domestic relations; domestic violence

New parenting rules after domestic violence

In Arizona parenting cases, domestic violence includes listed crimes and coercive control, such as isolation, financial control, stalking, threats, property damage, and tracking; acts to defend yourself or another person are excluded. A claim can be proved by the greater weight of the evidence, without a second witness or exhibit. When a court finds domestic violence, it presumes that giving the parent decision-making power or parenting time is not in the child’s best interests; clear and convincing evidence is needed for sole or shared decision-making or unsupervised visits, while a lower standard applies to supervised visits. Courts must put safety first and set precautions, which can include protected exchanges, supervised or limited visits, private addresses, and a bond; a victim cannot supervise visits or be ordered into treatment with the other parent. Courts must make written findings, limit access to health and shelter records without the required consent, and keep the presumption in a later order-change case if it was not overcome; they may involve child protection services when a child may be a victim.