Admissibility is whether a specific piece of evidence can be considered by the court. Evidence that is not admissible cannot be used to support a finding of fact even if it is relevant and even if the judge is aware of it.

In Arizona family court the rules of evidence apply but the court has some flexibility in certain types of proceedings. Temporary orders hearings are often decided on affidavit testimony with a more relaxed evidentiary standard than full trial.

Under the Alec and Lydia Act prior acts of domestic violence are now expressly admissible to prove coercive control even if those acts were previously litigated or predate the current decree. This is a significant expansion of what evidence the court can consider.