Arizona Paralegal Services

Arizona Divorce Services

If both parties are amicable, then Arizona Paralegal Services can help make your Arizona divorce as easy as possible.

DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE (with or without children):

» Preparation of all required Dissolution Documents;

» Preparation of any required accompanying Child Support documentation, if any;

» Preparation of any other Required Documents that your specific situation might require;

» Filing of Dissolution Documents;

» Assistance with Required Service of Documents;

CHILD SUPPORT:

» Preparation of Request to Stop/Modify Child Support;

» Preparation of Child Support Calculations;

» Assistance with Required Service of Documents;

CHILD CUSTODY/VISITATION:

» Petitions to Establish Paternity/Maternity;

» Petitions to Establish/Modify Child Custody;

» Petitions to Establish/Enforce Visitation

GENERAL ARIZONA DIVORCE INFORMATION

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS

In order to file for a Dissolution of Marriage in the state of Arizona, the residency requirements must be met. This means that one of the parties must have resided in the state of Arizona for a minimum period of ninety (90) days prior to filing the petition.

GROUNDS FOR DISSOLUTION

The grounds necessary for a dissolution of marriage in the state of Arizona are that the marriage is irretrievably broken with no reasonable chance of reconciliation. It is not necessary to find "fault" with the other party, hence the term that is sometimes used, "no-fault" divorce.

COMMUNITY PROPERTY AND/OR DEBTS

Due to the fact that Arizona is a community property state, generally speaking, property acquired by either or both of the spouses during the term of the marriage belongs to both parties on a 50/50 basis. This includes property that might be in only one of the party's names. Property that either spouse had before the marriage or received as a gift during the term of the marriage, is considered to be separate property, and belongs to that party only. Exceptions to this rule would be if the property was either; (1) acquired with funds or assets of one spouse traceable as belonging to such spouse prior to the marriage, (2) the property passed from an estate to one spouse or (3) one spouse disclaimed in writing an interest in such property.

With regard to debts, any and all loans, bills, and other debts incurred by the parties during the term of the marriage is, and will forever remain, the legal obligation of both parties. Debts, unlike property, cannot be easily transferred or divided to the extent that one party is legally released from all obligations to the creditor, since the interest of the creditor must also be considered.

What this effectively means is that, although you can request that the Court divide the debts between both parties equally, the creditor can pursue either or both parties when trying to collect the debt, even though the debt was given to one spouse in the divorce action.

WITH CHILDREN

When there are children involved, one of the issues that must be resolved is the matter of custody.

A. Sole Custody - Sole Custody is still the most common type of child custody. With Sole Custody, only one parent/party is solely responsible for the care, custody and control of the minor children.

B. Joint or Shared Custody - means both parents are able to share equally in the legal custody of the minor children, and both parties will at all times be the legal guardians of the children. This type of custody requires the full cooperation of the parents. Therefore, when filing Joint Custody, a Joint Custody Parenting Plan must be filed. This is an agreement spelling out in more detail, several issues including, at a minimum: with whom the child will reside; parenting time for each parent; restrictions with regard to either parent moving (with the children) out of the city, state, etc.; preferred religious training, and -decisions with regard to the education of the children.

CHILD SUPPORT

As of January, 1987, all child support payments must be taken directly out of the salaries of the responsible party and forwarded to the Clerk of the Court.

Arizona courts have set guidelines (Arizona Child Support Guidelines) used in establishing the amount of child support to be paid. The guidelines are based on the combined income of both parents, and must be used in every case regarding the support of minor children.

SPOUSAL MAINTENANCE

When there are minor children common to the parties and the wife is either unemployed or employed at the minimum wage level, then the Court may allow the payment of spousal maintenance.

In the case where there are no children and the wife is employed, it may be difficult to convince the Judge that spousal maintenance is necessary; however, it is not uncommon for the Court to grant spousal maintenance for rehabilitation purposes, for example, educational training, etc., for a limited period of time.

In the instance that the Court does award spousal maintenance to one of the parties, there are no firm guidelines as to the amount of spousal maintenance that should be paid, but it is likely that the Court will take into consideration things such as (1) the payee's employment skills or potential employment skills; (2) the customary standard of living; (3) the income of the other spouse; and (4) the obligations of both spouses, etc.

Spousal maintenance can be either paid directly to the ex-spouse, through the Clerk of the Court, or by an assignment of wages, like child support.

RETIREMENT BENEFITS

Arizona law has well established that accrued or vested retirement benefits are community property, subject to division in a divorce action, which means that a fully vested retirement plan must be divided equally between the spouses. The spouse accumulating the retirement benefits must pay over to the other spouse one-half (½) of the accumulated retirement benefits, unless this right is properly waived by such spouse.

This does not mean, however, that the spouse accumulating the retirement benefits must immediately pay over the value of the accumulated retirement to the other spouse, as the payment can be made directly from the retirement fund when it becomes due under what is called a "Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO), usually at the same time as when the party accumulating the retirement benefits begins to collect them. You can, of course, attempt to negotiate a deal with the spouse for him or her to accept other property (if such exists) of equal value for his or her community interest in the retirement plan.

SUMMARY

The most important thing for you to remember when dividing property and debts, is that the division should appear to be fair when the Court reviews the documents. The Judge will not usually pick and choose which debts each spouse will pay or which piece of property each party will receive. This division is done by the Petitioner (the person filing for the Dissolution) in the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. The Court will then review it to see if it appears to be a fair and equitable division for both parties.

It is for this reason that it is better to amicably resolve the division of the property and debts in such a way that any reasonable party could easily see that the division is fair to both parties.

"Stress Free for a Small Fee!™"


Home About AZPS Incorporation/LLC Divorces Child Support Wills & Trusts Paternity Miscellaneous Contact Us	ARIZONA PARALEGAL SERVICES, INC. "Stress Free for a Small Fee"
Phone: (520) 531-8322 Arizona Divorce Services If both parties are amicable, then Arizona Paralegal Services can help make your Arizona divorce as easy as possible. DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE (with or without children): » Preparation of all required Dissolution Documents; » Preparation of any required accompanying Child Support documentation, if any; » Preparation of any other Required Documents that your specific situation might require; » Filing of Dissolution Documents; » Assistance with Required Service of Documents; CHILD SUPPORT: » Preparation of Request to Stop/Modify Child Support; » Preparation of Child Support Calculations; » Assistance with Required Service of Documents; CHILD CUSTODY/VISITATION: » Petitions to Establish Paternity/Maternity; » Petitions to Establish/Modify Child Custody; » Petitions to Establish/Enforce Visitation GENERAL ARIZONA DIVORCE INFORMATION RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS In order to file for a Dissolution of Marriage in the state of Arizona, the residency requirements must be met. This means that one of the parties must have resided in the state of Arizona for a minimum period of ninety (90) days prior to filing the petition. GROUNDS FOR DISSOLUTION The grounds necessary for a dissolution of marriage in the state of Arizona are that the marriage is irretrievably broken with no reasonable chance of reconciliation. It is not necessary to find "fault" with the other party, hence the term that is sometimes used, "no-fault" divorce. COMMUNITY PROPERTY AND/OR DEBTS Due to the fact that Arizona is a community property state, generally speaking, property acquired by either or both of the spouses during the term of the marriage belongs to both parties on a 50/50 basis. This includes property that might be in only one of the party's names. Property that either spouse had before the marriage or received as a gift during the term of the marriage, is considered to be separate property, and belongs to that party only. Exceptions to this rule would be if the property was either; (1) acquired with funds or assets of one spouse traceable as belonging to such spouse prior to the marriage, (2) the property passed from an estate to one spouse or (3) one spouse disclaimed in writing an interest in such property. With regard to debts, any and all loans, bills, and other debts incurred by the parties during the term of the marriage is, and will forever remain, the legal obligation of both parties. Debts, unlike property, cannot be easily transferred or divided to the extent that one party is legally released from all obligations to the creditor, since the interest of the creditor must also be considered. What this effectively means is that, although you can request that the Court divide the debts between both parties equally, the creditor can pursue either or both parties when trying to collect the debt, even though the debt was given to one spouse in the divorce action. WITH CHILDREN When there are children involved, one of the issues that must be resolved is the matter of custody. A. Sole Custody - Sole Custody is still the most common type of child custody. With Sole Custody, only one parent/party is solely responsible for the care, custody and control of the minor children. B. Joint or Shared Custody - means both parents are able to share equally in the legal custody of the minor children, and both parties will at all times be the legal guardians of the children. This type of custody requires the full cooperation of the parents. Therefore, when filing Joint Custody, a Joint Custody Parenting Plan must be filed. This is an agreement spelling out in more detail, several issues including, at a minimum: with whom the child will reside; parenting time for each parent; restrictions with regard to either parent moving (with the children) out of the city, state, etc.; preferred religious training, and -decisions with regard to the education of the children. CHILD SUPPORT As of January, 1987, all child support payments must be taken directly out of the salaries of the responsible party and forwarded to the Clerk of the Court. Arizona courts have set guidelines (Arizona Child Support Guidelines) used in establishing the amount of child support to be paid. The guidelines are based on the combined income of both parents, and must be used in every case regarding the support of minor children. SPOUSAL MAINTENANCE When there are minor children common to the parties and the wife is either unemployed or employed at the minimum wage level, then the Court may allow the payment of spousal maintenance. In the case where there are no children and the wife is employed, it may be difficult to convince the Judge that spousal maintenance is necessary; however, it is not uncommon for the Court to grant spousal maintenance for rehabilitation purposes, for example, educational training, etc., for a limited period of time. In the instance that the Court does award spousal maintenance to one of the parties, there are no firm guidelines as to the amount of spousal maintenance that should be paid, but it is likely that the Court will take into consideration things such as (1) the payee's employment skills or potential employment skills; (2) the customary standard of living; (3) the income of the other spouse; and (4) the obligations of both spouses, etc. Spousal maintenance can be either paid directly to the ex-spouse, through the Clerk of the Court, or by an assignment of wages, like child support. RETIREMENT BENEFITS Arizona law has well established that accrued or vested retirement benefits are community property, subject to division in a divorce action, which means that a fully vested retirement plan must be divided equally between the spouses. The spouse accumulating the retirement benefits must pay over to the other spouse one-half (½) of the accumulated retirement benefits, unless this right is properly waived by such spouse. This does not mean, however, that the spouse accumulating the retirement benefits must immediately pay over the value of the accumulated retirement to the other spouse, as the payment can be made directly from the retirement fund when it becomes due under what is called a "Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO), usually at the same time as when the party accumulating the retirement benefits begins to collect them. You can, of course, attempt to negotiate a deal with the spouse for him or her to accept other property (if such exists) of equal value for his or her community interest in the retirement plan. SUMMARY The most important thing for you to remember when dividing property and debts, is that the division should appear to be fair when the Court reviews the documents. The Judge will not usually pick and choose which debts each spouse will pay or which piece of property each party will receive. This division is done by the Petitioner (the person filing for the Dissolution) in the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. The Court will then review it to see if it appears to be a fair and equitable division for both parties. It is for this reason that it is better to amicably resolve the division of the property and debts in such a way that any reasonable party could easily see that the division is fair to both parties. "Stress Free for a Small Fee!™"