Divorce has the potential to be financially devastating. People who end their marriages often pay thousands in court costs. They also have to divide their marital or community property. Under state statutes, there is a presumption that spouses should evenly split their marital resources with one another.

Even when one spouse worked and the other stayed home, any income earned during the marriage and assets acquired with that income could be at risk of division during divorce. However, the state does recognize that some assets remain the separate property of one spouse. Such assets generally do not have to be divided at the end of a marriage.

What property is considered separate in a divorce?

Gifts and inheritances

Other people can give spouses items of significant value. Friends and family members can gift people vehicles, furniture, jewelry and other meaningful items. If a family member of either spouse dies, they might receive an inheritance during the marriage. Both gifts and inherited assets are typically separate property in the event of a divorce.

Assets from before the marriage

People often wait until after they have finished their degrees or have begun their careers to get married. They may have already purchased a home, set aside thousands in retirement savings or started the small business.

Assets acquired before the marriage typically remain the separate property of the spouse who owned those items. The state also allows people to designate any assets acquired after they petition for divorce as separate property.

In some cases, separate property can be vulnerable during divorce if spouses commingle their assets. Commingling involves maintaining separate property with marital income, giving spouses an ownership interest in those assets or allowing spouses to perform uncompensated work to improve or maintain separate property. Adding a spouse to the deed of a home owned before marriage gives them an interest in the property if the spouses divorce, for example.

Identifying separate property and establishing whether commingling occurred can help people prepare for an upcoming divorce. A thorough financial review may help people establish a nest egg that may allow for a more comfortable standard of living after the divorce.

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Your spouse has filed for divorce, and you’ve made peace with the fact that your marriage is ending. That relationship is over. You may even think it will be in both of your best interests to end a dysfunctional marriage.

What you don’t want to lose, however, is your home. Perhaps you know that buying another home would be very difficult in the current real estate market. Or maybe you have a dream home and still want to continue living there, whether or not you’re married. Perhaps you have children and would like to keep the same house to provide them with more stability and consistency. Is it possible?

Property division

If you own the house outright, it is possible to keep it but remember that it’s probably a marital asset. This means that you and your spouse both own it, and it must go through property division. To keep the house, you may need to give your spouse other assets. For example, you could give up your rights to an investment portfolio or retirement account.

Refinancing the mortgage

If you still have a mortgage on the house, you may still be able to keep it, but refinancing the mortgage may be necessary. The reason for this is that, if you and your spouse are both on the mortgage paperwork, your financial obligation remains even after the divorce. Your spouse will likely want you to get a mortgage in your own name so that they are released from liability if you miss mortgage payments in the future.

These are just a few things to consider as you go through a complex divorce. Be sure you know what legal steps to take.

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Divorce is already a challenging process. Dividing complex assets can add to the complexity.

In Arizona, a community property state, stock options and restricted stock units (RSUs) may be considered marital property. Understanding how to handle these assets can help facilitate a fair settlement.

Understanding stock options and RSUs

Stock options give the employee the right to purchase company stock at a predetermined price, known as the strike price, at a future date. In contrast, RSUs entitle the employee to the cash value of the stock on that date. Both types of stock compensation have vesting schedules, meaning they become fully owned by the employee after a certain period.

Community vs. separate property

Under community property law, both spouses own equal shares of assets acquired during a marriage. If stock options or RSUs were granted during the marriage, they are typically considered community property and subject to division. However, if they were granted before the marriage or as an incentive for future performance, they may be considered separate property.

Valuation and division

Valuing stock options is challenging due to their fluctuating nature. The value is often determined based on the stock’s market price at the time of separation or divorce. Once valued, division options include:

• Buy-out: Employee spouse buys the other spouse’s share at its determined value
• Offset: Non-employee spouse receives other marital assets of equivalent value
• Equal division: Stock options are divided equally between spouses

There is much to consider when dividing complicated marital assets. Having experienced legal guidance can help you ensure that you get a fair settlement.

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Driving under the influence (DUI) is a serious offense that can result in license suspension, steep fines, and even jail time. However, being charged with DUI doesn’t automatically mean guilt, and there are several potential defenses that can be raised in court. Here are some of the most common defenses to DUI charges.

The stop was improper 

Police officers cannot stop vehicles arbitrarily; they must have reasonable suspicion that the driver has committed an offense. If there is no evidence of a violation before the stop, any evidence collected afterward may be inadmissible in court.

Reasonable suspicion might include behaviors such as speeding, swerving, running a red light or other erratic driving patterns. Without such evidence, the stop itself can be challenged, which may weaken the prosecution’s case significantly.

Inaccurate tests

To establish intoxication, police officers often rely on field sobriety tests and breathalyzer readings. Field sobriety tests involve physical assessments to measure a driver’s coordination, balance, and cognitive abilities. However, these tests are highly subjective and influenced by factors such as anxiety, medical conditions, or even uneven road surfaces. It’s important to note that these tests are also voluntary, and their results can be disputed in court.

Breathalyzers, while more scientific, are not foolproof. If the device is not properly maintained or calibrated, it can yield inaccurate results. Furthermore, medical conditions like acid reflux or diabetes can lead to elevated blood alcohol content (BAC) readings, creating a false impression of intoxication.

Other potential defenses 

Other defenses may include procedural violations, such as mishandling evidence or failing to read Miranda rights. These errors can undermine the prosecution’s case and potentially lead to a dismissal of charges.

The sooner a strong defense strategy is formed, the better the chances of a favorable outcome. A DUI conviction can have severe personal and professional consequences, so seeking legal guidance is essential.

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There are many reasons that marriages break down. One that crops up frequently is that the couple have differences in attitudes over money.

Here are a few such differences.

Spenders vs. savers

Should you save for a rainy day or enjoy the present because you never know if today will be your last? The correct answer probably lies somewhere in between. If you lean toward saving, you could easily get frustrated if your spouse appears unable or unwilling to avoid spending most of your income.

Even if you both agree that saving is essential, you might clash over how best to do so. Maybe you prefer to play it safe by investing in a municipal money market account, whereas your spouse would rather take risks and invest in things that could go big quickly, but it could also fail dramatically.

Differences over a commitment to earning

You believe in working as much as possible to earn as much as you can when the going is good. Your spouse has a more relaxed attitude toward work. They don’t feel they should work too hard and rarely work a whole five days. This could lead to friction if you feel you end up paying a larger share of the outgoings or contributing more to your joint financial reserves or if you are never free to do things with them because you are busy trying to earn more.

A resulting lack of trust

You got upset with your spouse when the last big credit card bill came in. You could not understand what led them to make those purchases that you cannot afford. They went off and sulked and as a result began trying to hide some of their spending from you, for fear you will get upset if you find out. On top of that, you have also started hiding some of your spending from them, as you fear they will call you a hypocrite if they find out. Breakdowns of trust like this can severely damage a marriage.

If differences over money have brought your marriage to breaking point, you may want to start learning more about how a divorce works. Getting legal guidance can help.

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It’s true that when children have the involvement of both parents they do better academically and emotionally. But that’s not always the case.

In some instances, limited exposure to one parent is best for the child’s well-being.

In the best interest of a child

Arizona’s family courts usually lean towards creating a parenting time schedule that gives equal time to both parents, believing that it’s best for the child. Shared parenting responsibility and cooperation give the child access to both parents and more stability.

However, sometimes it’s best for one parent to request primary parenting time. This means that one parent would provide the child’s main residence.

There are several reasons why one parent may seek sole physical custody, including:

• The other parent has a history of substance abuse, domestic violence or neglect and it poses a risk to the child’s safety
• One parent lives far away, making joint custody impractical
• Incarceration of a parent
• The parent is absent or is minimally involved in the child’s life

In order to gain primary parenting time, a parent must file a petition with the Arizona Family Court, which should clearly state the reasons for their request and provide supporting documentation. The court will consider a variety of factors, such as:

• The emotional bond the child has with each parent
• The physical and mental health of the parents and their ability to provide a stable environment for the child
• How well the child is adjusting to home, school and the community
• The child’s preferences (depending on the child’s age and maturity)
• Any history of substance abuse, physical violence or child abuse

After reviewing the circumstances, the court will decide based on the child’s best interests. 

If you are considering requesting primary parenting time of your child, you will want to speak with someone who can guide you through the process. They will work to secure the best outcome for you and your child.

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Community property rules mean that spouses generally have to split almost everything they acquire during marriage. Unless they reach a settlement on their own, a judge applies the community property statute after reviewing an inventory of marital assets and debts.

People sometimes assume that they can protect specific resources as their separate property, only to later learn that they are actually part of the marital estate. For example, 401(k) retirement accounts usually have a direct association with one spouse’s employment. They make contributions with each paycheck and may even receive matching amounts from their employers as a job benefit.

Despite ostensibly belonging to one spouse on paper, 401(k)s are usually marital property that are subject to division under community property statutes. If the couple has not yet reached retirement age, the account holder may worry about losing some of their savings to taxes and penalties.

Are such losses inevitable during a divorce?

There are ways to avoid tax consequences and penalties

Technically, any withdrawal from a tax-deferred retirement account could lead to tax consequences. People usually have to report the withdrawal as income. Especially when making a large change, such as removing half of the account balance, the withdrawal of funds before reaching retirement age might result in a much higher income tax obligation for the year.

There can be a penalty that applies as well. The rules for 401(k)s try to prevent people from taking money out of the account before they retire. Any sizeable withdrawal typically results in a 10% penalty based on the amount withdrawn.

Those penalties and tax consequences are not inevitable. In fact, there’s a relatively simple way to avoid them during a divorce. People simply need to have a lawyer draft a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO).

The use of a QDRO allows the professional managing the account to divide it into two separate accounts, each of which receives a specific percentage of the original account value. Provided that both spouses leave the funds in their individual accounts, neither spouse has to worry about taxes or a financial penalty.

While the thought of dividing retirement savings may make people anxious, it is possible to split a 401(k) without incurring further losses due to financial consequences. Learning more about the basic rules for property division in a divorce can help people achieve their goals as they prepare to rebuild their lives afterward.

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One of the most emotionally charged issues that comes up in a divorce is the tricky problem of dividing a couple’s shared possessions. There are times when it can actually be easier to split major assets – like bank accounts, real estate and cars – than it is to divide the household items.

Most people don’t realize just how emotionally attached they can get to their furniture, artwork and other mementos. Knowing when to fight it out over your possessions and when to let things go, however, is critical.

How should these items be divided?

Arizona is a community property state, which means that all marital property is supposed to be divided 50/50. However, you can’t exactly divide a couch or a painting down the middle.

Ideally, couples will come to some kind of agreement about their household goods. Often, couples choose to divide things according to their interests or needs – such as letting the spouse who likes to cook keep all the kitchen goods while the spouse who gardens keeps all the yard tools. Other items might be divided by “sets,” where one spouse keeps the living room furniture and the other takes the furniture from the bedroom. Smaller items may be split up according to value or by simply taking turns.

If you and your spouse can’t agree, however, fighting it out in court and requiring a judge to decide is just going to add to the time and cost of your divorce. In the end, nobody can decide what’s worth fighting over in a divorce except the people involved. However, having sound legal guidance can help you better determine what’s worth fighting for.

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If you’re facing marijuana-related charges, such as driving under the influence (DUI), a test may be done to check for the substance in your system. For example, the authorities may ask you to perform a urine test. This will demonstrate if you’ve been using marijuana or not, as it can be difficult to determine if a driver is actively high during the traffic stop itself.

One important thing to note is that marijuana can show up in a urine test for up to 30 days. Whether it shows up depends on the frequency of use. If you used marijuana one time in your life and it was 30 days ago, it should be well out of your system. However, if you have been using it every day for the last five years, then it may show up in a urine test for the next month – even after you stop.

Complicating a DUI

This can really complicate things if you are facing impaired driving charges. Say that you got pulled over driving home from a friend’s house, and the police say you were impaired at the time. You claim that you weren’t high and you didn’t break the law. The police don’t have a breath test reading to rely on as they would during an alcohol-related arrest.

As noted, a urine test does show the presence of marijuana in your system, so the police can claim that shows you were high at the time of the traffic stop. You counter by saying that you hadn’t used any marijuana that day and you certainly weren’t high.

In a situation like this, things can get highly complex and other evidence may need to be examined. It’s very important that you understand all of your legal defense options when facing these charges.

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Child custody orders in Arizona can be modified, but it requires following a legal process and meeting specific requirements. Whether your circumstances have changed or your child’s needs have evolved. 

Here, you will find helpful information about navigating the legal process when requesting a modification of child custody orders. 

Understand the legal grounds for modification

To request a modification of child custody in Arizona, you must demonstrate a significant change in circumstances. This could include relocation, a change in the child’s needs or a shift in one parent’s ability to care for the child. The court will unlikely approve a modification request without proof of substantial change.

Wait for the appropriate time

Arizona law generally requires parents to wait at least one year before requesting a custody modification unless there are urgent circumstances, such as the child being in immediate danger. If domestic violence or abuse is present, the court may allow a modification without waiting a full year.

File the necessary court documents

To begin the modification process, file a “Petition to Modify Child Custody” with the court that issued the original order. The petition must clearly outline the changes in circumstances and why a new custody arrangement is in the child’s best interest. Arizona courts focus on the child’s well-being when considering any custody changes.

Attend a court hearing

After filing your petition, you’ll attend a court hearing. Both parents can present evidence supporting their case for or against the modification. The judge will review all evidence and testimonies before deciding whether the custody order should be altered.

Navigating custody modifications can be complex. It’s recommended to seek legal guidance to ensure all necessary steps are completed properly and in your child’s best interest.

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