Parents in Arizona who have to attend child custody hearings should be prepared to present the best evidence for their case. It is important that they have certain documents submitted with their written submissions to the court to support their arguments and that they have copies at the hearings.
Both parties fighting for child custody should maintain a record of all of the phone calls that are made between the non-custodial parent and the children. The phone log should detail the duration of each call, when the calls took place and how often they were made.
Custodial parents may want to submit their record of their children’s phone calls with the other parent to demonstrate a lack of continuous contact. However, they should be cautious in doing so, as the non-custodial parent may assert that the lack of frequent phone calls was due to the actions of the other parent. The family court tends to object to parents who seem to deliberately interfere with their children’s relationship with the other parent. For parents who do not have custody of their children, the phone log they provide can service as proof of regular contact with their children.
Both parents should also keep a record of all of the visitation between the children and the other parent. The visitation schedule log should detail where the visits occurred, how long each on lasted and when each one occurred. Non-custodial parents who want to have custody of their children can submit this information as proof of a meaningful relationship with their children.
A family law attorney may assist parents in determining what evidence should be submitted to the court to bolster their child custody hearing case. The attorney may advocate on behalf of clients during custody hearings by presenting compelling arguments.