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Arizona Family Court: Custody and Parenting-Time Guide

Plain-language Arizona information for a custody or parenting-time route, including filing, official forms, free help, fee waivers, and legal-cost context.

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This page provides general legal information, not legal advice. State law, court rules, forms, and local procedures can change. Confirm current requirements with the court handling the case.

State laws, court rules, and forms can change. Automated link checks will run every week once the monitoring job is deployed. Please check each cited source before relying on it. Report a broken link or changed law.

Find the right family court

The custody or parenting-time route described in this guide is handled through the Arizona Superior Court. Other family-law matters can follow a different court or procedure.

Find the court for your area.

  • Arizona's Superior Court is the state's general-jurisdiction court and has locations in each county.Sources:Superior Court

How Arizona courts decide custody

Arizona uses the term legal decision-making. The court decides legal decision-making and parenting time based on the child's best interests.Sources:25-403 - Legal decision-making; best interests of child

Key legal sources

Parenting time

Arizona's best-interests statute addresses parenting time together with legal decision-making.Sources:25-403 - Legal decision-making; best interests of child

Key legal sources

How to file

This route covers an initial Arizona dissolution of a non-covenant marriage with minor children. It does not cover covenant marriage, legal separation, modification, enforcement, emergency, nonparent, adoption, or interstate cases.Sources:Dissolution of Marriage with Children, 25-312 - Dissolution of marriage; findings necessary

  1. Confirm the Superior Court route and residence requirements

    Arizona Judicial Branch guidance says family-law actions are filed in the Superior Court of the county where one spouse resides. For an action involving a minor child, the guidance says the child must have lived in Arizona for six months before filing; the dissolution statute also requires the listed 90-day domicile or military-presence condition.Sources:Child Support and Family Law, 25-312 - Dissolution of marriage; findings necessary

  2. Use the current statewide dissolution-with-children materials

    The Arizona Judicial Branch lists a Petition for Dissolution of a Non-Covenant Marriage with Minor Children and related petition materials. The page says its forms are generic and may be accepted statewide, while individual courts may prefer their own forms.Sources:Dissolution of Marriage with Children

  3. Follow the court's current filing and service instructions

    The official petition materials list a Summons and a procedure document for filing dissolution papers. Confirm the current instructions and any county requirements before submitting papers or arranging service.Sources:Dissolution of Marriage with Children

Official forms

Open the official forms portal.

  • The Arizona Judicial Branch maintains a dissolution-with-children page with petition, response, default, trial-setting, and decree materials. Confirm the current form and any court-specific requirements before use.Sources:Dissolution of Marriage with Children

Free court self-help

Find court self-help near you.

  • Community Legal Services

    Area served: Maricopa, Mohave, La Paz, Yavapai, and Yuma Counties; the Arizona Judicial Branch also lists San Luis, Apache Junction, and Queen Creek.

    Community Legal Services provides free legal services for people who qualify.Sources:Office Locations, Obtaining Legal Services

    Eligibility: The organization says financial and additional eligibility screening is required. Availability is first come, first served.

  • Southern Arizona Legal Aid

    Area served: Apache, Cochise, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, Navajo, Pima, Pinal, and Santa Cruz Counties, plus listed Native American communities.

    Southern Arizona Legal Aid lists family-law help, including divorce, parenting time, guardianship, child support, and paternity.Sources:Services, Obtaining Legal Services

    Eligibility: Southern Arizona Legal Aid says it serves people with limited financial means and asks people to contact it for an intake to determine whether they qualify.

Fee waivers

Arizona court guidance describes fee waivers and deferrals for eligible people who cannot pay filing fees and costs.Sources:Fee Waiver and Deferral, Step 1: Applying for Fee Waiver or Deferral

Who may qualify

  • The court's Step 1 guidance says a person requesting a waiver or deferral must file Application for Deferral or Waiver of Court Fees or Costs, form AOCDFGF1F. It identifies benefit, legal-aid, and financial-questionnaire pathways and supporting-proof requirements.Sources:Step 1: Applying for Fee Waiver or Deferral

What to do

  1. Complete the current application and supporting materials

    Use the Arizona Judicial Branch fee-waiver and deferral application materials. The court's guidance says an affidavit concerning service fees may also be needed when seeking to defer or waive service or publication fees.Sources:Step 1: Applying for Fee Waiver or Deferral, Fee Waiver and Deferral Forms

Official fee-waiver forms

Key statute or rule

Attorney cost benchmark

Lawyer fees vary by county, experience, services, and the facts of a case. This state benchmark is context for planning, not a quote.

State and local details to confirm

  • Arizona's statewide dissolution forms are generic and may be accepted statewide, but courts may prefer their own forms; confirm court-specific requirements.Sources:Dissolution of Marriage with Children

Part of Family Law in Your State.