Tuscon Arizona Family Law Blog

Being a parent is a difficult job, and single parents may struggle more than parents who have the help of a spouse, domestic partner or other family members around to help. For a single parent, maintaining employment may be a necessity to provide for one's children. Unfortunately, choosing work over the safety of a child can result in loss of child custody. 

Recently, an Arizona mother with two young twin boys was arrested. The trouble began when a neighbor reported that the boys, age 3, seemed unattended as they reached through a broken window to toss toys into the yard. When police arrived, they found that the children were indeed alone and wearing dirty diapers. 

Arizona families come in all shapes and sizes. Nationally, it is becoming more common for grandparents to file for child custody. There is a wide variety of reasons a grandparent may want to take such action on behalf of a grandchild, but if the biological parents are not up to the task, a grandparent might just save the day. 

Grandparents that pursue child custody want to make sure the grandchildren they love are well cared for and have access to a safe home, proper medical care, adequate nutrition and other factors that help a child grow up healthy and happy. If a biological parent has an issue that prevents the individual from raising a child, such as addiction, mental health issues or lack of a stable home environment, a child may end up in foster care or another form of state custody. To prevent this, grandparents and/or other relatives may step up and assume the task of raising the children. 

According to statistics provided by the U.S. Department of Defense, the divorce rate for military families has steadily increased since 2001. In contrast, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that the civilian divorce rate has shown a decline over recent years. In Arizona and elsewhere, stresses related to service duties can exert additional strain on a marriage and can play a central role in the decision to seek a military divorce.

In an effort to help military spouses reconnect after a deployment or active duty, several programs have been developed. These programs are intended to help spouses and their children find ways to interact outside of the normal stresses of everyday routines. One program involves families spending time in a cabin without distractions such as television to help facilitate communication and family togetherness. 

Money is often an area of concern for many Arizona couples. When it comes to the decision to divorce, it can become even more of a concern. As expenses increase, income usually remains the same. In order to avoid problems, one will want to take specific steps to protect his or her credit.

One of the first things the individual will want to do is to obtain a copy of his or her credit report. The credit report will list all outstanding loans that are tied to the individual. This will include mortgages, car loans, bank notes and credit cards and will allow the individual to see exactly what is owed.