“Subsection C of the new Alec & Lydia Act announces:

A domestic violence claim shall be established by a preponderance of the evidence. Corroboration from exhibits or witness testimony of another person is not required.

We did not script that new language to design a new legal concept. We added it because our justice system had been obligated to follow that rule for decades, but some courts weren’t doing it. This was especially true in the domestic violence arena.”

With my co-author and esteemed colleague, Ms. Patricia Madsen, Managing Attorney at Community Legal Services, and supported by the unwavering dedication of Representative Lisa Fink, who sponsored House Bill 2995, we wrote this law with four, clear purposes …

“It is true that—all things being normal—most judges like to give each parent an equal opportunity to share in the upbringing of their child. . . . However, there are plenty of good reasons why an ‘equal parenting plan’ would be a bad idea. Family violence, failure to provide for a child’s basic human needs, abandonment, substance abuse, and significant mental illness are just examples where a family court must try a different solution”.

“In the worst cases, when one parent is fleeing for personal safety and child protection, any mishandling of the relocation rules can result in real danger to real people. But even in more routine situations, qualified attorneys must understand not only the usual ‘child’s best interests’ factors, but also possess a firm grasp of Arizona’s relocation statute (ARS § 25-408) and the complicated appellate case law that goes with it.

“It is difficult to imagine another area of child custody litigation where getting it wrong can so permanently alter the course of a child’s life.”

“A child support modification can occur by agreement of the parties or by order of the court, although your judge must still approve the new arrangement. When you file such a petition … you must show a ‘substantial and continuing change of circumstances’ that justifies that new number.”

Anyone involved in family court should understand the context clues to a controlling and destructive co-parenting relationship. They should avoid the quick, lazy, and irresponsible view that chalks up the problem to two parents who “just need to stop fighting and put their child first”. These context clues can include evidence that a parent …