Father's Rights in Arizona

In Arizona, if you are a married father, there is a legal presumption that you are the biological father of the child. This means you are presumed to be the legal father of the child and paternity is already established. You have a legal right to the child and to participate in major decision about the child, such as medical treatment, education or religious training. Being a married father comes with responsibility as well in the event of a divorce, particularly regarding the establishment of child support.

In Arizona the law recognizes the equal rights of fathers during separation and divorce. The fact that you might have worked full-time during the marriage to allow your wife to stay home to care for the children will not be held against you when it comes to determining legal decision-making and parenting time. Courts in Arizona no longer follow the “tender years doctrine” where mothers were favored when it came to determining parenting schedules for young children. Both mother and father are viewed equal in the eyes of the law and either may qualify for primary residential parent. The courts cannot favor one parent over another and must take the facts of each case into consideration when they make a decision. Courts and parents should both focus on the children’s best interests.

In Arizona, a father who is not married to his child’s mother has no legal right to the child until paternity has been established, either by agreement (affidavit between the parents) and a written agreement or a court order outlines the schedule and decision making ability of each parent. The unmarried mother can make significant decisions with regard to the child’s medical treatment, education, and religious training all without the father’s consent or even seeking his approval, unless or until he seeks to gain his rights.

A father who has established paternity but not custody has limited rights to the child. The mother is still the legal custodian and can determine the father’s access to the child. The father, though, has a right to the child’s school and medical records. The mother also cannot relocate without the father’s permission.  

Once paternity and custody is established, a father is equal to the mother in all aspects of parenting. In other words, a father who has established paternity and custody is in the same position he would have been had been married to the mother at the time of birth. Custody is not established until the Court orders a Parenting Plan.