Make sure you are aware of the Alec and Lydia Act, House Bill 2995. Governor Katie Hobbs signed it into law on June 22, 2026, and it took effect that same day because the legislature attached an emergency clause rather than waiting the ninety days that normally pass before a new Arizona law becomes effective. It amends A.R.S. § 25-403.03, A.R.S. § 25-404 and A.R.S. § 25-411. It is named for Alec and Lydia who were murdered by their father on May 20, 2024 during court-ordered unsupervised parenting time. Their mother, Hope Hooton, spent two years working with State Representative Lisa Fink and countless others to pass this remarkable legislation to protect children.
The most common question we hear is whether the Alec and Lydia Act governs a case that was already in the pipeline. We asked the bill’s sponsor directly. Representative Lisa Fink answered in writing: “It should apply to ALL cases.” We believe that is correct and we believe the Alec and Lydia Act governs every Arizona family court case heard after June 22, 2026 no matter when it was filed. A legislature that waived the ninety-day waiting period to protect children immediately did not intend its protections to be ignored because of a filing date.
What Really Changed Under the Alec and Lydia Act?
The Alec and Lydia Act creates a mandatory rebuttable presumption that an award of legal decision-making or parenting time to a parent who committed domestic violence is contrary to the child's best interests. The law requires specific written findings before the court enters legal decision-making or parenting-time orders. A.R.S. § 25-404(D) extends that written-findings requirement to temporary-order proceedings when domestic violence is alleged. It also recognizes coercive control as domestic violence, uses a preponderance-of-the-evidence standard, and states that corroboration is not required.
The court must also consider qualifying other acts of domestic violence that tend to prove coercive control, even if those acts predate the last decree or could have been litigated earlier. A class-completion certificate alone is not proof of rehabilitation. The statute identifies evidence and precautions the court must evaluate, including protected exchanges, supervised parenting time, limits on overnights, suspension of access, confidentiality, treatment, testing when substance abuse is also found, and a bond for the child's safe return.
The Temporary Orders Hearing
The temporary orders hearing is the first time most Arizona parents stand in front of a family court judge. It is also, for many victim parents, the first time anyone with authority hears that there was domestic violence in the family. Temporary orders decide legal decision-making and parenting time while the case is pending, and those orders often govern a family for a year or longer. What happens at that hearing usually becomes the arrangement everyone lives under until trial. This temporary orders hearing can happen in a divorce, a modification or a paternity action.
The Alec and Lydia Act changed what the court is required to do at that hearing when domestic violence is alleged. This article explains the findings, proof, arguments, and preparation that matter. Temporary orders govern while the case is pending; they do not automatically become the final orders. The final trial still requires the evidence and requests that support the final relief sought, and the temporary-order record may remain important.
Does the court have to address domestic violence at a temporary orders hearing?
A.R.S. § 25-404(D) requires the court to make written findings consistent with § 25-403.03(B) when domestic violence is alleged in a temporary legal decision-making or parenting-time proceeding.
That is a change in practice. Written findings were previously associated with final trials. Temporary orders hearings are short, the record is thin, and in the past many temporary orders were entered without any written analysis of a domestic violence allegation at all. The allegation now triggers the same findings requirement at the temporary orders stage that applies at trial.
What written findings must the court make at a temporary orders hearing?
Under A.R.S. § 25-403.03(B), the court must resolve admitted domestic-violence evidence through three specific written explanations:
- A thorough description of the evidence that justified or prevented a domestic-violence finding under subsection (C).
- After considering each factor in subsection (E), a thorough explanation of why the parent did or did not rebut the subsection (D) presumption.
- A thorough explanation of why the precautions selected under subsection (H) are in the child's best interests.
Does domestic violence affect custody in Arizona?
Yes. Under A.R.S. § 25-403.03(A), domestic violence is contrary to the child's best interests, and the court must give the highest priority to the personal safety and physical, mental, and emotional well-being of the child and domestic-violence victim.
Subsection (D) creates the mandatory rebuttable presumption. Subsection (G) sets separate proof standards: the restricted parent may not receive sole or joint legal decision-making or unsupervised parenting time without clear and convincing evidence, and may not receive supervised parenting time without proving rebuttal by a preponderance of the evidence.
For a parent who committed domestic violence, subsection (H) requires precautions that prioritize safety and well-being. Those precautions may include:
- A protected or safe exchange location
- Limits on parenting time, including no overnights
- Professional or qualified lay supervision
- Supervision costs paid by the parent who committed domestic violence
- Suspension of access until a qualifying modification request
- Intervention, assessment, counseling, or substance-testing conditions
- A bond for the child's safe return
- Confidentiality for the child and other parent's address
What if I never called the police or what if he was never arrested?
Under A.R.S. § 25-403.03(C), a claim of an act or acts of domestic violence shall be established by a preponderance of the evidence, and corroboration from exhibits or witness testimony is not required. A police report is not a prerequisite. An arrest is not a prerequisite. A conviction is not a prerequisite. Corroborating witness testimony is not required.
Subject to the evidentiary standard applied to the proceeding under the Arizona Rules of Family Law Procedure, the same subsection directs the court to consider all of the following:
- Court findingsFactual determinations of an act or acts of domestic violence from a court of competent jurisdiction.
- Government recordsEvidence collected and reports prepared by a law enforcement agency, the Department of Child Safety and any other government agency.
- Medical or behavioral health recordsThe alleged victim’s medical or behavioral health records, if the victim waives the associated privilege or other right to confidentiality.
- Shelter recordsRecords from a shelter for victims of domestic violence as defined in A.R.S. § 36-3001.
- School recordsEducational and school records.
- Other actsOther acts of domestic violence against any person that tend to prove coercive control, including qualifying acts that were previously decided or predate the last decree.
- Witness testimonyWitness testimony.
The victim parent’s own testimony is evidence. At a temporary orders hearing, where time is short and documents are often still being gathered, that matters a great deal.
Is coercive control domestic violence in Arizona?
Yes. Under A.R.S. § 25-403.03(M), domestic violence includes coercive control when it is perpetrated by one parent against the other parent or against a minor child living in either parent's household.
Coercive control is a pattern of violent, threatening, coercive, or emotionally abusive conduct by one parent against the other, without consent or justification. The statute includes conduct such as physical or sexual assault, threats of harm, confinement, isolation, financial control, stalking or harassment, degrading conduct, misuse of litigation, immigration threats, property damage, and surveillance or tracking used to facilitate the pattern.
None of those requires a bruise. All of them can be alleged and described at a temporary orders hearing.
What arguments must the court reject?
Under subsection (F), the court must disregard the child's absence from the domestic violence, the child's lack of awareness, and the child's preference for contact when applying the mandatory presumption.
Under subsection (D)(2), the court may not describe domestic violence as mutual or apply the presumption to both parents unless both lacked justification to a similar degree and inflicted similar injury. Otherwise, the presumption applies only to the parent whose conduct and motivation were more serious.
Under subsection (M)(2)(b), justified defense of oneself or another person is excluded from the definition of domestic violence. Subsection (L) also permits the court to consider whether domestic violence caused a parent's absence or relocation.
What about the class the abuser signed up for?
Under subsection (E)(5), the court may consider attendance at a domestic-violence treatment program, but a certificate of completion alone is not proof of rehabilitation. The certificate must be supported by the required release of treatment records, proof that the program was relevant and proportionate, a demonstrated understanding of harm, and proof that the program addressed minimization or rationalization.
At a temporary-orders hearing, enrollment or a certificate does not carry the weight it once did without that supporting evidence.
Can the court order my child into counseling or therapy with the abuser?
No and you can’t be ordered to either. A.R.S. § 25-403.03(I) mandates that the court may not order a victim of domestic violence, whether the child or a parent, to join the parent who committed an act or acts of domestic violence in any inpatient or outpatient treatment program, counseling program or forensic assessment, whether telephonic, virtual or in person.
Do written findings matter?
Yes. Written findings show what the court considered, credited, and rejected. They give the parties and counsel a record for evaluating the decision and any available procedure for seeking clarification, reconsideration, other relief, or appellate review.
What to do before your temporary orders hearing
Read Your Minute Entry and Follow All Deadlines
Then write your timeline. Include every detail, incident, date, place, quotes, witnesses, surroundings, what people were wearing, where they were standing, what time of day was it, what started the incident, who did you tell about it shortly afterwards, did you take any photos, did you text anyone, did you call anyone. Be prepared for this to take an emotional toll on you. Be kind to yourself and give yourself a break after thinking about this trauma. It can be very difficult and sad to relive it in your own words.
Organize the Communications
Organize the communication. Use software. Texts, emails, voicemails, and app messages from the other parent, including the ones about money, the ones about the children, and the ones sent late at night, the repetitive ones, the off the wall comments while they were drunk, all of them.
Think About Potential Witnesses
Think about potential witnesses. Anyone who saw an incident, saw an injury, saw the isolation, or was told about something close to the time it happened.
Discovery and Disclosure: Start as Soon as Possible Before the Hearing
Request relevant orders of protection, police or agency reports, school records, shelter records, and any medical or behavioral-health records you choose to disclose after considering privilege and confidentiality. If the other parent relies on treatment attendance to rebut the presumption, ask your attorney about the records and waivers required by subsection (E)(5) and the applicable disclosure process.
Identify the Coercive Control
Review the conduct listed in A.R.S. § 25-403.03(M)(1) and identify the parts of the pattern that accurately describe what happened in your family.
Decide About Your Own Records
Decide about your own records. This is the victim parent’s decision to make. Be cautious, sometimes these records can be used against you with the old ploy of victim blaming.
Draft Your Pre-Trial Statement
- Allege domestic violence expressly. A.R.S. § 25-404(D) is triggered by the allegation.
- Ask for the three written explanations required by A.R.S. § 25-403.03(B).
- Ask for the subsection (H) precautions that fit what happened in your family.
- Include your timeline and properly disclosed, admissible exhibits.
This is not meant to be an entire trial preparation or to assume you can do this on your own. It is only an outline to be considered and does not take the place of the court rules, the rules of evidence, the statutes and the court’s minute entry. All of these must be followed.
The Alec and Lydia Act gives the family court a written blueprint for what to do when domestic violence is alleged and it applies at the temporary orders hearing.
