There is a question I keep hearing from clients: if my family law case was filed before June 22, 2026, does the Alec and Lydia Act apply to me?
I believe it does. And recently I learned something that makes me believe it even more.
I spoke with Representative Lisa Fink, the sponsor of the Alec and Lydia Act, to discuss if the Act applied to the cases in the court pipeline. She confirmed that it applied to ALL cases.
Ms. Fink also mentioned to me that Liana Garcia, the liaison between the Arizona judiciary and the legislature, requested that the Alec and Lydia Act’s signing be delayed to allow time for judicial training so it could be implemented immediately. The legislature honored that request, the training was held, and Governor Katie Hobbs signed the Act with an emergency clause making it effective immediately.
That sequence tells us something important. The Arizona judiciary knew this law was coming. Judges were trained about the Act before it took effect. The legislature and the judiciary worked together to ensure courts were ready to implement it from the moment it was signed. That is not the picture of a law intended only for future cases. That is the picture of a law the entire family law system prepared to apply immediately to any case that came before it after June 22, 2026.
Think about what that means. The courts did not treat this as a law for the future someday. They asked for time to get ready and then they got ready. Judges were trained to apply it before a single case was heard under it. A judiciary that prepares to apply a law immediately is a judiciary preparing to apply it to the cases already in front of it, cases in the pipeline.
This is why I do not believe the filing date matters. That is just not the issue. What matters is the law on the day a case comes before the court. And that law is the Alec and Lydia Act after June 22, 2026. It was written, signed and trained to be used to protect children now.
If your family is navigating a domestic violence matter in the Arizona family courts, the Alec and Lydia Act may change what is possible for your children. What it means for your family depends on your story. At Best Law Firm, Tali Best Collins handles every new client consultation personally. You do not need to have it all figured out before you call. We just need your story. That is where we start.
