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Child Custody
Gilbert, Arizona Child Custody Attorney
Nothing matters more than your children. As your Gilbert AZ child custody attorney, McWhorter Law Firm fights to protect your parental rights and your children's best interests, providing compassionate, aggressive representation through every stage of custody and parenting time disputes.
Advocating for your children's best interests
Whether you're establishing custody and parenting time for the first time or seeking to modify an existing order, our Gilbert AZ child custody attorney takes the time to understand your family's specific situation and builds a strategy focused on your children's wellbeing and your parental rights.
Arizona law replaced the old term "custody" with two separate concepts: legal decision-making authority (the right to make major decisions about your child's education, healthcare, and religious upbringing) and parenting time (the actual schedule of when your child is with each parent). Courts can award these jointly or solely, and they don't always go together — a parent might share legal decision-making but have a different parenting time schedule than the other parent.
We handle legal decision-making authority, parenting time schedules, relocation disputes, and enforcement of existing orders, always with direct communication and a clear plan. Contact McWhorter Law Firm today to schedule a consultation about your custody matter.
How Arizona courts decide custody
Every decision is guided by the "best interests of the child" standard. Arizona law sets out specific factors courts must consider, including:
The relationship between each parent and the child
Including the child's relationships with siblings and other significant people in their life.
Each parent's willingness to cooperate
Whether each parent is likely to allow frequent, meaningful contact between the child and the other parent.
The child's adjustment
How settled the child is in their current home, school, and community, and what disruption a change would cause.
Health and safety factors
Any history of domestic violence, child abuse, or substance abuse by either parent weighs heavily in the court's analysis.
Each parent's mental and physical health
Considered only to the extent it affects the parent-child relationship, not as a standalone factor.
Modifying and enforcing custody orders
Life changes, and custody orders don't always keep up. Whether it's a parent relocating, a change in a child's schooling needs, or a shift in either parent's circumstances, we can evaluate whether your situation supports a modification and help you petition the court for an updated order.
If the other parent isn't following an existing order — missing scheduled parenting time, refusing to include you in major decisions, or otherwise violating the terms — we can help you file to enforce the order, which may include makeup parenting time, fines, or a modification of the order itself in more serious cases. If your custody matter is connected to a broader divorce, our Gilbert AZ divorce attorneys can handle both together.
Client Experiences
What our clients say
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They fought for a parenting time schedule that actually worked for our family, not just a generic template.
— Child Custody Client
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Clear communication throughout a difficult modification case, and a real understanding of what mattered to us.
— Child Custody Client
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They helped enforce our parenting time order quickly when the other parent stopped following it.
— Child Custody Client
Common Questions
Child custody FAQs
Answered here in plain language, and marked up as FAQ structured data so these can surface directly in search results.
What's the difference between "custody" and "legal decision-making" in Arizona?
Arizona law replaced the term "custody" with "legal decision-making" (the authority to make major decisions about your child's education, healthcare, and religious upbringing) and "parenting time" (the actual schedule of when your child is with each parent). People still commonly say "custody," but these are the legal terms that appear in your court orders.
What factors do Arizona courts consider in custody decisions?
Courts weigh factors including each parent's relationship with the child, each parent's ability to cooperate and communicate with the other parent, which parent is more likely to allow frequent, meaningful contact with the other parent, the child's adjustment to home, school, and community, and any history of domestic violence or substance abuse. No single factor automatically decides the outcome.
Can I get sole legal decision-making authority?
It's possible, but Arizona courts generally favor joint legal decision-making unless there's a compelling reason — such as domestic violence, substance abuse, or an inability to communicate — that makes joint decision-making unworkable or unsafe. We can evaluate whether your circumstances support a request for sole authority.
How do I modify an existing custody or parenting time order?
You generally need to show a substantial and continuing change in circumstances since the last order was entered, and that a modification serves your child's best interests. Common examples include a parent relocating, a change in a child's needs, or a parent's changed circumstances. We can evaluate whether your situation meets that standard.
What happens if the other parent violates our parenting time order?
You can file a petition to enforce the order, and the court has several tools available, including makeup parenting time, fines, or in serious or repeated cases, a modification of the order itself. Keeping records of violations is helpful — we can advise you on how to document and address it properly.
Can my child choose which parent to live with?
A child's preference can be one factor a court considers, particularly as they get older, but it's never the sole deciding factor and there's no fixed age in Arizona at which a child's wishes automatically control the outcome. The court still applies the full best-interests analysis.