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Arizona Family Law Resources

Read through our Arizona divorce and child custody articles to gain a better understanding of the road ahead. Educating yourself about the divorce process in Arizona will improve your ability to communicate with your divorce lawyer, which goes a long way toward helping you reach your goals in Arizona family court.

Arizona Divorce Process

In Arizona, you can get a contested or uncontested divorce. When you can agree on a resolution, the divorce is uncontested. You must still file the requisite paperwork including signed agreements to be signed by a Judge to get a final order and be divorced. This process is quicker than a contested divorce.

If the divorce or any part of the divorce is contested, you must file a petition for dissolution of marriage and serve your spouse, who then has 20 days in state or 30 days out of state to file a Response to the Petition of Dissolution of Marriage.

Additional documents required include a child support order, a legal decision-making order, a parenting plan and a financial affidavit for both parties. Both parties must also provide discovery – documents showing debts, liabilities, and the value of all assets, including real and personal property.

The main factors of a divorce include:

Related Article: What to Know When Filing for Divorce

Arizona Residency Requirements

Arizona has residency requirements that you must meet before you can file for divorce. At least one of the spouses must live in the state or be stationed in Arizona for at least 90 days before you can file, and the marriage must be irretrievably broken. If there are children involved, in order for Arizona to have jurisdiction and be considered their “home State,” the children must reside in the state for at least 6 months.

Related Article: What Is the Residency Requirement for Filing For Divorce?

Grounds for Divorce in Arizona

Arizona is a no-fault divorce state, so you only have to allege irreconcilable differences and testify that you believe you cannot make the marriage work. The other party does not have to agree. However, if you have a covenant marriage, you must allege grounds. These grounds may include:

  • Infidelity
  • Felony-committed a serious crime and has been sentenced to prison
  • Abandonment or left marital home for over a year
  • Lived separate and apart for over 2 years
  • Spouse was granted a legal separation by the Court and have not gotten back together in a year
  • Drug or alcohol abuse
  • Mental health issues
  • Child abuse
  • Domestic violence

Related Article: The No-Fault/Fault-Based Divorce Debate

Arizona Property Division Process

Arizona is a community property state, which means the court divides marital assets equally or equitably. Marital assets are those that the parties acquired during the marriage through the date of service for filing for a Dissolution of Marriage. However, while the court will try to divide assets equally, the statutes do not require an exactly equal division, but it must be fair and, in most cases, will be nearly equal or equitable in value.

Separate Property

You might wonder, “What is separate property?”

In Arizona, separate property includes:

  • Any property a spouse owned prior to the marriage
  • Gifts to one party
  • Property acquired by inheritance or descent
  • Property covered by a valid prenuptial agreement
  • Property covered by a valid postnuptial agreement
  • Property acquired after the date of service for the Dissolution of Marriage

However, if a spouse commingles separate property with community property, that property may become marital property. For example, if one spouse owns a house and adds the other spouse to the title, this separate property will be considered a gift to the community and will become a marital asset. A spouse merely moving into the house and contributing to the financial upkeep and maintenance of the house does not convert the property from separate to community but will allow for the other spouse to claim an equitable lien on the house.

Retirement accounts can be considered both community property and separate property. The process in which we can determine how much of an account is community versus separate is done through a qualified domestic relations order or a QDRO.

Businesses can also become marital property, usually because funds that are earned during the marriage are used for the business as well as the growth of the business during the marriage.

One other exception to the equal division of property is if one spouse wastes assets. For example, if a spouse spends $50,000 in marital funds on gambling or drugs, the court may reduce that spouse’s share of assets by $25,000, which would be the non-wasting spouses share of the funds.

Arizona Child Custody Laws

If the parents can’t come to an agreement on parenting time (or they do, but it’s not in the best interests of the children), the court will make that decision for the parents. In making its decision, the court considers several factors, including:

  • The relationship between the child and each parent
  • How the child interacts with the parents, siblings, and others who might affect the child’s best interests
  • The child’s adjustment to their home, school, and community
  • The child’s wishes, if the child is of suitable age and maturity to make decisions about parenting time
  • The mental and physical health of both parents and the child(ren)
  • Which parent is more likely to allow frequent and meaningful contact, whether by parenting time, phone calls, emails, video calls and other forms of communication
  • Whether a parent intentionally misled the court regarding parenting time decisions and preferences and that time caused unnecessary delays or increased litigation costs
  • Child abuse or domestic violence by the parents
  • The nature and extent of coercion or duress used by a parent regarding parenting time
  • Convictions of child abuse or neglect
  • False reporting of child abuse or neglect

Related Article: Arizona Child Custody FAQs

Arizona Child Support

The statutes require child support to be calculated based on each party’s income. They provide a table of the base amount it costs for a child per month. Thus, if a party has two children, and their combined income is $5,000, the joint child support obligation is $1,332. To determine each parent’s share, divide his or her income by $5,000. For example, if one spouse makes $3,000 and the other makes $2,000, the spouse making $3,000 pays 60 percent of $1,332, and the other spouse contributes 40 percent of that amount.

The minimum child support for the non-custodial parent is 25% of his or her income. Arizona also increases child support for children over 12 years of age by a certain percentage.

Additionally, any extras, such as child care, insurance premiums and uncovered medical expenses and prescriptions, are divided between the parents based on their income percentages. For example, if the parties need after-school care for nine months and the cost is $250 per month for two children, multiply 250 by 9, then divide the total by 12 to add to the monthly child support.

If one parent pays the full amount of an expense, for example, health insurance premiums, to a third party, the income based percentage of that amount is added to the other other parent’s obligation and subtracted from the paying spouse’s obligation.

Judges will use a child support worksheet that incorporates the child support guidelines to calculate monthly child support. Judges will not deviate from the child support worksheet without a justifiable reason that an upward or downward deviation is in the best interests of the children.

Related Article: What Does Child Support Actually Cover?

Arizona Spousal Support

Arizona offers two types of spousal maintenance:

  1. Temporary support during the pendency of the divorce
  2. Post-dissolution spousal maintenance

Both forms of spousal maintenance are temporary. While the court has discretion over spousal maintenance, it does have guidelines to follow. It must determine if the requesting spouse is eligible to receive support.

Eligibility requirements:

  • Lacks sufficient property, including property apportioned to a spouse during a divorce
  • Lacks earning ability
  • The age of the minor children
  • Contributions to the other spouse’s education and ability to earn income or reduction of earning ability to the requesting spouse
  • Age of the spouses
  • The duration of the marriage

The court then decides on a reasonable amount for a specific length of time – usually enough time for the requesting spouse to become financially independent or sufficiently rehabilitated to financially support themselves.

Related Article: Will I Have To Pay Alimony?

Why Work With Cordell & Cordell

Property division, child support, time-sharing, and spousal maintenance can be complicated factors in a divorce. Even if you and your spouse agree on these factors, you should enlist the guidance of an experienced Arizona divorce attorney to prevent the violation of your rights and help avoid future issues or litigation.

Client Experience

“Very attentive to listening to me and taking my case seriously, and that meant a lot to me.” — Frank F.

“[My lawyer] was always in my corner, and his approach was intelligent.” — Timothy D.

Get The Support You Need For You & Your Family

Contact Cordell & Cordell for a consultation if you have been served with a dissolution of marriage or if you are planning on filing for divorce. Our Arizona divorce lawyers are ready to help you.

Joseph E. Cordell, founder of Cordell & Cordell family law offices

Written by Joseph E. Cordell

Co-Founder, Principal Partner
Joseph E. Cordell, founder of Cordell & Cordell family law offices

Joseph E. Cordell is the Principal Partner at Cordell and Cordell, P.C., which he founded in 1990 with his wife, Yvonne. Over the past 25 years, the firm has grown to include more than 100 offices in 30 states, as well as internationally in the United Kingdom. Mr. Cordell is licensed to practice in the states of Illinois and Missouri and received his LL.M. from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Joseph E. Cordell was named one of the Top 10 Best Family Law Attorneys for Client Satisfaction in Missouri.

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