Parents, legal guardians, and grandparents need to be knowledgeable of the child custody laws that are specific to the state of Arkansas. Don’t forget, as children mature they will realize, and resent those responsible for any selfish and immature actions. Full custody is commonly referred to as a child’s residence, guardianship, custodianship, and trusteeship. Either parent has the right to request a criminal background check on the other, as well as drug screening of the other, under Arkansas law. Instead, they refer to a parenting plan. There are a lot of misconceptions about what it means to have “standard visitation” rights. Some Arkansas judges have designed their own visitation schedules for implementation when parents can’t agree on one. In addition, if a child was born outside of marriage, paternity must be proven before the court will enter an order to obtain child support. The charge can escalate for repeated actions or for taking the child out of state. The grandparent can show a significant and viable relationship with the child and that the grandparent visitation is in the child’s best interest. That means if the father desires visitation or custody with the child, he must petition for paternity, custody, or visitation before he has the rights of visitation or custody. If you change your attitude and approach, a situation once doomed to be a very emotional and stressful experience will become a positive and productive process. Every situation needs a hero, and you need to be that hero for your children. Standard Visitation The typical visitation schedule granted by Arkansas judges awards the non-custodial parent every other weekend with his child and one weeknight every week. Child visitation laws have also been set up to look at the parent's circumstances before granting custody. Child custody laws in Arkansas, and the parenting plan agreement, mediation, evaluation, court hearing process, and any judicial procedures were created by the states legislative system to ensure the legal rights of parents-guardians-grandparents-children are protected under AR family law. The Arkansas statutes contain several provisions for interference with custody or visitation, including criminal charges. Judges in this district often rotate major holidays and children’s birthdays between parents on a year-to-year basis. Grandparents in Arkansas can request visitation with a grandchild even if the child’s parents don’t have custody. Arkansas case law typically favors a custodial parent’s right to relocate with the child. In the absence of split or joint custody, typically the other parent will have scheduled visitation, access, or contact with their children. Each states legislative system has … (Click Below For Page 2 of 2), Support for: Divorce, Child Custody, Parenting Plan Agreement, Grandparents Rights, and Much More…, Canada Child Custody Laws, Visitation Rights, Support, Advice, and Dispute Resolution Through a Legal Parenting Plan Agreement, Mediation, Evaluation, Court Hearing, Custody Court Litigation, or any CA Family Law Judicial Process, Broken Family, Marriage, Parenting, Children, and Relationship Help, State-Specific Child Custody Laws, Legal Advice, and Support. If a parent has poor living conditions, they may not have the right to any sort of custody except for supervised visits. The wronged parent can also file an action in family court for contempt of court. The length of the marriage Age, health, and station in life of each party Employability, vocational skills, occupation, and amounts Arkansas (AR) child custody laws, visitation rights, statutes, legislation, guidelines, regulations, and rules of family law ensure your due process or legal rights are protected as a parent-legal guardian-grandparent in Arkansas custody court under AR family law. Which ultimately serves the best interest of the children and everyone involved. Correct and current state specific AR child custody laws, legal forms-paperwork-information, key strategies, professional advice, and support are critical to ensure an appropriate outcome to any parenting plan agreement (aka child custody agreement), mediation, evaluation, and court hearing case. Arkansas courts take a dim view of either parent attempting to estrange their children from the other, so parenting patterns throughout the divorce process can be important. In some cases, the court may decide that the mother is not fit to have custody of the child. Arkansas child custody laws and courts may award custody to another individual if it is not in the best interest of the child that the mother be awarded custody. GENERAL CHILD VISITATION SCHEDULE for the First Judicial Circuit of Arkansas (Approved by Judge Kathleen Bell, Judge Christopher Morledge, Judge Richard Proctor, Judge Ann Hudson) (Revised January 1, 2015) The following general visitation will be 1. Under state law, the grandparents of children may obtain visitation while the parents are alive, regardless of the parent's marital status. If one parent refuses to comply with scheduled visitation -- either refusing to relinquish the children to the non-custodial parent for visitation or refusing to return the child to the custodial parent at the end of visitation -- this is a Class C misdemeanor under Arkansas’s laws. Note: State laws are always subject to change at any time, usually through the enactment of new statutes but sometimes through higher court decisions or other means. Arkansas law does not assume that joint parenting post-divorce is always in the best interests of a child, and courts lean toward one parent having physical custody and the other having visitation. Read More: About Dual Custody. Custody and Visitation. An upstanding citizen who has the respect of his co-workers and peers would likely have an advantage over a parent who has difficulty holding down a job and makes poor personal choices. Arkansas divorce laws have specific guidelines for property division, child custody, alimony and other divorce-related issues in Arkansas. If you take yourself out of this negative equation, eventually the children’s significant other will come around also. OCSE does not have any authority to address these issues. Arkansas law draws a line between the issues of visitation and child support. However, the best interests standards do favor the parent who typically cared for the children during the marriage, and this is often the mother. In the end, it’s always the children who suffer the most consequences of parents immature and self-centered behavior. Grandparents, Visitation In General. Only then can you change your conduct, demeanor, and attitude by showing respect, humility, and a willingness to maturely consider the feelings and interests of the other parent and even grandparents. In this arrangement, children split their time between their parents’ homes on a relatively equal basis, and parents jointly make important decisions on their children’s behalf as well. However, a noncustodial parent can rebut that presumption by showing that the relocation would negatively impact the child. (1) “Child” means any person under eighteen (18) years of age; (2) “College” means any public institution of higher education. Your emotions will motivate and empower you to acquire and understand the child custody laws in Arkansas, and actively pursue a healthy resolution to your child custody dispute. She specializes in family law and estate law and has mediated family custody issues. These will go into effect for all orders entered after June 30, 2020. (b) Any noncustodial parent who has been awarded visitation rights by the court with respect to a child shall be provided upon request a copy of the current scholastic records of the child by the school district or college attended by the child. If the court gets involved to determine custody, Arkansas judges can order home studies of each parent’s home in an effort to determine which is the better environment for the children. If the court views the request as frivolous, or as an attempt to color the court’s opinion of the other parent through false accusations, the tactic might backfire. Law for Families provides all the legal information that you and your family need. Arkansas courts don’t automatically presume either parent to be the best parent based on gender. Please remember, the further any unresolved child custody case travels down the road of immaturity, anger, and resentment; the longer it takes to travel back to a road of maturity and mutual respect. The court can order grandparent visitation if it’s in the child’s best interests. For those couples who will be dealing with child custody in Arkansas, they will need to be fluent in the child custody laws for that state. No need to navigate the legal waters alone, Law for Families is here to help! Take yourself out of the situation personally by setting your emotions aside. 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