Is There a Preference to Mothers in a Custody Case?

The short answer is No.

A.R.S. 25-403.01 states that, "[t]he court in determining custody shall not prefer a parent as custodian because of that parent's sex."

The sole factors that the court should consider in determining custody are set forth in A.R.S. 25-403. The factors are:

1. The wishes of the child's parent or parents as to custody.

2. The wishes of the child as to the custodian.

3. The interaction and interrelationship of the child with the child's parent or parents, the child's siblings and any other person who may significantly affect the child's best interest.

4. The child's adjustment to home, school and community.

5. The mental and physical health of all individuals involved.

6. Which parent is more likely to allow the child frequent and meaningful continuing contact with the other parent. This paragraph does not apply if the court determines that a parent is acting in good faith to protect the child from witnessing an act of domestic violence or being a victim of domestic violence or child abuse.

7. Whether one parent, both parents or neither parent has provided primary care of the child.

8. The nature and extent of coercion or duress used by a parent in obtaining an agreement regarding custody.

9. Whether a parent has complied with chapter 3, article 5 of this title (taking a parenting class).

10. Whether either parent was convicted of an act of false reporting of child abuse or neglect under section 13-2907.02.

11. Whether there has been domestic violence or child abuse as defined in section 25-403.03.

I have found that the most heavily weighted factor is usually number 7, who has provided primary care of the child. Historically, when there has been a one income household, it has been the Father that has been working and the Mother staying home to raise the children. Because of this, a disproportionate amount of custody cases were determined in favor of the Mother.

However, as increasingly more and more households are dual income, this trend has started to change. When both parents have been working, the court normally finds that both parents have provided equal care to the children. As such, the other factors become more relevant to the decision.

In many cases, the Court has awarded joint legal and physical custody of the children to the parents. This is becoming more and more prevalent.

The key in any disputed custody case is having a skilled attorney be able to present your best case in regards to all of the eleven factors the Court examines.

Jason Pistiner, Esq.
SINGER PISTINER, P.C.
602-264-0110
jp@singerpistiner.com
www.singerpistiner.com

The Advantages of a Flat Fee Arrangment in a Divorce/Family Law Case

One of the typical complaints I here from clients is the fact that they get billed every time they call their attorney and that the opposing party is trying to drag out the litigation for the sole purpose of making the client incur additional and unnecessary attorney's fees.

In response to this feedback, the Firm has begun offering flat fees to its clients. There are many advantages to the flat fee approach.

First, the client knows with certainty how much their divorce/child support/custody matter is going to cost.

Second, they can communicate frequently with their attorney without having to worry about the cost of doing so.

Third, it serves as a strong deterrent to the opposing party and encourages them to try and swiftly and amicably resolve the litigation. The other party quickly realizes that he or she is the only one incurring the additional fees by their unnecessary filings or unreasonable positions.

Of course, there is one inherent risk to a client under a flat fee arrangement. It is possible that the client's fees could wind up less under an hourly rate arrangement if the matter is resolved early on. However, the client could end up saving thousands of dollars if the matter is litigated to the bitter end.

The flat fee that the Firm offers varies depending upon the potential issues in a client's case, and are determined after an initial consultation.

Since providing the flat fee option to clients a couple of months ago, the Firm has received very positive feedback on this affordable attorney's fee option and has retained several clients under this arrangement.

Overall, I believe that more and more individuals will see the value in flat fee attorney's fee arrangements for Arizona divorce and family law matters and take advantage of the piece of mind they provide.


Jason Pistiner, Esq.
SINGER PISTINER, P.C.
602-264-0110
jp@singerpistiner.com
www.singerpistiner.com

Can I Get an Award of Attorneys' Fees in My Family Law Matter?

The short answer is YES.

A.R.S. 25-324 states that the Court may award a party costs and expenses after considering the financial resources of the parties as well as the reasonableness of the positions each party has taken throughout the litigation.

Cost and expenses are defined as, "attorney fees, depositions costs and other reasonable expenses as the court finds necessary to the full and proper presentation of the action..."

Of course, the decision to award fees and costs is up to the discretion of the Judge. With each Judge having his or her own interpretation of the above referenced factors, the outcome of your request for fees and costs could easily vary depending upon the Judge assigned to your case.

In many divorce cases, one spouse requests that the other pay his or her attorneys' fees during the pendency of the action, instead of just at the end of the litigation. The process to request this is thru a Motion for Temporary Orders. This is typical when one party is not working and has been supported by the other spouse during the marriage, and that spouse has now cut them off. I have requested and have received temporary orders requiring a spouse to pay $10,000.00 towards my client's attorney's fees so that she may afford representation during her divorce.

Overall, given the wide latitude in interpreting the statue, I would never count on the Court awarding attorney's fees and costs. Wherefore, I always counsel my clients to be prepared to have to pay all of their own fees and costs.

Jason Pistiner, Esq.
SINGER PISTINER, P.C.
602-264-0110
jp@singerpistiner.com
www.singerpistiner.com

Divorce/Custody Implications of Facebook, MySpace and Texting

Technology has increasingly brought us more and more ways to express ourselves and communicate. However, these new forms of communication differ from the old way of verbal conversations in that there is a record forever of what you have posted or texted.

Increasingly I have had divorce and custody cases where at least one party presents text messages or Facebook and MySpace postings as evidence to support their allegations. This can include one party boasting about drug or alcohol abuse to making statements about how they will do anything to screw over the other party.

Parties usually say they were just joking and/or making things up, but rarely is that argument bought by a Judge. The usual result is that the party loses all credibility in the case.

Although these new tools of communication are wonderful for allowing us to stay in touch, you need to ask yourself before you post or text something whether you would be comfortable with a Judge or potential future employer reading it. If not, I would think twice before communicating in such a fashion.

Jason Pistiner, Esq.
SINGER PISTINER, P.C.
602-264-0110
jp@singerpistiner.com
www.singerpistiner.com