If you and your spouse are always at odds and things seem like they aren’t going to get better, you may be in a hurry to file for divorce – but you have to wait a little.
After filing the divorce petition, Arizona law imposes a waiting period of 60 days before moving forward with the divorce proceedings. This is a good time to see if you can work things out, but there are other steps you can use to take full advantage of this time.
Gather information
You can spend the 60 days gathering information and documents you will need for the divorce proceedings. Be sure to focus on financial information, both yours and your spouses. All this will be necessary for property division and determining things like child support and alimony.
Work to resolve disputed issues
It’s a good idea to try to resolve as much of your divorce with your spouse before going to a judge. Doing this will help make sure things move smoothly and keep costs down since you won’t spend time arguing in court.
Get ready for trial
Ideally, you’ll work everything out with your spouse and come to agreements without needing the court to step in. For contested divorces, however, it may be necessary to testify. You can use the 60-day waiting period to practice your composure and responses to questions in court.
The 60-day waiting period is called the “cooling off” period. While some couples may rethink their situation, it’s also a great time for you to get ready for the divorce. Use the tips here to ensure that you take the steps necessary to prepare yourself for the process. This will likely help you save time and money in the long run.
Substance abuse damages not just the individual who can’t control their chemical dependence but also their closest family members. People dependent on drugs or alcohol may be dangerous when under the influence and angry and unpredictable when unable to access their substance of choice. They may become unreliable and volatile and can cause financial issues as they seek to support their habits.
If your spouse has struggled with drinking or drug use, you may have tried to encourage them to seek treatment for their issues. Their habits may have had significant negative consequences for your family, especially if it affects their employment. Their substance abuse could easily be one of the reasons you decided to file for divorce.
You may worry about your ex having parenting time. If you have documentation of the issue, you will be in a better position to protect your children.
Judges know how substance abuse hurts kids
Family law judges want to create custody orders that are good for the children in a family. The rights of the parents are far less important than the long-term health of the children in the family. In most cases, it is good for the children to have time with both parents.
When one parent has a serious substance abuse issue, that may not be the case. The parent drinking or using drugs could be negligent or violent during their parenting time. Medical records, police reports and even social media content could help you show the courts that your spouse has a history of dangerous overindulgence. The courts may then factor that information into how they divide your parental responsibilities.
Understanding the rules that govern child custody matters can help you be a better advocate for your children during a divorce.
If you’ve ever wondered exactly how many divorces happen each year, it may be because people often talk about divorce rates. They want to mention the percentage of marriages that end in divorce and statistics of this nature. But that doesn’t really tell you exactly how many couples go through this every year.
It can be difficult to find the exact number, but reports indicate that more than 630,000 couples get a divorce every single year. Not only are the reports slightly in excess of that number already, but they only account for the statistics from 45 states and the Washington D.C. area. Five states did not report numbers to the study, so it is likely that the total number is much higher.
It is also worth noting that, since every divorce case involves two people, more than 1,260,000 individuals go through a divorce annually.
Divorce is a common occurrence
If you’re going to take anything away from this type of report, it should be the fact that divorce is common. It happens to a lot of couples and it is certainly not something you should assume will not happen to you. It’s important to be realistic about the odds of divorce because that helps you consider your legal position and the different options that you have.
Marriages end, but life continues, and it’s wise to look into all of the legal steps that you can take to ensure you have a bright future after your divorce. Key points to consider include how to divide the assets that you and your spouse own and how to split up the time with the kids if you are parents.
When Arizona parents divorce, if they cannot agree on a child custody arrangement, a judge needs to decide the matter. They may ask for input from the children in question if they believe they’re old and/or mature enough for their wishes to be considered. The judge, however, makes the final decision.
Arizona state lawmakers are considering a bill that would give some teens a greater say in physical and legal custody decisions. The bill, HB2642, would amend the current law to say that any child who is 14 years of age or older and “sufficiently mature so that the child can intelligently and voluntarily express a preference for one parent” can choose how custody will be divided.
The judge would still make the final decision. However, the child’s preference would be “considered presumptive” unless the judge decides it’s not in their best interests.
The bill also addresses the preferences of children under 14 years of age. The language in the proposed legislation says that the court “shall strongly consider” the wishes of a child who is younger than 14 but “of suitable age and maturity unless those wishes are determined not to be in their best interests.
The bill passed overwhelmingly in the Arizona House of Representatives. It still needs to be considered by the State Senate.
Are kids capable of making good decisions about their custody?
Family law and mental health professionals have expressed concern about giving children greater authority in these decisions. One clinical psychologist notes, “Their frontal cortex, which is the decision-making part of the brain, doesn’t really develop until their mid-20s. So, we’re asking that kids who are not good at making executive decisions be in charge of those decisions.”
If the bill were to become law, Arizona would be giving teens and those even younger more say over their custody than they have in any other state. The proposed legislation, however, still has a long way to go before becoming law.
While it’s typically best when older children can have some say in these decisions when their parents’ divorce, it’s a big responsibility to place on their shoulders – and one they could easily end up regretting or feeling some guilt about. When parents can negotiate their own custody decisions, with legal guidance, they’re more likely to arrive at an arrangement that’s in their children’s best interest and with which they both believe is fair.
Do Arizona mothers always get full custody?
Shared children are a common reason that otherwise smart and functional adults stay in unhealthy and damaging relationships. They worry that ending the relationship will cause trauma for the children and fear that they may not have time with the children afterward.
Whether you married the mother of your child or have shared a long-term relationship without a formal commitment, it is true that ending your relationship will affect your relationship with the children as well. However, you don’t have to worry about getting cut out of the children’s lives, in most cases.
Many fathers in Arizona worry about ending a relationship because they think that the courts always give full custody to the mother if she asks for it. Do mothers really receive preferential treatment in the Arizona family courts?
The law does not discuss your gender or parental role
For there to be a structural bias against fathers in the family courts, the Arizona civil code would need to support that kind of bias. If the law talked about different parenting rights for men and women or mothers and fathers, then you would likely see a marked discrepancy in the custody outcomes for parents of different sexes or genders.
However, Arizona has neutral language in its custody laws. It does not talk about men, women, fathers or mothers. Instead, it simply focuses on parental relationships and the best interests of the children. In most cases, the courts consider keeping both parents involved to be in the best interests of the children.
You can share in parenting time and legal decision-making authority
There are two main kinds of custody available in Arizona. There is parenting time, which is when you get to be with and have responsibility for your children. Then there is legal decision-making authority, which grants you the right to enroll your children in Sunday school or take them to the doctor for medical attention.
You can request to share parenting time and decision-making authority as an Arizona father. Unless the courts hear evidence that such arrangements would not be in the best interests of your children, shared custody is a common result of litigated custody matters. Learning the basics about Arizona’s child custody laws can help you feel more confident when you make decisions in other areas of your life.
What exactly is a drug possession charge?
There are certain drugs that are illegal to have. Even though the United States is a free country and you’re an adult, it’s still illegal to have certain substances. If police officers find drugs in your possession, they’ll arrest you for drug possession.
Drug possession is one of the less serious drug charges. In short, it means that you’re being charged with having an illegal drug in your possession in such a small quantity that it’s assumed you’re using it for personal use.
The location of the drugs is often key to the charges
There are many factors that go into what charge a person faces. In the case of a drug possession charge, the person doesn’t have to have the drugs on their person. Instead, they only have to be somewhere the person has control over.
Here’s an example: The police raid a party at your house. They find you in your bedroom and notice a bag of cocaine on the nightstand, they could reasonably assume the cocaine is yours if you’re the only person in your bedroom.
It’s sometimes possible that more than one person has control over the area where the drugs were found. This makes the case complex, but it’s something that a defense strategy could address.
A conviction on drug charges can have a profound impact on the rest of your life. You must take your defense seriously even if you’re “only” facing drug possession charges. Understanding the options that you have can help you to make the decision you feel is in your best interests. Remember to start on the defense strategy as early in the case as you can so you aren’t rushing at the last minute.
Property division during divorce is not always fair. In some cases, your ex-spouses may hide some marital assets to benefit themselves financially. It mostly happens when the divorce is acrimonious, and they feel like getting one over you will make them feel better.
Therefore, you should be wary of hidden assets since you will end up with a lesser share than what you deserved from the marital estate. Failing to disclose all marital assets is akin to stealing from you.
Do you have evidence of the hidden assets?
The truth is that there are countless ways to hide assets, and some may require a trained eye to point out. To protect your interests, you need to conduct due diligence on your marital estate. Were there assets that changed hands in the days or months leading to the divorce? Did your ex-spouse create a trust to separate assets from the marital estate?
Most of your work is done once you have evidence of the hidden assets, such as financial records or witness testimony. The rest lies in bringing it to the court’s attention.
What happens next?
Hiding assets is not taken lightly in family court. This is because it overrides the interests of justice regarding property division following a divorce. If your ex-spouse is found to have hidden assets, the ownership of the said assets may be transferred to you.
Additionally, legal action may be taken against them for lying under oath or contempt of court. They could also be ordered to pay the legal costs involved and compensate you for any expenses incurred to uncover their discretion. What matters is that you get your fair share of the marital estate.
Every state in the country has laws about the big decisions in a divorce. These include laws that apply to custody matters and the division of marital property, for example. Anyone can file an uncontested divorce if the spouses are able to agree on the major issues involved.. If they don’t, they might need to go to court and have a judge make these decisions, including how they will split their property.
For the most part, married couples share their earnings and assets. After you get married, your income in your property will become marital property. In Arizona, the courts will treat whatever you acquire during your marriage as community property. What will that mean for the division of your assets?
Marital vs. separate property
Arizona is one of a minority of states that apply the community property principal to assets and debts shared by a married couple. It doesn’t matter who made a purchase, earned the income or opened a credit card account. What matters is when those actions took place.
Property inherited or owned before marriage is separate property, but almost everything else is marital property. There is a presumption that community property rules will mean a 50-50 split of their assets. Debts are also subject to an even split, except in cases with provable financial misconduct.
A family law judge can divide individual assets or accounts or split your property based on the overall value. Learning more about how community property division works can help you prepare to split your assets with your spouse in your pending divorce.
Does your marriage age impact your divorce odds?
How old were you when you got married? If you look at the statistics, you’ll see that the average age of marriage is generally trending up. People now tend to get married in their early thirties, whereas previous generations usually got married in their 20s or even their teens.
Of course, there are still people getting married in their teens and their twenties today. It’s just not as common. But will the age at which you chose to get married impact your odds of later getting a divorce?
Younger couples have higher divorce odds
Studies have found that couples who get married at a younger age do tend to have higher divorce odds than couples who wait longer. This is one reason why people are often waiting until their 30s. They want to make sure that the relationship is stable and will last. This doesn’t always work, but it does correlate to a higher percentage of successful marriages.
One potential reason for this is simply that young people still have a lot of mental and emotional development ahead of them. For instance, brain development itself doesn’t end until about 25 years old. People are going to change. If they change dramatically, and if they change in very different ways, they may find out that a marriage that made sense when they were 21 no longer makes sense at 29.
Naturally, there is no perfect predictor of divorce, and it can happen to couples at any age. If you believe that your marriage is moving toward divorce, perhaps for some of the reasons noted above, then it’s very important to look into all of your legal options.
Spousal support can be a much-needed support for spouses who are without a job or who have financial needs they cannot meet on their own following a divorce. Spousal support may also be used as a way to repay an ex-spouse who had invested their time and money into their spouse’s education to help increase their earning capacity.
In Arizona, the court may order spousal support or maintenance in a few cases. Whether you qualify for support or not will depend on if you can negotiate support with your spouse or get it awarded by a judge who agrees that it is necessary.
What kinds of factors are considered when determining if a person should receive alimony?
When the court is asked to determine if spousal support is necessary in an Arizona divorce, it may order support if:
- One of the spouses is unable to be self-sufficient because they are a custodian of a child at an age where seeking employment would be unreasonable
- One spouse can’t be self-sufficient based on their current employment
- A spouse lacks earning abilities based on the current labor market
- One spouse contributed financially, or through other means, to the educational opportunities of their spouse
- The couple has been married for a long time and the spouse requesting support is old enough that it is unlikely that finding a job would allow them to become self-sufficient
The court has to look into factors such as the standard of living that the couple had together in their marriage as well as each person’s financial resources. The length of the marriage plays a role in how long support would be paid (if at all). If the couple has children, the ability of both parties to contribute to their children’s educations may be considered by the court, too.
Finally, the court will look at the requesting spouse’s situation and if they had reduced their own career opportunities or income for the betterment of their spouse in some way.
Spousal support isn’t always ordered, but there are times when it is necessary and warranted. Every case is different, so if you would like to seek spousal support, it’s a good idea to prepare a case to show why it would be helpful to you.
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