John Bednarz, P.C.

Grandparent visitation for children of unmarried parents

2020-03-24T09:19:45Z

Grandchildren are a joy in the lives of their grandparents, but not all grandparents are able to spend time with their beloved grandchildren due to circumstances surrounding the lives and relationships of the children's parents. For example, when a child is born to unmarried parents, their grandparents may become disassociated from them if the child's parents' relationship ends. In cases where children's parents are not married, grandparents may have options for seeking visitation with the kids. Grandparent visitation is recognized in Arizona in such cases, as well as when children's parents go through divorces that have been finalized at least three months prior to the visitation actions. Children and their grandparents can forge important and lifelong bonds that benefit both sides of the relationship, and often courts will look for ways to foster these connections even when families break up due to divorce or separation. Grandparents who fear the loss of their grandchildren due to divorces, separations and ended unmarried relationships can talk to family law attorneys about their legal options. Court actions may help them protect their relationships with their grandkids and grant them court-appointed time to spend with the children they love. Grandparent visitation may be an option for some individuals who have had to cope with these and other difficult family law situations. Family law matters such as those that concern grandparents' rights can become complicated by many factors, and for this reason readers of this post should talk to their own attorneys about how their cases may resolve. This post does not provide any legal advice to its readers.

Parental relocation when child custody is an issue

2021-12-22T03:56:58Z

While some Arizona residents may remain in their same communities or even their same homes throughout their lives, others will follow their families or their careers to new places for new adventures. Moving can be hard on individuals but many choose to undertake relocations so that they can enjoy new experiences and advancements in their personal and professional lives. Relocations can, however, complicate child custody plans when parents must pick up and move to locations that are far from their kids. When a parent is facing relocation, there are several different ways that their child custody matters may resolve. Much will depend on if they have sole custody of their child or if they share custody with their ex-partner. In most cases a parent who wishes to relocate with or without their child must give the other parent at least 45 days' written notice of their intentions to move. A parent who receives notice of a pending relocation can challenge the relocation. Courts look to protect the best interests of children, and if relocation will violate the child's needs or interests it may be possible for the challenging parent to stop it. Whether relocation can be stopped will be determined on a case by case basis and readers should not expect any particular outcome when they go to court on such matters. It can be hard for parents to balance their personal and professional lives with the needs of their children, especially when they must share those kids with former partners. Relocation is a complicated matter and can have repercussions on the lives of individuals who must work within the limits of established child custody and family law orders.

Is a change necessary to maintain your child support payments?

2019-08-20T08:31:26Z

Arizona parents who pay child support may, from time to time, feel the pinch of financial uncertainty when money challenges come up in their lives and they are still bound to provide their kids with economic support. While no parent wants to miss child support payments, it can be hard to stay on top of financial commitments when losses of income, unexpected bills and other emergencies happen. When a parent cannot stay ahead of their financial troubles and may not be able to continue to pay what they owe in child support, they may suffer consequences if they become delinquent on their payments.

Child support delinquencies affect children because they may not have enough money for their needs, and they affect a parent's financial and parenting rights. Before problems happen and a parent falls behind on their child support, they can seek a modification to their child support order or agreement to avoid the problems associated with deficiencies.

Attorney [nap_names id="FIRM-NAME-3"] works with men and women who have found themselves in the difficult spot of wanting to support their children but being unable to do so because of financial circumstances. Through counsel and guidance he helps his clients decide if they should seek modifications to prevent the consequences of falling into noncompliance.

Child support modifications may lower the amount of money that parents have to pay to support their children. Not all modification requests will be honored, however, and to better understand this process it is the right of readers to contact their family law attorneys for case-specific information on child support and other related topics.

Gray divorce may lead to financial troubles for older Americans

2020-02-05T06:59:41Z

The end of a marriage requires individuals to reorganize their lives and in some cases prioritize their wants and needs. This is because for some, going from two incomes to one or losing the income of their ex greatly impacts how much money they can count on to support themselves in the future. Recently released data suggests that the later a person gets divorced, the more likely they are to live in poverty after. For example, while just under 19% of women who get divorced early in life end up living with low incomes, nearly 27% of female gray divorcees end up in that same economic classification. For men, the disparity is not as extensive. Early in life divorcees end up living in poverty at a rate of 10.7% while older divorcees fall into this category at a rate of 11.4%. These statistics should demonstrate to readers the serious impact that divorce can have on ones finances, regardless of when they choose to pursue it. It may be easier for younger divorcees to recover, however, as older individuals may have left their careers when they elect to end their marriages. Financial stability can be shaken when divorce occurs later in life. When preparing to divorce, it is important that individuals receive legal support that is tailored to their needs and that includes a careful assessment of how they will financially emerge from the process. Their property and asset division negotiations can play a major role in these outcomes and should not be taken lightly. This post does not provide any legal advice and should be read as informational.

Which parent makes decisions when a child faces an emergency?

2019-08-20T08:32:16Z

No parent wants to envision an event where their child is lost, hurt or otherwise in danger. However, all across Arizona parents find themselves confronted with difficult situations involving the health and welfare of their children.

When parents share custody of their kids with their former partner, they may be unsure of just what they can do without first consulting with the child's other parent when accidents and crises occur. In Arizona, emergencies present a situation where a custodial parent may generally act without first consulting their ex.

What this means is that when a child is in the custody of one parent, that parent may act quickly to make emergency decisions about their care. Parents who share legal and physical custody of their kids should as soon as possible consult with their child's other parent about their kid's ongoing needs. However, when actual emergencies occur and time is of the essence, custodial parents may take control of decision-making for their kids.

In situations where a parent has sole custody of their child, that parent generally always makes emergency and other decisions about how to protect the health and welfare of their offspring. Shared custody can complicate the balance of how and when parents are allowed to serve as the exclusive authorities of their kids, but in emergency situations parents must act to protect their children's interests.

Child custody questions can be multi-layered and can open up new questions as they are answered. It is important that readers do not rely on this post as legal advice. Instead, they may want to talk to a professional about their parental rights over their kids.

Parenting time interference can impact a father’s rights

2019-08-20T19:22:22Z

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.

What is considered income for child support computations?

2019-08-20T08:33:05Z

The state of Arizona uses a complicated set of guidelines to determine how much money a child should receive in support from a noncustodial parent. One of the most significant factors that is used when determining child support is parental income. Many different sources of income may be included in the computation of child support.

Regular income from wages may be factored into a parent's gross income, as well as income they receive from tips, commissions, bonuses, pensions, or annuities. Any benefits that a parent receives such as from Social Security, workers' compensation, or unemployment may also be factored in. Other sources of income, like prize money, gifts of cash, and payments of spousal support, may be considered in the computation of child support.

When a parent experiences a change in their income level, it may directly affect their ability to stay current on their child support payments. For example, the loss of a job may cause a parent's income to plummet and for them to suffer financial instability. When these types of changes occur, parents can choose to proactively seek out modifications so that they do not become delinquent on their child support obligations.

The computation of a parent's gross income is an involved process and may require the summation of many different sources of revenue. The information contained in this post is not a complete list of all types of income that may be assessed for the purposes of establishing child support awards. Anyone with questions about the Arizona child support guidelines or the computation of child support should speak to a knowledgeable family law attorney about their questions.

Adoption and grandparents’ rights

2019-08-20T19:32:56Z

Adoption is a legal practice that allows an adult to become the legal parent of a child for whom they did not biologically create. Individuals in Arizona may choose to adopt children from the foster care system or from private adoption agencies. Some even choose to look overseas to expand their families. When a child is adopted, their biological parents' rights to them are severed and the child becomes the legal responsibility of the adoptive parents.

While a grandparent may gain a grandchild if adoption happens in their family, they may also lose a grandchild if the child's parent elects to give their offspring up for adoption. Grandparents do not retain their rights to visitation or custody of their biological grandchildren if the children's biological parents relinquish their rights to them. When biological parents' rights are cut off, all other biological familial relationships are also considered terminated.

Grandparents do, however, have some rights to secure time with the children they love when the children's parents go through separations and divorces. For example, if a child's parents divorce, their grandparents may petition for visitation time with them once three months have passed since the finalization of the divorce. Similarly, the death of a child's parent may avail their grandparents on the deceased parent's side of the family to seek legally enforceable time with the child through visitation.

Decisions regarding grandparent visitation must support the best interests of the children who will be impacted by the deliberations. Not all grandparents will prevail when they seek to secure time with their grandchildren. Those who wish to better understand their rights with regard to this important family law topic are encouraged to get more information about their own unique situation for case-specific guidance.

When will a child support obligation end?

2019-08-20T08:32:44Z

Whether a parent is married or not, they are generally expected to help provide their child with financial support. Their child custody arrangement will dictate how much time the parent gets to spend with the child, and it will also direct how much child support the parent must pay to ensure the child has what they need. In Phoenix, child support may be enforced through a variety of different legal paths until parental obligations to pay cease.

The end of a child support order or agreement may come about in many different ways. Oftentimes, these obligations end when children become adults. Upon reaching the age of majority, people may be considered capable of providing for their own financial needs.

Additionally, child support may end when a terminal event happens in life. If a child is receiving support and chooses to get married, their child support payments may end, as they have their spouse to help support them. Additionally, a child who enlists in the military may see their child support payments terminate, as their involvement in the armed services will help them take care of their living requirements.

Children who seek emancipation from their parents may also, through their legal actions, bring about the end of their child support obligations. Parents who want to know more about when and how their child support orders and agreements will end will need to get more information about family law. The terms of child support documents may outline how termination can and will occur in specific situations.

Paternity matters when it comes to a father’s rights

2019-08-20T19:22:22Z

There are a number of circumstances under which a man may be presumed to be a child's father. If, for example, the man was married to the child's mother when the child was born, under the law the man may be presumed to have fathered the child with his wife. Other presumptions of paternity exist and Arizona residents may need to get more information about their own unique circumstances.

However, if there is no marital or other relationship-based rationale on which to support a paternity presumption, a father may find that he is neither recognized as a child's parent nor given parental rights over the child. In such circumstances, the man may choose to submit to paternity testing to demonstrate his affiliation with his presumptive child.

Paternity testing compares the genetic material of a man to the genetic material of a child. If enough markers match, the man is found to have fathered the child. Such a determination of paternity is significant, as it allows the man to pursue custodial rights, visitation time and to have a financial stake in maintaining the child's needs.

A man who wishes to be recognized as a child's father may initiate a paternity action, but women may also start paternity claims in order to compel support from men who have not acknowledged their fatherhood over the child. When electing to begin a paternity claim or when responding to a lawsuit for paternity, a man should ensure that he is fully aware of his rights under the law. The right information can be an invaluable resource to someone whose parental rights may be impacted by the outcome of a paternity test.