Dissolution of Marriage, "Divorce", is not a perfect solution for marital problems and it is certainly NOT a means escaping the issues which make a divorce desirable or the responsibilities that ensue from the marital relationship. For many people, however, divorce is the only the alternative. Every one of the United States has enacted laws which authorize such procedure and make the final outcome as fair as possible for all parties involved. The laws, in particular, are designed to protect the interests of those least able to voice their needs, children. The Courts are required to consider to give foremost consideration to those needs. The laws are, additionally, designed to protect the relationship of each parent in the children.

In order to get a divorce in Arizona you must file a lawsuit. All divorces, whether they are contested or not, must go through the court system. In your case you will be filing a form of civil complaint with the Maricopa County Superior Court. The complaint is called a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage and is collection of papers with information in them. In such papers you are required by law to set forth certain factual information about yourself, your spouse, your children and your property and debts. You must, also, tell the court and your spouse the specific type of relief you are asking for. It is our recommendation that you be as specific as you can in this regard so that the other party to the lawsuit, your spouse, will know exactly what you are asking for and will, therefore, be less likely to question or contest your divorce.

The primary relief you will be asking for in your Petition for Dissolution will be that the marriage between you and your spouse be dissolved and that you be restored to the status of single persons. (Arizona, like the other 49 states, is a "No Fault" state.) In order for the Court to grant you a dissolution of your marriage in Arizona, all that you need to tell the Court is that your marriage is irretrievably broken and that there is no prospect that you and your spouse can reconcile your marital differences. You do not need to allege, or prove, abandonment, adultery, cruelty or any of the other things that were once required by law in order to get a divorce.

If you have minor children, you must inform the court of their places of domicile for the immediately preceding five years and of any other legal proceedings in which their custody was or is at issue. You must also tell the Court who you believe would be the best custodial parent. The law requires that custody be awarded in accordance with the best interests of the children. However, if you and your spouse have come to an agreement concerning custody, the court will generally approve of the arrangements which your and your spouse believe are appropriate. The noncustodial parent is generally entitled to reasonable rights of visitation which include alternating weekends, one evening per week, alternating holidays and extended vacation time in the summer. Recently more and more people are entering into joint custody agreements concerning their children in which the time with, and responsibilities for, the children are more evenly divided. If you and your spouse desire joint custody, it is necessary that you, in addition to the other documents required by court, submit a signed shared custody agreement which meets the statutory requirements.

In the event that you and your spouse cannot agree on appropriate custodial or visitation arrangements, your divorce proceedings will most likely be contested and may go to trial. In such event the Court will consider evidence concerning what each of you and your spouse, and perhaps even a mental health expert, believe to be in the best interests of your children. The Court provides free mediation to help people resolve custody/visitation issues. The Court, also, requires that each party making an appearance in a custody/visitation proceeding attend a Parent Information Class and submit a Certificate of Attendance to the Court prior to the final hearing. In the event that you and your spouse cannot agree on custody or visitation, it is our recommendation that you consult personally with an attorney. The forms which are prepared by Lawvue are intended to assist people who have come to an agreement on these issues and are not applicable to hostile adversarial cases.

With respect to the matter of child support, the Court has, as a result of federal mandate, adopted certain child support guidelines which specifically set forth the financial responsibilities of each parent. These guidelines take into consideration the gross monthly income of both parents, the existence and amount of other support obligations, the cost of medical insurance and day care and other extraordinary costs of raising children. After reference to a chart which sets forth the base amount of support the child(ren) are entitled from both parents and adding in the cost of medical insurance, day care costs and extraordinary costs, the total amount of support is allocated between the parents in the same proportion that each of their gross incomes bears to their total gross income. The non-custodial parent must pay his/her portion of such support to the custodial parent until such time as the children attain the age of eighteen or graduate from high school whichever is later. The law requires that all child support payments be paid through the Clerk of the Superior Court and by order of wage assignment. The Court is required to strictly follow such guidelines and cannot order a lesser amount of support absent a joint custody agreement or other special circumstances. Even if the parties agree to a lessor amount, the Court may not approve such agreement and may even refuse to grant the divorce until such time that it is satisfied that the amount of child support is appropriate. In the event that you and your spouse cannot agree upon the appropriate amount of child support, it is our recommendation that you consult personally with an attorney. The forms which are prepared by Lawvue are intended to assist people who have come to an agreement on these issues and are not applicable to hostile adversarial cases.

The law also requires that you tell the Court who will be providing medical insurance for the minor children and who will be responsible for paying any medical expenses not covered by insurance. Generally uncovered medical expenses are allocated between the parties in proportion to their incomes as determined in the child support calculations described in the preceding paragraph.

You must also tell the Court whether either of you or your spouse should be entitled to receive spousal maintenance (alimony) from the other. Spousal maintenance is not paid or received as frequently now as in the past but will be awarded if a spouse will following entry of final decree of dissolution be without sufficient income or assets to support themselves. There are at this time no specific guidelines as to when spousal maintenance is appropriate, how much should be paid and for how long. Each case is different and will be decided on its own merits. However, if you and your spouse have come to an agreement on this issue, the Court will most likely approve and order such agreement. In the event that you and your spouse cannot agree upon whether spousal maintenance is appropriate, it is our recommendation that you consult personally with an attorney. The forms which are prepared by Lawvue are intended to assist people who have come to an agreement on these issues and are not applicable to hostile adversarial cases.

You must further tell the Court how you wish to divide your community property and debts, that is assets acquired and liabilities incurred during the marriage. Any property or debts owned or owed by a party prior to the marriage are generally considered separate and not subject to a claim by or entitled to a contribution from the other party. The law requires that the community property and debts be divided equitably or 50/50. This does not mean that each individual asset or item of property must be split in two and sold or that each party pay exactly one-half of each obligation. Rather, after the dividing is done, each party should have just about the same amount of equity. In the event, however, that the parties simply cannot agree, a sale or liquidation may be unavoidable. This is not in either party's best interests because the amount received is often less than what would be received under less adversarial circumstances. Generally a party awarded an item of property which is subject to lien or mortgage is responsible for paying such secured interest. Community property, among other things, includes retirement, military retirement, 401(k) accounts, IRA accounts, stock options, and pension benefits accrued during the marriage, business interests including goodwill, future interests and claims of whatever nature which a party may have acquired or become entitled to during the marriage. If you and your spouse can agree upon the division of their community property and debts, the Court will in most cases, without detailed inquiry, approve the same. On the other hand, if the parties cannot agree, then most likely the case will be contested and go to trial at which time the court will consider evidence presented by each party as their opinion on value and what they consider to be an equitable disposition. In the event that you and your spouse cannot agree upon the division of your community property and debts, it is our recommendation that you consult personally with an attorney. The forms which are prepared by Lawvue are intended to assist people who have come to an agreement on these issues and are not applicable to hostile adversarial cases.

The Court may also consider a request that one party pay the other's attorneys fees and court costs. Generally such fees and costs are apportioned between the parties in proportion to their ability to pay.

The wife, if she so desires, can also request the Court to order that she be restored to a former or maiden name.

As stated initially herein, a divorce is started by filing a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. Such Petition contains information and requests for relief along the lines set forth in the preceding paragraphs. After you have prepared, reviewed and signed your Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, it must be filed with the Court. The filing fee payable to the Court is $166.00. Under certain circumstances the court will waive or defer the payment of such filing fee. Because such Petition constitutes a lawsuit, the Court will issue a Summons. A Summons is an order of the Court to the other party, telling them that upon service they have a certain number of days (20 days for instate service) to file an answer (Response) with the Court if they do not agree with the requests for relief contained in the Petition. Such Summons and a copy of the Petition must be served on the other party (Respondent) in a legally recognizable manner. In most uncontested proceeding, the other party will simply accept service by signing an Acceptance or Waiver of Service of Process which is then filed with the Court. If the Respondent refuses to sign such Acceptance, or if the parties are not in agreement, it may then be necessary to have such papers served on the Respondent by a sheriff or process server.

In addition to the Summons, the Court will also at the time of filing the Petition issue a Preliminary Injunction against both of the Petitioner and the Respondent that they not engage in certain types of conduct which is detrimental to the other. Violation of that Preliminary Injunction could subject the violating party to sanctions of contempt. The Court will also notify the Maricopa County Conciliation Court which will notify the parties of the availability of free marriage counseling services. The Court will also issue to each party a document entitled "Notice of Right to Convert Health Insurance" which advises each parties of their rights to maintain any health insurance coverage of which they are a beneficiary through their spouse's employment. You will have the opportunity to review and have each of these documents explained to you prior to the filing of your case.

In most uncontested divorce proceedings where the parties have come to an agreement on all issues the other party does not file an answer and the final Decree of Dissolution is granted at a default hearing no sooner that 60 days after the papers were served. In such uncontested proceedings, only the Petitioner (party filing) needs to appear in Court. The appearance of both parties is generally necessary in cases involving a joint custody agreement. On the other hand, if the other party (Respondent) does contest the divorce and files an answer, the case may have to go to trial and may not be heard by a judge until much later. In such event, it may be necessary for either or both of the parties to obtain temporary orders for custody or maintenance during the pendency of the case. If your case falls into the contested category, it is our recommendation that your consult with and attorney who will advise you of the procedures necessary to protect your interests and obtain the best possible final outcome for you.

As indicated in this Website, Lawvue provides online preparation of all of the legal documents and instructions necessary to assist you in preparing and processing your own uncontested Petition of Dissolution of Marriage. These services can be provided and delivered on your own P.C., or, if you may call 1-877-949-7121 to schedule an appointment with the Lawvue HOST most convenient to you. The Lawvue HOST can make this process even easier for you by assisting in the entry of necessary data, notarizing your signature and preparing your forms for filing and delivery to the Court.

In the event, however, that you and your spouse are unable to come to an agreement, The Law Offices of Bill King P.C. is here to serve you. Although videoconferencing, telephonic and e-mail communications are available as a medium of communication, it is preferable that you schedule a personal consultation at one of our six valley offices. Please call 1-877-949-7121 to schedule an appointment at the office most convenient to you. Our attorneys will, additionally, in certain circumstances, make home or office calls.