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FAQ - Legal Decision Making and Parenting Time (Custody)

  2. FAQ
  3. Legal Decision Making and Parenting Time (Custody)
  4. Can a person other than a parent have legal decision making?
In the fall of 2024, the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) mailed letters to parents who once had an open dependency and/or severance case.

Did you receive a letter? Visit the DCS letter page for more information.
DCS Letter Information

Can a person other than a parent have legal decision making?

Yes. The law provides that a person who stands in loco parentis to a child may ask the court for legal decision making or visitation. To be in loco parentis a person must have been treated as a parent by the child and have formed a meaningful parental relationship with the child for a substantial period of time. There are other requirements that must be met before a request may be made to the court. For the child, one of the parents must be deceased, the legal parents must be unmarried, or a court case for divorce or legal separation between the legal parents is pending.

Resources:

A.R.S. § 25-409

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