Frequently Asked Questions

You may represent yourself in a family law matter, especially if you only require court directives or a declaration ordering the other party to comply. However, the law applicable in Arizona allows you to represent yourself even when both parties are to make oral submissions. From the liberties afforded in the law, you may therefore opt to represent yourself.

Despite this, the judge will have the same expectations of fulfillment as those imposed on attorneys acting on behalf of their clients. Thus, choosing to represent yourself is not an excuse for filing your matter late or failing to represent your position in the best way. You can avoid facing some detrimental repercussions by working with a family law attorney who will guide you throughout the different processes.

Like any other branches of law, family law court proceedings are governed by some civil procedure rules and court conduct from common practice. For example, you will have to file your petition as directed by the court to avoid making late presentations beyond the deadline. Similarly, you will need to pay the necessary court fees before the court clerk can forward your file to the judge’s chamber to schedule a hearing date.

Also, some court proceedings may require that both parties be present, while others do not necessarily impose this rule. Nevertheless,  the judge expects you to serve documents on the other party to let them know of a pending lawsuit. This way, the party will be ready for potential court orders to prepare their finances for compliance or file counterclaims.

Based on the name, family law deals with civil matters affecting the family unit. This means that any issues you or your spouse may have can be presented through a family lawyer. The most common legal issues that family law courts deal with include divorce, separation, division of matrimonial property, and child support.

You should also note that the presiding judge will expect you to officially file documents in court before your issue is heard. Therefore, we recommend consulting a family lawyer who can take you through the different requirements you must fulfill under the various claims you may raise. Further, it helps to remember that since family law is a civil law practice area, matters like domestic violence may not be heard in court. Nevertheless, you may present facts on the violence to justify specific applications like an order for child custody.

The court operates based on the filing fees paid by parties, so you want to prepare to cater for the expenses. The filing costs will also vary depending on the proceedings you intend to institute. For example, you will pay $300 to $350 for a divorce petition in Phoenix and about $270 if you are the respondent filing counterclaim or defense documents.

Different court proceedings require varying drafting and filing processes as parties seek unrelated court orders. Therefore, the processes depend on the documents you need to present in court. For example, if you want to file a divorce petition, you do not necessarily need to file documentary evidence with the court, as Arizona is a no-fault state.

However, in child custody proceedings, you may need to justify your claims against your ex-spouse to secure the custody. If he/she is a past convict who may expose your children to child abuse, you can present his/her past criminal record to support your claims.

Nonetheless, the general drafting process must involve reference to the applicable law, as well as the court orders you seek against your spouse. Most attorneys require only a few days to present the final document ready for filing.

Nothing restricts you from changing your mind about filing for divorce. If you and your partner decide to reconcile and continue living together, you can request your family attorney to cancel or dismiss the court case.

The divorce cancellation process involves assistance from the clerk in the Superior Court, who will receive a request written and filed to the court. Moreover, the judge has to verify that both parties consent to the conciliation before dismissing the divorce case.  As a result, you and your partner must sign the request for case dismissal before submitting it to the clerk.

When you decide to file for divorce, you do not need to prove any faults by your spouse, as Arizona family law operates under the ‘no-fault system. Thus, you have the freedom to institute divorce proceedings even without proof of your spouse cheating on you, abusing, or even deserting you. However, since the law provides for the no-fault system, you may receive a shocking revelation from your spouse without justifiable reasons for the divorce.

Some relationships may lead to both parties’ dissatisfaction, meaning that it is just a matter of time before one of the files for divorce. If you would like to raise complaints against your spouse as well, you can wait for him/her to file the initial divorce petition. After the court initiates proceedings, your family lawyer can draft a counterclaim against the defendant.

The counterclaim serves to present your grievances against the initial petitioner, coupled with claims that you would like granted in your favor. For example, your counterclaim can include prayers for spousal maintenance when the marriage dissolution is concluded.

The starting point for any spouse who wants to leave the institution of marriage is filing a divorce petition in court to officiate the request. If you are working with a family law attorney, he/she will draft the petition for you and organize it for prompt filing. After the documents are ready, you can deposit the court fees with us to enable our team to forward the documents.

Once the judge receives your petition, he/she will approve them and order you to serve them to your spouse so that he/she can understand the impending circumstances. If you and your spouse still live together, you can serve the papers to him/her directly, provided he/she can later confirm receiving the documents.

However, if you are already separated, we recommend having your attorney serve the other party through their attorney. Doing this will officiate the service and provide records of the other party receiving the documents.

The court provides a window of sixty days for your spouse to go through the divorce petition and decide on the most suitable settlement agreements. After the sixty days lapse, you can schedule an appointment to discuss different aspects and draft an agreement on important factors.

In some cases, spouses can reach mutual agreements that allow them to avoid court proceedings or other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. Nevertheless, a judge will still have to sign the agreement documents and issue an official marriage dissolution order.

Conversely, some spouses may disagree on different factors, leading to an extension of the divorce process. Ideally, the court wants parties to reach satisfactory agreements that do not discriminate against each other before the judge can issue an official decree.

Due to the time allowance and extensions provided in court, the entire divorce duration will depend on your willingness to cooperate with your spouse and conclude the formal agreement.

As mentioned above, your partner may suddenly decide to file for divorce, much to your surprise. While you may feel betrayed and hurt by the decision, your partner does not require your consent to proceed with the divorce petition. Nevertheless, you can request mediation or reconciliation avenues to persuade your partner to reconsider the divorce.

Typically, seeking alternative dispute resolution options may be an additional expense, with no assurance of having a successful case outcome. However, you may still pursue the option if you are determined to avoid the divorce proceedings. You should note that if your spouse chooses to file the petition, you cannot seek legal redress against his/her actions.

When the court proceedings on divorce are concluded, the judge will order for the dissolution of marriage and for the parties to start their separate lives. However, the judge should also issue a decree as an official declaration of the dissolution.

Typically, an order for decree includes the issuance of a certificate a few weeks or months after the final court proceedings. Once both parties receive copies of the decree certificate, they will be officially divorced and free to remarry if they want to.

You can choose to forego spousal maintenance if you can genuinely support yourself from your income. This would ease the burden on your former spouse and leave you on good terms with him/her.

The order to pay alimony to the other party should be based on equality and should not be issued to punish your ex-spouse. Ideally, if the receiving party earns more than the party paying alimony, he/she should do without it. However, the law provides for the payments to the party raising the children, despite their access to employment benefits.

The main purpose of spousal maintenance is to protect the benefitting party from destitution, especially if he/she did not have a source of income during the marriage. Since divorce or separation will part the spouses, the deserving party should uphold the previous lifestyle and still have the capacity to support the children, if any.

You can stop paying for spousal maintenance upon the death of your former spouse. Alternatively, if he/she decides to marry another person, the court will waive the orders.

In Arizona, valuables acquired during the marriage are classified as community property, as long as both parties contributed towards the acquisition. Usually, the court will apply an equal analysis to determine the type of contribution by each spouse. Since one of the parties may be a stay-at-home parent while the other is employed, judges now consider non-monetary contributions like support and supervision over the property.

Moreover, the Arizona Revised Statute directs the court to operate under the presumption of equal division, provided both parties contributed. Due to this, you can expect the law to prevail and that you will receive an equitable share based on your contributions during the marriage.

Any property acquired as a gift from one spouse to the other will remain your separate property. Subsequently, it should not fall within the types of property that should be subdivided among spouses because you did not pay any consideration for it. Therefore, you will keep the gift despite any complaints from the other party.

As discussed, any property acquired before marriage remains separate, meaning that it will be under your name during the court proceedings. However, if you gave your former spouse access to the property, leading him/her to invest, improve or change it, he/she may have a valid claim of entitlement to the property.

For example, you may own a house inherited from your parents before marriage. Thus, if your spouse was involved in the renovation, remodeling, or rebuilding of the house, it may fall under the matrimonial property category. However, the party should provide proof of contribution towards the improvement of the house before the judge agrees to include it in the proceedings.

It is important to note that parties can only institute property division proceedings for wealth and items acquired during the marriage. Consequently, an ex-spouse cannot claim ownership of any property that you brought into the marriage.

Nevertheless, you are encouraged to provide proof of ownership before the marriage for an assured order to retain your valuables. Your case may turn into a constant battle between both parties to reclaim the contested property if you don’t have documents or receipts.

In some cases, you will be responsible for your ex-spouse’s debts, especially if they arose from acquiring property together. This means that creditors can rightfully present their demands to you, even when you thought that they would handle the debt alone.

Despite this, subsection 25-318 of the Arizona Revised Statute allows you to recover from the other party if you were forced to cover their debt repayments. You can do this by seeking a court order directing him/her to repay you in monetary form. Alternatively, you may receive property with the equivalent value you spent in the debt repayment.

Your ex-spouse is allowed to pursue new romantic relationships when the children are around as long as they are safe and generally comfortable around the new partner. While you may have feelings of regret or anger towards your ex-spouse’s decision, it is important not to make any rushed decisions that could compromise your child’s visitation privileges.

Despite this, if your child reports any alarming incidents that occurred without your ex-spouse’s knowledge, you can inform him/her about it and see how they handle the issue. If they do not take the necessary action to protect the children against abuse, you can consult an attorney to help you file for a child custody review in court.

If you are anxious about your ex-partner’s dangerous behavior when your children are in his/her custody, you can raise the concerns to the presiding judge through your attorney. He/she will then authorize a request to have the suspected party examined by a professional psychiatrist to determine whether any threats exist.

Normally, the court will refrain from interfering with matters like religion and approaches to raising children. Thus, you and your co-parent are expected to reach an amicable conclusion on the issue. You may be guided by the common values you share and would want to instill in your children. However, if you cannot agree on the best way forward, you may seek further guidance from the court.

No, the court is not inclined to grant custody to the mother of the child. Instead, the judge applies the discussed guidelines before deciding on the best parent to raise the children. He/she will be keen to select the parent most likely to provide emotional support, show up for the child during their milestones and prioritize their well-being.

Since these qualities are expected of both parents, the decision will be in favor of whoever has demonstrated a consistent trend in caring for the children. Overall, the judge should view both the father and mother equally and decide in the children’s best interests.

Handling issues to do with child custody requires the judge to act from an objective view. Subsequently, he/she refers to the Arizona Revised Statute, which lists the attributes that an ideal candidate will have if child custody is in their favor. Under subsection 23-403, the statute lists the elements to consider before granting custody. They are:

• The parent’s willingness to allow the other parent a free interaction with the children during visitation days.
• How the children will cope with moving to a different location, school and environment compared to staying where they were raised.
• What the parents view as the best option with the children’s interests in mind.
• Whether one of the parents used unfair coercion or threats to make the other parent give up child custody.
• The children’s preferences if they are capable of making contributions to the issue.
• How the children interact with both parents.
• Whether either of the parents has persistent medical conditions that would limit the children’s access to care.

Once the judge listens to the submissions made by both parties on the raised issues, he/she can determine who the most suitable parent is. Often, the judge cites reasons for his/her decision to make the court orders as transparent as possible. This way, both parents will be content with the decision to avoid using forceful methods to see the children.

Retaining your rights to interact with your children whenever you want depends on the judge’s orders after the custody hearing. Sometimes, you may be bound by a strict schedule drafted by the judge if you were denied custody because of abuse or neglect.

On the other hand, if you and your ex-spouse reached an amicable agreement after the court granted custody to the other party, he/she can compromise and give you a flexible visiting schedule. However, having the right to see your children whenever you want may be difficult, mostly if it would disrupt their daily schedules. For example, it may be detrimental if the children do not know who will pick them up after school, as they are more exposed to potential harm.

Typically, you may need to be present in court because the judge will require your input on several issues during proceedings. However, if your matter only comes up as a mention, you do not have to show up as your attorney will note the important information and later communicate it to you.

When you decide to consult a family lawyer for any of the discussed family issues, you will go through the initial consultation. During the meeting, the lawyer intends to collect as much information as possible from you. Subsequently, you can expect to answer numerous questions and narrate the various occurrences that left you dissatisfied, prompting you to take legal action.

Typically, the types of questions you ask are related to the misses you want to file in court. For example, if you want to pursue a divorce petition, we will discuss the different reasons that drove you to the decision. Afterward, we will give you a detailed analysis of the Arizona laws governing the practice area you intend to file a petition. Most of our discussions also aim to ensure that you are making a rational decision that is not based on coercion or fear from the other spouse.

Since some cases are not always determined as expected,  we will provide the possible alternatives you can turn to in case the final determination is not in your favor. We will list the various expectations to uphold throughout the litigation process to help you prepare for any kind of outcome.

Your attorney’s primary role is handling all technical legal processes on your behalf, including the case filing process. Sometimes, the procedure can be demanding because the Superior courts are always busy. Despite this, your attorney works with a team of reliable paralegals who know of the best strategies to apply when filing.

Therefore, they will beat the long queues and possible setbacks for failing to produce the required documents. This is highly advantageous for you because you will have your matter addressed sooner than when you work alone.

Drafting legal documents for filing is also a delicate matter that should be conducted by experienced attorneys. You want to ensure that the final draft represents your claims or accusations against the other party as accurately as possible for you to receive the sought orders. With your family lawyer’s help, the judge receives a refined document that states your intentions clearly.