Decisions regarding child support and child custody are made based on the needs of the children whose legal matters land in Arizona family law courts. To protect the child’s best interests, courts may grant different custody arrangements based on the child’s unique requirements. Because children can have very different needs, very different parenting plans can be ordered through which they spend time with their parents.
A child may be solely under the custody of one parent, or in many cases, they may share their time between the households of both of their parents. When parents share custody of their child they are required to follow certain terms and conditions regarding when and where their child is handed off, which days and holidays they are permitted to spend with their child, and other issues. Parents must abide by these rules in order to avoid legal sanctions and challenges of parenting time interference.
Parenting time interference can be direct or indirect. A parent who fails to hand off their child on schedule directly impacts the other parent’s rights to be with the child that they love. However, a parent who disparages or attempts to break down the relationship that a child has with their other parent indirectly interferes with that important relationship.
Fathers can find themselves on the receiving end of parenting time interference when their former partners actively or discreetly find ways to curtail their interactions with their children. No father should have to stand up for their parental rights alone. Fathers’ rights advocates can help those battling parenting time interference and can support them as they work to preserve their time and relationships with their children.