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.

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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.

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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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Getting a DUI means being impaired while driving. In some cases, the police try to prove this impairment by showing that you failed field sobriety tests or something of this nature. But it is very common for them to give you a breath test to measure your blood alcohol concentration (BAC). If it is at 0.08% or higher, then they are allowed to assume that you are impaired.

But what if they give you that test and your blood alcohol concentration is not over 0.08%? Maybe it’s close, showing that you did have something to drink, but you didn’t exceed that level. Does this mean that the police are not going to be able to give you a DUI, or could you still face serious ramifications?

You could still be impaired

The thing to remember is that you could still be impaired by alcohol, even if you don’t hit the legal limit. The police can then turn to other tactics to show that impairment, as noted above. They can’t necessarily use your BAC against you, other than proving that you had some alcohol in your system, but don’t assume that it shields you from DUI charges. You could still be arrested and charged.

What this will do, however, is change how you approach it in court. You may have more challenges to the DUI charges since they don’t have that high reading for your blood alcohol concentration. Make sure you know exactly what steps you can take. A DUI can have a big impact on your future, and you need to know what options are at your disposal for a defense.

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When a couple decides to end their marriage, resentment and harsh feelings might lead one parent to engage in activities that impact the relationship between the children and the other parent. Collectively known as parental alienation, these emotionally manipulative tactics may convince the kids that one parent is bad while the other is good.

Parental alienation happens when one or both parents engage in malicious techniques to create a rift between the children and the other parent. The perpetrator may use fear or lies to achieve their goal. No matter the motivation it is important to understand that parental alienation can have a lasting impact on the child. It can also hurt your custody case.

Here is what you need to do to prove parental alienation.

Look out for the warning signs

Certain behavioral changes in your child’s attitude could be telltale signs of parental alienation. Understanding the type of alienation the other parent is practicing can help you recognize the signs much faster. For instance, is the child reluctant to visit or stay with you? Does the child use coded messages or signals when communicating with the other parent in your presence? Is the child under instruction not to share with you what they did while with the other parent? Even if all they did was a simple act of going to a movie, the fact that your ex is instructing them not to share this with you is evidence of parental alienation.

Document the changes in the child’s behavior

You need evidence to prove your parental alienation claims. It is important that you keep a journal of your child’s interactions with the other parent. Your documentation of what happened will be critical in proving parental alienation, which ideally means disproving the other parent’s accusations. Are you having trouble establishing communication with the other parent regarding your parenting plan? Note it down.

Parental alienation is a dangerous behavior with a lasting emotional and psychological impact on the children. If you believe the other parent is alienating you from your kids, it is important that you explore your legal options to address the situation.

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Many divorces go through litigation. Divorce litigation means that the spouses present evidence to a judge and ask them to make decisions about splitting up their property, dividing parental responsibilities or awarding support to one’s spouse. 

People sometimes think that the only way they can secure a fair outcome is if a judge really understands their side of the situation. However, litigation does not guarantee any particular resolution to custody or property division matters. A judge has to make a decision in line with state laws no matter how compelling your story may be. 

If you need a specific solution in your divorce, want to minimize conflict or hope to reduce your expenses, avoiding litigation might be the right approach. 

You can resolve your disputes outside of court

Divorcing couples have the option of resolving their matters outside of court. You don’t have to litigate. You can file an uncontested divorce where a judge just approves your settlement. 

You can potentially have your attorneys negotiate with one another or cooperate through a collaborative divorce. You could also go through mediation or arbitration if you can’t seem to agree on what is fair without some guidance. As long as you resolve everything amicably, going to court becomes a mere formality. A judge will finalize your divorce, but the two of you will be the ones who make all the big decisions. 

The benefits of this approach include lower overall expenses and more privacy during your divorce. Thinking about the different ways to handle your upcoming divorce can set you up for a less frustrating experience. 

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If you’re in the process of divorce, it’s wise to be giving some thought to the tax implications of the decisions you make – or at least have a tax or financial advisor who is. This can benefit you, for example, as you divide your property.

If your divorce won’t be finalized until next year, you and your spouse can’t file as “single” for 2021. You have a choice between “married filing jointly” and “married filing separately.” Although filing jointly is typically more advantageous, you’ll want to discuss that with your tax professional.

Who can claim the children as dependents?

Once the divorce is final, if you are sharing custody of minor children, you’ll need to determine who will be claiming them as dependents and filing their taxes under the “head of household” status. This status offers a larger standard deduction than filing as “single.”

You can use the head of household status if you meet specific requirements, including the following:

• You were divorced on Dec. 31 of the prior year.
• You paid for over half the costs of maintaining a home throughout the tax year.
• A qualifying dependent (in this case, a child) lived with you for over half of the year.

If you have primary physical custody of your child, you have the right to claim them as your dependent. If you choose to let your co-parent claim them, you’ll need to complete an IRS form to revoke your claim.

If you and your co-parent are sharing custody equally, there are various ways you can determine who will claim them in any given year. Sometimes, divorced couples will alternate years claiming a child as a dependent. A child only has to spend 51% of the year with a parent for them to get the tax advantages that come with a dependent. Co-parents with more than one child may each claim one or more as dependents in any given year so that they’re both able to get these advantages.

Determining who will claim the children as dependents requires some level of cooperation between co-parents. Therefore, it may be best to begin discussing this and other potential tax matters while you’re still in the process of divorce and working out agreements.

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Parents are not always nice, and some can do nasty things to their kids. Divorce can be a great chance to change things and protect your children.

If your spouse harms the kids, you need to do all you can to keep them away from them. But what about if the issue is less clear? What if you think your spouse is a bad influence rather than a physical threat?

In this case, you need to think hard about the circumstances. If your spouse has a drinking problem and smashes things, then yes, they are a danger no child should experience. Yet, if they have started drinking a bottle of wine a night and mumbling incoherently since your marriage broke down, they might not pose a threat.

People sometimes use drink to escape an unhappy situation. While alcohol is not a recommendable coping mechanism, and your kids could do without seeing their parent in that state, consider if divorce will change things. Once the divorce is over, you might find your now ex-spouse will put the bottle away and pull their life back together fast.

Is cutting your kids off from their other parent the best thing?

Courts generally prefer that children continue to see both parents. Kids usually prefer that too. To persuade a judge to break with that, you will need considerable evidence that your spouse poses a danger. If your spouse has never yet done anything, but you are just worried they might, it will be more challenging.

Making the correct custody decisions can be difficult because you are so emotionally involved in the situation. Getting outside help makes it easier to do what is right for your children.

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You have been putting off this subject for months. Couples’ counseling, heart-to-heart discussions and giving each other needed space did not seem to work for you and your spouse. You tried to salvage your marriage, but divorce seems the likely direction.

Since this is uncharted territory, you wonder what you need to do to begin divorce proceedings. Planning and organizing are essential when preparing for a divorce. Gathering important documents and records connected with your marriage, children and spouse represents a necessary start.

Financial, tax and child records

Here are some of the tasks to accomplish in preparing for divorce:

• Assemble financial and tax records: Obtain all tax returns during your marriage. In most cases, the two of you filed jointly. Also, obtain copies of banking and savings accounts, credit card statements, money market accounts, mutual fund accounts, mortgage statements and retirement and pension investments. Doing so will provide a clearer picture of the division of assets.
• Gather vital child-related documents: This is the time to collect medical records including those on immunization and treatments. Also, assemble school records including those on school-related costs. These are needed for child support calculations and play pivotal roles when it comes to creating parenting plans.
• Obtain spouse-related documents: Your spouse may be a business owner, so obtain all his or her business records. If your spouse had scrapes with the law, make sure to obtain police and criminal records, too. Such documents provide some direction related to business valuation, property division, alimony and child custody.
• Seek advice from a divorce attorney: Once you have gathered the critical documents, contact an experienced and empathetic family law attorney. A legal advocate can provide insight, direction and a step-by-step strategy to help you.

Each of these steps is crucial when planning on going through the divorce process.

Maintain a level-headed approach

Your marriage is ending. Now is the time for a level-headed approach in planning for the divorce. You must understand that the main priorities are protecting yourself and your children. By organizing specific documents, remaining as calm as possible and finding the right legal advocate, you will gain some peace of mind.

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