding what the client actually wants and translating it into the correct legal framework is the starting point for any parenting strategy.