Things You Should Know About Divorce in Arizona

1 Things You Should know AboutDivorce in ArizonaThis booklet is designed to give you generalinformation About getting a Divorce inArizona and to let you know what steps areinvolved in taking a case to court. Contained in this BookletQuestions & AnswersWords & DefinitionsLocations for Obtaining FormsPage 26 Page 1 Page 32 Divorce in ArizonaDivorce is a court process to legally end a marriage. InArizona Divorce is called "dissolution of marriage" andcourt papers use the term dissolution of marriage insteadof Divorce . In addition to ending the marriage, the courtalso has the authority to divide certain property and debtsof the spouses and in some cases to order one spouse topay support (alimony)to the other. If children areinvolved, the court also can decide custody, parentingtime (formerly called visitation) and child support the court can legally end a marriage. However,spouses are free to agree to as many terms of the divorceas possible.

2 Court services are available in several coun-ties to assist in reaching agreements About such matters asparenting time and custody of children. Because agree-ments between spouses leave fewer issues for the court todecide, the result often is more satisfying to the peopleinvolved and may speed the process of concludingthecourt case. Questions & AnswersNOTE:This booklet is intended to provide generalinformation About Divorce . It is not a complete norauthoritative review of this subject and reflects thelaws of the state of Arizona only as of the date of its publication. The booklet is not intended to be aguide to obtaining a Divorce . Divorce often involvesimportantissues About the legal rights of the spous-es and of any children involved. Questions aboutspecific situations Should be discussed with you have children and issues of child custody or parenting time are involved, other information isprovided in the separate, blue-and-beige-coloredbooklet in this series titled " Things you ShouldKnow About Custody and Parenting Time.

3 " Whenseeking a Divorce and a party has requested that theSuperior Court determine custody, specific parent-ing time orchild support, parents of minor children are required by state law (section 25-351 etseq. Arizona Revised Statutes) to attend an educa-tion class. Details are provided in the green-and-beige-colored booklet in this series titled "ThingsYou Should know About Parent Education Class." is Divorce ? Divorce is a court process to legally end a Arizona a Divorce is called a "dissolu-tion of marriage." In addition to ending themarriage, a Divorce may also deal with howproperty and debts of the spouses are dividedbetween them and whether one spouse shouldpay support (alimony) to the other. If childrenare involved, a Divorce also resolves custody,parenting time and child support is a Divorce "Decree?" The Decree is the final order of the court legal-ly ending the marriage. Spouses are not"divorced" until the court grants the divorceand the Decree is signed by the judge.

4 TheDecree may also contain other orders decidinghow the spouses property and debts will bedivided and what financial support, if any,will be paid by one spouse to the other. If chil-dren are involved, the Decree also will pro-vide for custody, parenting time and childsupport. do I get a Divorce ? In Arizona , only the Superior Court can granta Divorce . To get a Divorce , one spouse muststart a court case in the Superior the Superior Court has a facility ineach Arizona county, a court case to end amarriage must be started in the county whereQuestions & person requesting the Divorce can start a Divorce case?In Arizona , either spouse can ask the court fora Divorce . A Divorce is not awarded to eitherspouse; rather, it simply changes the status ofthe marriage can I start a Divorce case?Before starting the court case, either the hus-band or wife must have lived in Arizona for atleast 90 days or have been a member of thearmed forces stationed in Arizona for at least90 days.

5 Unless Arizona was the last statewhere you lived togetherwith your spouse,issues regarding custody of children mayrequire a longer residence time in order todeal with those "reasons" do I need to start a divorcecase?Unlike some other states, for most marriagesArizona does not require that one of thespouses prove blame or responsibility in orderto end the marriage. Under Arizona law, theonly question for the court is whether the mar-riage is "irretrievably broken," meaning thatthere is no reasonable chance that the spouseswant to keep the marriage together. If you have a covenant marriage (defined onpage 27), however, under state law the courtcannot grant a Divorce unless certain thingsQuestions & as adultery, abandonment, physicalabuse or regular substance abuse are provenor unless both spouses agree that the marriageshould end. (The reasons for ending acovenant marriage are listed in section25-903, Arizona Revised Statutes.)

6 The court help with marriage problemsbefore getting a Divorce ?Yes. Because ending a marriage is a serious stepwith many legal and personal results, the SuperiorCourt in many counties has trained family coun-selors and mediatorsavailable to assist couples indiscussing maritalproblems and disputes involvingchildren, without involving attorneys and Conciliation Services can be requested beforesomeone files a Divorce case or even after the case isstarted. Contact the Superior Court in your countyfor more I represent myself in court?It is not required that you have an attorney to rep-resentyou in a Divorce case. You must, however,follow the same rules and procedures as legal papers must be in the proper form andfiled on time. The judges, clerks and staff of thecourt are not permitted to give you legal cases often involve important issues aboutproperty and debt division, financial support and ifchildren are involved, child custody and parentingtime.

7 If you have legal questions About your legalrights, you Should ask an attorney. Questions & long does it take to get a Divorce ?Under state law (section 25-329, Arizona RevisedStatutes), a Divorce cannot be granted by the courtuntil at least 60 days after the first court papers aredelivered to the other spouse. If the spouses are inagreement About getting a Divorce and other issues(such as how to divide property and debts), thedivorce can be finalized soon after the 60-day wait-ing period is over. If the spouses are not in agree-ment on how to settle all issues, the time it takes willdepend on how complicated the issues are and onthe court s schedule. a woman go back to using her maidenname after the Divorce ? Yes. State law (section 25-325, Arizona RevisedStatutes) allows a woman to return to ("restore") theuse of her former name at the time the marriage isended. A request must be made to the court at anytime beforethe Divorce Decree is signed by thejudge.

8 Usually, the request is included in the firstpapers filed in the Divorce case. if I change my mind after starting adivorce case?If you and your spouse decide to stay married, thedivorce case can be canceled (or "dismissed") by fil-ing a request with the Clerk of Superior & is "community property?"Community property is property acquired by thespousesduring the marriage. Generally, the lawpresumes that any property purchased or obtainedby either spouse duringthe marriage is communityproperty. Communityproperty is not just land orbuildings. It includes all kinds of property, such asmoney (all forms cash, bank accounts, investmentaccounts), jewelry, home furnishings, automobiles,boats, stock options and the wages or earnings ofeither spouse duringthe marriage. Even retirementplans and pensionscan be part of the communityproperty everything the spouses own community property?Not necessarily. State law provides that property(of all types) owned by a person before marriagecan remain the "separate property" of that items that a spouse receives by gift or inheri-tance during the marriage (and any increase inthose items, such as through growth in value, inter-est earned or profits) are also the separate propertyof the is it important to know the differencebetween community property and separateproperty?

9 It is important to know what community propertythe spouses have because in a dissolution case theQuestions & is required by law to divide the communityproperty in a fair (not necessarily equal) way. Youmust be able to show the court adequate proof ofwhat you are claiming as your separate property, asthe court must decide which property is separateproperty belonging to each spouse. If a retirementplan is involved, the court may have to sign a spe-cial order (a "Qualified Domestic Relations Order")so the company that keeps the retirement accountcan divide the money/benefits acquired during the marriage properly between the spouses. we decide ourselves how to divide our property?Spouses are encouraged to resolve as many issuesas possible. One way to do this is by a writtenagreement (called a "separation agreement") indi-cating how matters Should be handled if the mar-riage ends. The separationagreement is a contractlisting and describingthe spouses decisions aboutownership of real estate, dividingproperty, finan-cial support and, if children are involved, evenissues of custody and parenting time.

10 In a divorcecase, the court must accept the separation agree-ment (except for matters About custody, parentingtime and support of children) unless it is do I start a Divorce case?To get a Divorce , one spouse must start a court casein the Superior Court. There are particular steps thatQuestions & be followed. These steps are controlled both bystate law and rules and sometimes also by local rulesand procedures. Before starting the case, check therules and procedures for your begin the court case, one of the spouses must filewith the Clerk of Superior Court a written requestcalled a "Petition." A filing fee of $ must bepaid to the Clerk of Superior Court at the time of fil-ing. This amount is set by state law. There may belocal laws that add amounts to this basic fee. (Forexample, in Maricopa County an additional $20 ischarged.) If unable to pay, the Petitioner can askthe court to postpone ("defer") or forgive ("waive")payment by filing a written application with theClerk of Superior Court.