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Criminal charges and Arizona family court collide more often than most parents realize, and one guilty plea can quietly reshape a custody case. Billie Tarascio sits down with criminal defense attorney Ryan Cummings to break down how DUIs, domestic violence charges, and even a teenager's bad decision online can follow an Arizona family through both courtrooms at once.

Ryan Cummings is the founding partner and lead attorney at R&R Law Group, where he focuses exclusively on criminal defense across Arizona. Raised by a 27-year detective, he brings a rare view from both sides of the badge and a mission built on giving clients safety, clarity, and hope through the hardest moments of their lives.

What you'll learn:

- Why pleading guilty to domestic violence can cost you decision-making over your kids

- How the domestic violence "tag" gets added to charges like disorderly conduct or assault

- Why a strangulation charge can whittle down to non-DV disorderly conduct, and what that means for custody

- How pending criminal charges collide with family court testimony and the Fifth Amendment

- Why crime in Arizona runs in seasonal waves tied to heat, holidays, and big events

- How marijuana, alcohol, and drug offenses differ in charges and consequences

- What the new wave of e-bike and Lime scooter citations means for Arizona kids

- Why Snapchat and "deleted" posts keep resurfacing in criminal cases

- How AI-generated nude images of classmates can become CSAM charges

- What Arizona's Romeo and Juliet laws do and don't protect

- How the Maricopa County Attorney decides whether to press charges

- The single best conversation to have with your teenager tonight

Chapters

00:26 Meet Ryan Cummings

03:04 Balancing Competing Interests in Law

04:29 Why Crime Runs in Seasonal Waves

08:58 Domestic Violence and the DV Tag

11:13 Guilty Pleas, Diversion, and Custody

12:14 Criminal Charges Meet Family Court Testimony

14:02 E-Bikes, Scooters, and Teen Safety

20:02 How the County Decides to Press Charges

25:26 What to Tell Your Teenager

29:09 Nudes, AI Images, and CSAM Risk

33:31 Where to Find Ryan

If you're facing a family law matter in Arizona, Modern Law is here to help. Call 480-649-2905 or visit mymodernlaw.com.

Connect with Ryan Cummings:

- Website: rrlawaz.com

- Email: [email protected]

- Phone: 480-400-1355

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Most divorce attorneys study the law. Richard Nedlin lived it. The Arizona family law attorney joins Billie Tarascio to talk about how his own custody battle, his years as a prosecutor, and an unconventional path through racing and criminal justice shape the way he handles complex custody and divorce cases today. They also dig into how AI is changing the practice of family law and what it means for clients.

Richard Nedlin is a family law attorney at Modern Law who began his legal career as a prosecutor in Colorado before moving to Arizona. He brings rare empathy to divorce and custody work because he has been through it himself, and he handles some of the toughest cases involving children, domestic violence, and high-conflict legal decision-making.

What you will learn:

- How personal experience builds empathy a casebook never could

- Why family law is about reducing harm, not winning

- How perspective keeps clients focused on outcomes instead of spiraling

- Why separating logic from emotion protects clients

- How AI is changing the way family law gets practiced

- What makes complex custody and legal decision-making cases different

- How judges are weighing mental health and safety in parenting time

- Why best interest rulings vary more by judge than by county

- How an attorney carries trauma without taking it home

- Why there is real hope and a future after a hard divorce

Chapters:

 00:00 The Unconventional Journey of Richard Nedlin

 03:20 Life Experience and Empathy in Family Law

 06:05 Navigating Divorce: Logic vs. Emotion

 08:22 The Role of Technology in Modern Law

 11:07 Understanding Complex Custody Cases

 13:59 Judicial Discretion in Family Law

 16:41 Coping with Trauma in Family Law Practice

 19:22 Finding Hope After Divorce

If you are facing divorce or a custody dispute in Arizona, Modern Law is here to help. Call 480-649-2905 or visit mymodernlaw.com.

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Arizona's family law just changed dramatically. 

In this roundtable, Modern Law's Richard Nedlin and Gina Godbehere — both former prosecutors — break down the Alec & Lydia Act (HB 2995) and what it means for parents navigating domestic violence allegations, custody, and legal decision-making in family court.

We cover the new burden-shifting standards, what "coercive control" really means, and how courts will handle presumptions against parenting time. If you have a case touching on this new law, don't navigate it alone.

Richard and Gina are taking consultations now  - Book below, visit www.mymodernlaw.com or call us at Call 480-649-2905 

https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule/c941efa0/?categories%5B%5D=Modern%20Law%25%E2%80%A6 

#AlecAndLydiaAct #ArizonaFamilyLaw #DomesticViolenceAwareness #ChildCustody #ModernLaw

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Arizona just passed the biggest family law change in two decades. The Alec and Lydia Act reshapes how family court handles domestic violence, coercive control, and child custody, requiring judges to document specific findings before granting parenting time. Billie Tarascio sits down with Hope Hooton, the child safety advocate behind the law, to talk about what failed, what changed, and what it means for Arizona families facing abuse.

Hope Hooton is a child safety advocate, author, and podcast host, and the founder of The Alec and Lydia Act. In May 2024, her two children, Alec and Lydia, were murdered by their father during court-ordered parenting time, after a family court granted 50/50 unsupervised custody despite documented lethality risk markers. She turned that loss into landmark legislation now making Arizona one of a small number of states to recognize coercive control in custody decisions.

What you will learn:

- How Arizona family court granted unsupervised custody despite an order of protection

- Why judges are now required to write specific findings in temporary orders

- What coercive control is and why it qualifies as a lethality risk

- How domestic violence against a partner signals danger to children

- The lethality indicators that family courts often overlook

- Why Arizona leads the country in family court filicide cases

- How the Alec and Lydia Act differs from Cadence Law

- What changed in the legislation after concerns about false allegations

- Why mental health did not make it into the final bill

- How child safety first laws are reducing harm in other states

- What this law means for victims afraid to leave abusive relationships

Chapters:

 00:00 Introduction to Hope Hooton and Legislative Changes

 03:07 Hope's Personal Experience with Family Court

 05:50 The Impact of Court Decisions on Children

 08:39 The Tragic Outcome and Legislative Response

 11:05 Creating the Alec and Lydia Act

 13:54 Differences Between Alec and Lydia Act and Cadence Law

 16:39 Challenges and Cultural Shifts in Family Court

 19:33 Lethality Risks and Child Safety

 22:13 Future Legislative Goals and Community Support

Connect with Hope Hooton:

Email: [email protected]

Socials: Hope In The Pain

Podcast: Voices Against Filicide

Book: There's Still Hope: A Journey of Adversity, Tragedy, and Unshakable Faith (available on Amazon in ebook, softcover, and Audible)

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Gilbert, Arizona has a reputation problem, and residents know it. From skyrocketing water bills to transparency failures to the lingering shadow of the Gilbert Goons scandal, trust between the town council and the people it represents has broken down. This July, Gilbert voters have a chance to change that, and one candidate is making accountability the centerpiece of her campaign.

Beth Goulden is a lifelong Gilbert resident and Arizona native who spent 25 years in public safety, building her career at the Maricopa County Adult Probation Department supervising serious sex offense cases and eventually managing thousands of cases across the East Valley. After retiring, she founded BHG Consulting Group and went on to co-spearhead one of the most significant criminal justice bills in recent Arizona history, bringing the state's first Sex Offender Management Board into existence. She now chairs that board and is running for Gilbert Town Council this July.

What you will learn in this episode:

• Why Beth says Gilbert feels heavy right now, and what she believes is driving the disconnect between residents and their elected officials
• How the Gilbert Goons scandal exposed a pattern of elected officials dismissing legitimate public concern rather than owning their decisions
• Why she is challenging three incumbent council members who she believes are part of what broke Gilbert's culture of transparency
• What a ballooning town budget with infrastructure gaps says about misplaced priorities at the council level
• Why Gilbert residents who show up angry at council meetings are not the problem and how simply being heard could change the dynamic
• How the Colorado River crisis and rising water costs land directly on local government, and what a town council can actually do about it
• Why Gilbert's image has shifted from a source of pride to a punchline, and what restoring it would take
• How independents in Arizona must request a partisan ballot to participate in the July 21st primary, including Gilbert Town Council races
• Why younger people and working parents are structurally locked out of local office, and what that costs communities over time
• What red flags residents should watch for when council members appear to act as victims of their own votes
• How to get involved, request a yard sign, or host a meet-and-greet with Beth before the July election

Connect with Beth Goulden: 

Website: bethgoulden.com 

Instagram: @bethgouldenforgilbert | @bethgoulden

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The SRP election caught most Arizonans completely off guard, and then it became one of the most-watched utility board races in state history. What started as a sleepy, low-turnout local election turned into a four-times-higher-than-normal turnout event the moment Turning Point USA put its logo on candidate signs, and the fallout is still rippling through Arizona energy policy, water politics, and the 2026 election cycle.

Chuck Coughlin is the CEO and President of HighGround Inc., Arizona's longest continuously operating public affairs firm. A five-time winner of Arizona's Best Political Operative award from the Arizona Capital Times, Chuck has run gubernatorial and congressional campaigns, worked alongside Senator John McCain, and has been a strategist and lobbyist for clients including the City of Phoenix, Maricopa County, and the Salt River Project itself. If anyone can break down what actually happened and what it means, it is him.

What you will learn in this episode:

• Why most Arizonans had never heard of an SRP election before this year, and why that changed overnight
• How SRP's voting structure works, including the acreage-based system that traces back to 1903 federal law
• Why SRP territory residents have essentially no water insecurity, and how electricity revenue subsidizes that water supply
• What actually separated the two slates, including the real policy debate over natural gas as a peak-power resource
• How Turning Point's logo on candidate signs triggered a partisan wave in a nonpartisan election and produced historic turnout
• Why the new board majority could create friction with SRP management and what that means for rate stability
• How Arizona utilities are expected to double their generating capacity in the next decade to meet data center demand
• Why SRP, APS, and Tucson Electric are all requiring data centers to sign base-load contracts so ratepayers are not on the hook
• The key structural difference between SRP as a not-for-profit federal franchise and APS as a for-profit investor-owned utility regulated by the Arizona Corporation Commission
• What Attorney General Kris Mayes taking on APS over rate increases could mean for Arizona consumers
• What the Project Blue data center fight in Tucson reveals about how communities can push back and win
• Why Chuck believes open primaries are the only structural fix for a political system he sees as built to oppose rather than govern

Connect with Chuck Coughlin:

Email: [email protected] 

Facebook: facebook.com/AZHighGround 

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/azhighground 

Instagram: instagram.com/azhighground

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Arizona families navigating divorce or custody disputes often face an issue no one talks about: what happens when a spouse, parent, or loved one is in a mental health crisis and refusing treatment. Under Arizona Title 36, there is a legal process that allows family members to petition for a court-ordered mental health evaluation, and in some cases, court-ordered treatment. Knowing how this process works, when it applies, and how it intersects with family law can be critical for parents trying to protect their children.

Modern Law attorney Emily Palomino brings a perspective most family law attorneys do not have. Before joining Modern Law, Emily served as a mental health defense attorney in Arizona, representing patients who had been detained under Title 36 petitions at facilities including Palo Verde and Banner South. She worked inside the court-ordered evaluation and treatment system every day, and she knows exactly how it works from both sides.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome and Meet Emily Palomino

00:49 Emily's Path from Disney World to Law School

03:43 What Is a Mental Health Defense Attorney in Arizona

05:27 How to File a Title 36 Petition for a Loved One

06:34 The Ex Parte Nature of the Evaluation Process

08:19 Medical Privacy and What the Petitioner Gets Access To

09:50 When Title 36 Gets Weaponized in Family Court

11:07 The Right to Legal Representation in Mental Health Cases

18:39 When Court-Ordered Treatment Actually Works

19:51 Title 36 and Minors: What Age Does This Apply

20:46 Recommended Arizona Treatment Centers

21:36 Substance Abuse and the Mental Health System

22:35 What Happens If You Violate Court-Ordered Treatment

23:24 Emily Joins Modern Law: What She Is Looking Forward To

If you or someone you love is facing a mental health crisis that is affecting a family law case in Arizona, the attorneys at Modern Law can help you understand your options. Call 480-649-2905 or visit mymodernlaw.com to schedule a consultation with our team.

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If you are a solo or small firm attorney trying to figure out where AI fits in your practice, this episode of LawLabs (a special series from the Modern Arizona Podcast) is your starting point. Carolyn Elefant breaks down exactly how to begin with AI tools, why most lawyers are evaluating them in the wrong order, and what the real risks look like when AI gets citations wrong. She also shares an honest prediction of where the profession is headed and why firms that are not adopting now will find themselves in a very difficult position within the year.

Carolyn Elefant is the founder of the Law Offices of Carolyn Elefant and the creator of MyShingle.com, the longest-running blog dedicated to solo and small firm practice. A Cornell grad who started her firm in 1993, she has spent over two decades consulting, writing, and advocating for independent lawyers and is currently traveling the country speaking to attorneys about AI and its real-world impact on their practices.

Topics discussed:

• Where lawyers should actually start with AI tools and what to avoid first
• Why you need to learn general AI tools before legal-specific ones
• How to protect yourself from hallucinated and mischaracterized case citations
• What the legal profession looks like in one year and in five
• Why firms that are not using AI are running out of time to catch up

Find Carolyn: MyShingle.com

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In this episode of the Modern Arizona Podcast, attorney Billie Tarascio sits down with Lisa Sander, nurse, life coach, and podcast host, to talk about what really happens when a marriage ends in midlife. Lisa shares her own story of leaving a 23-year marriage, how her faith carried her through, and why divorce doesn't have to mean failure. From gender dynamics and loneliness to downsizing and finding yourself again after 50, this conversation is honest, warm, and packed with hard-won perspective.

Lisa Sander is a Registered Nurse of 26 years and the CEO of Our Healer, Our Protector LLC, where she coaches women between 40 and 55 who feel stuck and are ready to figure out what comes next. Alongside her partner Ryan, a retired Lieutenant Colonel, she co-hosts Our Healer, Our Protector, a Christian podcast on divorce and healthy relationships. Lisa is based in Minnesota and works with clients nationwide. 

What we cover in this episode:

• How faith and divorce can coexist and why God's forgiveness matters more than the stigma
• The midlife dip in happiness and why so many people reassess their marriages between 40 and 55
• What it really means when one partner grows and the other doesn't
• Why women are taking on the masculine role in relationships and burning out because of it
• The loneliness epidemic and how to actually build community after divorce
• Enabling patterns in marriage and how to break them early
• Why your five love languages probably change every few years
• How downsizing your life can open up more freedom than you expected
• Finding miracles in everyday moments and why that mindset shift changes everything

Connect with Lisa:

You can book a free 30-minute session at LisaSander.com. and check out https://ourhealerourprotector.com/ for help today! 

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If you or someone you know is facing divorce and has ties to both Arizona and Washington, this episode could be one of the most important conversations you watch. Our host Billie Tarascio and Seattle-based family law attorney Michelle Dellino sit down to break down the critical legal differences between divorcing in Arizona versus Washington, including how property is divided, how spousal maintenance is calculated, how custody is handled, and why the state you choose to file in could dramatically change your financial future.

Michelle Dellino is the founder and owner of Dellino Family Law Group, a 16-attorney firm based in Seattle, Washington. Since starting her practice in 2013 as a solo attorney, Michelle has grown one of the most respected family law firms in the Pacific Northwest, serving clients across all of Washington State. Known for her approachable and strategic style, Michelle handles everything from high-conflict litigation to complex financial divorces involving tech industry compensation, restricted stock units, and long-term marriages.

In this episode, we cover:

➡ Why "community property" means something very different in Arizona vs. Washington

➡ How business ownership is treated in divorce in both states

➡ Spousal maintenance: Washington's flexible approach vs. Arizona's new calculator

➡ How the date of separation can make or break your case in Washington

➡ Child support table changes in Washington and what it means for high earners

➡ Custody trends is 50/50 the default in both states?

➡ How children's voices are (and aren't) heard in custody decisions

➡ Guardian ad litems, parenting evaluators, and custody evaluation differences

➡ How hard it is to modify a parenting plan in each state

➡ The growing "anti-family court corruption" movement and what attorneys really think

Learn more about Michelle Dellino and Dellino Family Law Group:

https://dellinolaw.com/