Terms Used In Arizona Laws > Title 25 > Chapter 8 > Article 2 - Jurisdiction

• Abandoned: means left without provision for reasonable and necessary care or supervision. See Arizona Laws 25-1002
• Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Commencement: means the filing of the first pleading in a proceeding. See Arizona Laws 25-1002
• Court: means an entity authorized under the law of a state to establish, enforce or modify a child custody determination. See Arizona Laws 25-1002
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Home state: means :

  (a) The state in which a child lived with a parent or a person acting as a parent for at least six consecutive months immediately before the commencement of a child custody proceeding, including any period during which that person is temporarily absent from that state. See Arizona Laws 25-1002

• including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Initial determination: means the first child custody determination concerning a particular child. See Arizona Laws 25-1002
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Modification: means a child custody determination that changes, replaces, supersedes or is otherwise made after a previous determination concerning the same child, whether or not it is made by the court that made the previous determination. See Arizona Laws 25-1002
• Oath: includes an affirmation or declaration. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Person: means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, government, governmental subdivision, agency or instrumentality, or public corporation or any other legal or commercial entity. See Arizona Laws 25-1002
• Person acting as a parent: means a person, other than a parent, who meets both of the following requirements:

  (a) Has physical custody of the child or has had physical custody for a period of six consecutive months, including any temporary absence, within one year immediately before the commencement of a child custody proceeding. See Arizona Laws 25-1002

• Physical custody: means the physical care and supervision of a child. See Arizona Laws 25-1002
• State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Arizona Laws 25-1002
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Visitation: includes parenting time as defined in section 25-401. See Arizona Laws 25-1002