Basic Family Law :

Family Law Matters in Arizona are governed by Arizona Revised Statutes Title 25. Under Arizona law one of the parties must have resided in Arizona for at least 90 days prior to filing for dissolution or legal separation. Arizona is a non-fault state, which means that the parties do not need any reason to divorce. Additionally, Arizona is a community property state, and presumes that all property acquired during the marriage is owned by both parties equally, unless agreed to in writing otherwise. Parties with children must also provide to the court the addresses where the children have lived for the last 5 years in order to determine which state has jurisdiction over decisions involving the children (also known as “home state jurisdiction”). Parties must wait a minimum of 60 days from the date the parties have been served in order to be divorced. If the parties reach a complete agreement, they can submit what is known as a consent decree to the court after the 60 days.

Legal Separation versus Divorce:

Parties can enter into either a legal separation or a divorce. In both proceedings the parties divide assets and liabilities, and decide any issues involving the children. However, the parties remain married at the end of a Legal Separation, and may not legally remarry. After a final divorce, the parties are free to remarry without any restrictions.

Covenant Marriages:

Under Arizona law, parties can choose to enter into a “covenant marriage”. In Covenant marriages the parties declare and affirm the following:

We solemnly declare that marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman who agree to live together as husband and wife for as long as they both live. We have chosen each other carefully and have received premarital counseling on the nature, purposes and responsibilities of marriage. We understand that a covenant marriage is for life. If we experience marital difficulties, we commit ourselves to take all reasonable efforts to preserve our marriage, including marital counseling.

With full knowledge of what this commitment means, we do declare that our marriage will be bound by Arizona law on covenant marriages and we promise to love, honor and care for one another as husband and wife for the rest of our lives.

Covenant marriages can only be dissolved under very specific statutory guidelines. Parties must choose to enter into a covenant marriage, and their declarations of such must be made in writing at the time their marriage license is received and must thereafter be recorded.

Court Proceedings:

The first date that is normally set in family court proceedings is normally a Resolution Management Conference. Each party is required to submit to the court and the opposing party a Resolution Management Form which advises the court and the parties as to their positions on all of the issues. At the Resolution Management Conference the court can enter any agreements that are reached on the record, and set the remaining issues for trial. In Arizona, family court cases are heard by the assigned judge, in normally 3 to 6 hour settings. If the parties have children, a parenting conference can be set by the judge, wherein a court officer will meet with the parties and discuss any agreements that can be reached with regards to the children. The court can also refer the parties to either private, or court appointed mediation. Both types of mediation work with the parties to reach agreements regarding the family court matter. If complete agreements are reached, the parties will have final paperwork submitted to the Judge for their approval.

If the parties cannot reach complete agreements on all of the issues, the remaining matters will be set for an evidentiary hearing. Each party is required to disclose their witnesses and exhibits to the other side 30 days prior to trial.

Sole Custody and Joint Custody

Parties must decide whether they are going to have joint custody or sole custody of the minor children. Sole custody means only one party is responsible for the major decisions regarding the children (ie. education and healthcare decisions). Joint custody means that both parties must discuss and agree on all major decisions regarding the children, although one parent may be designated the parent for final decision making regarding education decisions, and another parent may be designated the final decision maker for health care decisions. Under either scenario, the decisions must always be what is in the best interests of the children.

Parenting Time

Parenting time is different that custody. Parenting time generally means which parent is responsible for the children on certain days. The Arizona Supreme Court publishes what are known as “Parenting Time Guidelines”. Parenting plans differ from case to case and are also decided on what is in the best interests of the children. Some parenting plans include:

5-2-2-5 Plan Under this scenario the children spend Monday and Tuesday with Parent 1, Wednesday and Thursday with Parent 2, and then alternate weekends from Friday through Sunday with Parent 1 having the first and third weekends, and Parent 2 having the second and fourth weekends etc. This plan allows both parents to participate in both school and weekend activities.
Week on Week off Under this plan the children spend week one with Parent 1, week two with Parent 2, week three with Parent 1, week 4 with Parent2, etc. This plan limits the number of exchanges that occur with the children.
Long Distance Parenting Depending on the age of the children and the location of the parents, parents who live more than 100 miles away generally have a different access plan that parents who live closer to one another. Examples of long distance plan vary based on age, but generally include the summers and breaks to the long distance parent.
Every Other Weekend Access These access plans were fairly typical in the 60s and 70s, and generally involved the Mother having primary custody of the children, and granted the Fathers access every other weekend. Plans such as these are typically rare unless necessitated by the parties’ situation.
Weekly Access with Weekends Some parents prefer that the non-residential parent have one or two nights with the children during the week, and then have access times on the weekends. These plans are also case and age specific and are generally used by parents with smaller or infant children.

Child Support

Child support in Arizona is governed by statute and is based on the income shares model. Child support worksheets are available to determine the amount of child support. Generally, the court looks at the income of both parties, the number and ages of all children of the parties both together and in total, the costs of health care and daycare for the children, and the amount of time the children spend with the non-custodial parent.

Relocation

Under Arizona law, parties cannot relocate with the children more than 100 miles from their current address without the written approval of the other party, or the approval of the court.

Temporary Orders

One of the parties may request that the court enter Temporary Orders regarding either the access to the children, child support, the division of liquid assets or the payments of community debts while the divorce is pending. A Temporary Orders hearing is generally set much quicker than a final trial, and is therefore much more limited in time.