Arizona's Alec and Lydia Act, signed June 22 2026, fundamentally changes how domestic violence is defined and handled in custody cases, expanding the definition to include coercive control and creating a mandatory presumption against awarding custody to a parent found to have committed domestic violence. Former Pima County Judge Doug Taylor of Taylor Law Group in Tucson explains the law's sweeping implications for families across Southern Arizona, including how it applies to existing custody orders. - The Alec and Lydia Act took effect immediately upon signing due to an emergency clause and was named for two children killed in 2024 despite documented domestic violence in their family's active court case. - For the first time, Arizona law formally recognizes coercive control as a form of domestic violence in custody proceedings, expanding far beyond ...