The Right of First Refusal in Arizona appears in some parenting plans agreed upon by the parents or ordered by the court.

The Right of First Refusal clause simply defines the rights of each parent when the other parent is not personally available to care for the parties children during his or her court-ordered parenting time.

You are free to set any parameters regarding the Right of First Refusal in your Arizona parenting plan.

You can include a provision that if a parent cannot personally care for the children for, let’s say, four hours or more triggers the other parent’s right to care for the children until the other parent is available to care for them.

Some parents choose to say that if either parent cannot care for the children overnight, that the other parent has the First Right of Refusal to care for the children.

The First Right of Refusal clause in Arizona has its benefits, but it also has its drawbacks.

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Excessive Uncertainty or Exchanges of the Children

An occasional exercise of the First Right of Refusal will not cause much in the way of disruption to the children’s schedules.

However, frequent exercise of the Right of First Refusal may lead to excessive exchanges that cause the children confusion and instability about their daily schedule and which parent will be caring for them.

Many experts believe that too many exchanges and uncertainty are not beneficial to the children. Some children will begin exhibiting stress as a reaction to the instability in their daily lives.

There have been cases where the children were so negatively affected by the uncertainty in their daily schedule that they had to be enrolled in counseling services.

Your Future and the Right of First Refusal

Divorce and other family law cases result in a drastic change in your life and the lives of your children. Imagine what changes will occur in the future?

Many people do not think about or consider the changes they will experience in their life in the future when going through a divorce and negotiating a parenting plan containing a provision for the First Right of Refusal in an Arizona parenting plan.

There is a good likelihood you will be remarried in the future. What happens when you cannot take care of the children, but your spouse can. If you have the First Right of Refusal clause in your parenting plan, your spouse will not be able to substitute in as your children’s caregiver. You will need to go back to court to attempt to modify or remove the First Right of Refusal in your parenting plan.

If you have questions about right of first refusal in an Arizona divorce case, you should seriously consider contacting the attorneys at Hildebrand Law, PC. Our Arizona child custody and family law attorneys have over 100 years of combined experience successfully representing clients in child custody and family law cases.

Our family law firm has earned numerous awards such as US News and World Reports Best Arizona Family Law Firm, US News and World Report Best Divorce Attorneys, “Best of the Valley” by Arizona Foothills readers, and “Best Arizona Divorce Law Firms” by North Scottsdale Magazine.

Call us today at (480)305-8300 or reach out to us through our appointment scheduling form to schedule your personalized consultation and turn your Arizona child custody or family law case around today.

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Right of First Refusal in Arizona | Hildebrand Law, PC

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Excessive Uncertainty or Exchanges of the Children

Your Future and the Right of First Refusal

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