Divorce and Legal Separation
Dissolution of Marriage in Arizona
When people get married, they begin the process of linking their lives together in a way that is intended to be permanent, so perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that the process of disentangling the links can be a difficult one.
While there are many important considerations when a marriage ends, the Arizona family courts are concerned primarily with five issues: 1) Dividing assets, 2) Dividing debts, 3) Determining how important decisions will be made for children, 4) Making a plan for parents to have contact with children, and 5) Determining ongoing support for a child or former spouse. In general, there are two kinds of orders that a person can ask an Arizona family court to make to unwind a marital partnership: a divorce (more formally called a "dissolution of marriage") and a legal separation. The court will consider the same five issues (as they may apply; not all cases involve children or debts, for example) in both situations; the difference is that after a divorce is final, the parties are legally returned to the status of single people, while after a legal separation, the parties remain legally married but the other strands that were binding them together such as common assets, joint obligations, and mutual children have been separated. In rare cases, the court can also grant an annulment of a marriage, which means that legally speaking, the parties were never really married at all.
While each case is unique, divorce cases in Arizona all start in the same way: a petition. When filing a petition, the first question that needs to be answered is "which court can I file a divorce petition in?" In Arizona, a person may ask the family court to handle their divorce case if at least one of the spouses has lived in Arizona for at least 90 days. However, in cases that involve minor children, it is also important to consider an interstate law called the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act which says that under most circumstances, only the "home state" of a child can make orders about the child. If no court has ever made orders about a child before, the "home state" is usually the state where the child has lived for at least the last 6 months, or if the child is less than 6 months old, the state where they have lived for most of that time. On the other hand, if a court in a state other than Arizona has made orders about a child in the past, Arizona's court may not have the authority to handle the parts of the case that have to do with the child. Jurisdiction can be a complex question to answer, so it's a good idea to get advice from a qualified attorney about the specific facts of your case, but you can read more about the general rules here.
If Arizona has jurisdiction over the case, the initial petition needs to be filed in Superior Court in the county where at least one of the parties lives. In that initial petition, the person who wants the family court to take some action is called the "Petitioner, " and it is the Petitioner's job to explain at least in basic terms the people, finances, and needs involved in the case and propose a plan for what the court should do about it. The Petitioner then has to formally deliver a copy of their petition to the other party, called the "Respondent." This is called "service of process" or sometimes just "service." The requirements are somewhat technical so legal help from an Arizona family lawyer is a good idea but in general, the documents either have to be delivered by a sheriff's deputy, a private process server, or the Respondent has to sign an additional form called an "Acceptance of Service" with a notary. Once the Respondent has been served, it is their turn to file a response. If they disagree with anything the Petitioner put into the initial petition, the Respondent needs to explain their disagreement in the response within a specific amount of time (usually 20 days, or 30 if the respondent is served outside the state).
What happens next varies somewhat from case to case, but in general, the court will set an initial hearing to find out which issues the parties have been able to reach agreements about and which they haven't. The judge will use that information to suggest additional tools and procedures that may be helpful in reaching an agreement (such as mediation), or that would help the judge make a decision about disputed issues (like court appointed experts). The judge will also set a date for a trial and set deadlines for pre-trial procedures like exchanging information. If a person does not comply with these rules on time and in the correct way, it may permanently damage their case so getting advice from a qualified Arizona family law attorney can make a big difference. If the parties are able to agree on all of the issues in their case before the trial date, they can write out their agreements in a "Consent Decree" which needs to be approved by the judge. These documents can become official court orders so it's a good idea to get legal advice from an Arizona family law attorney before signing.
No matter what stage your case is at, it's always helpful to have guidance. At our firm, your guide is a compassionate team of expert legal professionals who are familiar with the system and can offer the benefit of their experience about what approaches have worked well in the past. If you are facing a divorce, consider making an appointment for a free consultation at Sheffield Law Office to learn more about how we can help.
