- Adultery
- Conviction of a felony which mandates
imprisonment or death
- Abandonment for over 1 year
- Commission of domestic violence against
spouse, child, or relative
- Living separately and continuously and
without reconciliation for over 2 years
- Living separately for over 1 year after a
legal separation is obtained
- Habitual use of drugs or alcohol
- Both spouses agree to a dissolution.
[Arizona Revised Statutes Annotated; Title 25,
Chapters 312, 901, and 903].
Legal Separation in Arizona
Irretrievable breakdown of the marriage or that 1 spouse desires to
live separate and apart are the grounds for legal separation in
Arizona. However, if the marriage is a "covenant marriage," the
grounds for legal separation are the same as the grounds for a
general dissolution of a "covenant marriage" listed above, under
Legal Grounds for Dissolution of Marriage. One of the spouses must
live in the state of Arizona when the action for legal separation is
filed. No residency time limit is specified. If 1 spouse objects to
a legal separation, the case will be amended to be an action for
dissolution of the marriage. [Arizona Revised Statutes Annotated;
Title 25, Chapters 313, 901, and 903].
Simplified/Special Divorce Procedures in Arizona
Acceptance and waiver of service is allowed. In addition, Arizona
law expressly encourages separation agreements. Also, dissolution of
marriage petitions may be heard before a court commissioner if an
appearance and waiver is filed. [Arizona Revised Statutes Annotated;
Title 25, Chapter 317, Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure; Rule 4(f),
and Arizona Rules of the Supreme Court; Rule 91].
Divorce Mediation in Arizona
Prior to filing for dissolution of marriage, either spouse may ask
the court to order mediation for the purpose of a reconciliation to
save the marriage or to obtain an amicable settlement and avoid
further litigation. After a dissolution of marriage has been filed,
either spouse may request that the dissolution of marriage
proceedings be transferred to the Conciliation Court for mediation.
Official forms for requesting this transfer are available from the
clerk of any Superior Court. In addition, if 1 spouse denies that
the marriage is irretrievably broken, the court may delay the case
for up to 60 days and order the spouses to attend a conciliation
conference. In addition, a judge may require spouses to attend
conciliation conferences. Finally, there is a required delay of 60
days after the service of papers on the respondent spouse before any
hearing may be held for a dissolution of marriage. [Arizona Revised
Statutes Annotated; Title 25, Chapters 312, 316, 329, and 381.09+].
Divorce Property Distribution
Arizona is a "community property" state. Separate property is
retained by the owner of the property. Community or marital property
(property acquired during the marriage) is divided and awarded
equitably. Marital misconduct is not considered in the division. The
court may consider excessive or abnormal expenditures of community
property, and any destruction, concealment, or fraudulent
disposition of community property in making the division. The court
may place a lien upon a spouse's separate property in order to
secure payment of child support or spousal support. A special Notice
regarding debts and creditors is provided by statute and must be
included on any materials served to the respondent. In addition, at
the request of either spouse, the court shall order the spouses to
submit a "debt distribution plan" which allocates the
responsibilities for debts. Forms for this are included in Arizona
Revised Statutes; Title 25, Chapter 318. [Arizona Revised Statutes
Annotated; Title 25, Chapter 318]
Alimony and Spousal Support
Maintenance can be awarded to either spouse, if the spouse seeking
maintenance:
1. Lacks sufficient property to provide for his or her reasonable
needs
2. Is unable to support himself or herself through appropriate
employment
3. Is the custodian of a child whose age and condition is such that
the custodian should not be required to seek employment outside the
home
4. Lacks earning ability in the labor market to adequately support
himself or herself
5. Contributed to the educational opportunities of the other spouse
6. Had a marriage of long duration and is of an age which may
preclude the possibility of gaining employment adequate to support
himself or herself.
Marital misconduct is not a factor to be considered. The factors to
be considered are:
1. The contribution of the spouse seeking maintenance to the earning
ability of the other spouse and the extent that the seeking spouse
reduced his or her income or career opportunities to benefit the
other spouse
2. The time for the spouse to acquire education and training for
suitable employment
3. The spouse's future earning capacity
4. The spouse's standard of living during the marriage
5. The duration of the marriage
6. The ability of the spouse providing maintenance to meet his or
her needs while providing the maintenance to the other
7. The financial resources of the spouse seeking maintenance
(including marital property awarded and the spouse's ability to meet
his or her needs independently)
8. Any destruction, concealment, fraudulent disposition, or
excessive expenditures of jointly-held property
9. The comparative financial resources of the spouses including
their comparative earning capacities
10. The age of the spouses
11. The physical and emotional condition of the spouses
12. The usual occupations of the spouses during the marriage
13. The vocational skills of the spouse seeking maintenance
14. The ability of both parties to contribute to the future
educational costs of any children
15. Any other factors the court may deem just and equitable.
Awards of maintenance are to be paid through the court unless the
spouses agree otherwise. Maintenance agreements may be made
non-modifiable by agreement of both spouses. [Arizona Revised
Statutes Annotated; Title 25, Chapters 319 and 322].
Spouse's Name After Divorce
A spouse's former or maiden name may be restored upon request.
[Arizona Revised Statutes Annotated; Title 25, Chapter 325]
Child Custody After Divorce
In awarding custody, the court considers the best interests of the
child and the following factors:
1. The preference of the child
2. The desire and ability of each parent to allow an open, loving,
and frequent relationship between the child and the other parent
3. The wishes of the parents
4. The child's adjustment to his or her home, school, and community
5. The mental and physical health of the child and the parents
6. The relationship between the child and the parents and any
siblings
7. Any evidence of significant spouse or child abuse
8. Any coercion or duress in obtaining a custody agreement
9. Which parent(s) have provided primary care of the child.
No preference is to be given on the basis of the parent's sex. If
custody is contested, all other issues in the case are decided
first. Joint custody may be awarded if the parents submit a written
agreement providing for joint or shared custody and it is found to
be in the best interests of the child, after a consideration of the
general child custody factors (above) and the following additional
factors:
1. That neither parent was coerced or influenced by duress into
withholding or granting his or her agreement to joint custody
2. That the parents can sustain an ongoing commitment to the child
3. That the joint custody agreement is logistically possible.
Grandparents and great-grandparents may be awarded visitation
rights. [Arizona Revised Statutes Annotated; Title 25, Chapters 401+
and Arizona Case Law].
Child Support After Divorce
Either parent may be ordered to pay child support, without regard to
marital misconduct, based on the following factors:
1. The financial resources of the child
2. the standard of living of the child during the marriage
3. The physical and emotional needs of the child
4. The financial resources and obligations of both parents
5. Any destruction, concealment, fraudulent disposition, or
excessive expenditure of jointly-held property
6. The needs of the child
7. The duration of parenting time and any related expenses.
Awards of child support are to be paid through the
court unless the spouses agree otherwise. In addition, there are
specific Arizona Supreme Court guidelines for child support payments
available from the Clerk of any Superior Court. The amount of
support established by using the official guidelines will be the
required amount of child support, unless the court finds such an
amount would be inappropriate or unjust. Every child support order
must assign 1 or both of the parents responsibility for providing
medical insurance coverage for the child and for payment of any
medical expenses not covered by insurance. Unless there is contrary
evidence presented in court, the court will assume that the
non-custodial parent is capable of full-time work at the Federal
minimum wage (unless the parent is under 18 years of age and
attending high-school). [Arizona Revised Statutes Annotated; Title
25, Chapters 320, 322, and 500+]. Continue to
Arkansas Divorce
Laws |
| Resource
Article:
Fear Factor:
Minimizing Divorce Stress and Anxiety Through the Collaborative
Process
By Lori Barkus
Many words are associated with the divorce process. Despite what one
may think, the most prevalent and most destructive of these is a
simple four letter word: fear. Divorce places an enormous stress on
all persons involved. More often than not, the stress stems from
fear. On an emotional level, there is a fear of being alone, either
as a single parent, a person reentering the workforce after many
years or of losing the status of being married. From a financial
standpoint, parties have a great deal of fear concerning their short
and long term financial future.
The collaborative divorce process seeks to minimize fear as it is
the greatest impediment towards settlement. In a collaborative
divorce, the parties agree not to go to court and instead to freely
and voluntarily disclose information and endeavor to reach an
agreement. The parties agreement also provides that their lawyers,
divorce coaches and child and financial specialists, if made part of
the collaborative process, cannot participate in litigation if the
collaborative process terminates. The process is confidential and
all team members sign an agreement to that effect. However, where
other professionals are involved, the agreement waives privilege to
the extent that the professionals may exchange, amongst themselves,
information gathered from their meetings with the parties to further
understanding of the parties and their children’s needs.
The traditional Collaborative Divorce model separates the divorce
process into two components. Divorce coaches and child specialists
seek to quell client’s emotional fears by handling coparenting plans
and addressing communication issues. Financial specialists and
attorneys tackle the legal and financial aspects of the divorce, by
dividing the parties assets and creating a financial plan which
addresses both parties needs, both presently and in the future.
Although collaborative divorce has been successful in many
instances, there has been negative feedback concerning the process.
In a study performed by the Collaborative Family Law Group in San
Diego, it was found that most of the complainants raised questions
concerning the necessity of coaches and specialists, uncertainty
about settlement issues and the amount of time it took for the
process to conclude. The San Diego group found that most complaints
arose in cases where the collaborative divorce team did not work
closely together. As a result, the group restructured their
collaborative model and now advocates for integrated meetings
involving all team members. In the old approach, coaches and child
specialists would not attend meetings. As a result, if issues
concerning parenting arose, the clients were told to wait and
address those issues with their coaches. This revised model allows
clients to have all issues addressed in one meeting and gives
clients the impression that settlement issues, generally more
financial in nature, and emotional issues are equally important.
When emotional issues are handled as they arise, client’s anxiety
lessens, making them able to work more effectively towards
settlement.
As discussed in a previous article, collaborative practice groups
across the country are still wrestling with the issue of whether to
implement the interdisciplinary approach to collaborative law. As
experience is beginning to show, the integrated approach can
effectively achieve settlement by eliminating the stress and anxiety
brought on by the fear factor. |
