How to File for Divorce in Arizona

To file for divorce in Arizona, either you or your spouse must have resided here for at least 90-days. If one of the spouses is in the armed forces and stationed in Arizona, and that is the basis for Arizona jurisdiction, then keep in mind that the military presence must have been maintained for 90 days before the petition is filed.

How do I File for Divorce in Arizona?

To initiate a divorce in Arizona, a spouse files a “Petition for Dissolution of Marriage” with the clerk of the Superior Court and pays the necessary filing fee. The other spouse must be served with a copy of the petition and summons.

They then have 20 days from the date of service to file a written response with the court (30 days if service is out-of-state). The other spouse may waive service by signing and notarizing an “Acceptance of Service.” The petition and response consist of the initial family court pleadings.

What is a Contested Divorce?

If a divorcing couple agrees to a settlement, in writing, on all of the issues — spousal maintenance (alimony), asset and debt division, child custody, parenting time, child support — they will be granted an uncontested divorce and avoid the adversarial divorce litigation. Conversely, when a couple cannot agree on any of the basic issues, then a contested divorce exists. When a divorce is contested, the parties proceed through all phases of litigation, including a trial before a family court judge.

You or your spouse must meet Arizona residency requirements before you can file for divorce in the state. Therefore, it is important to be familiar with the local residency requirements to avoid the hassle later on. As mentioned earlier, either spouse must have lived in Arizona for at least 90 days before filing. You are required to file for divorce in the county in which you or your spouse live. If you are unsure of where to file your case, you can locate your local county courthouse through the Arizona courts locator.

There are two different divorce packets on the Arizona Judicial Branch website. One is for divorcing couples with children, and the other is for divorcing couples without children. Additionally, you can also expect to find separate packets for the petitioner (the spouse who is initiating the divorce) and the respondent (the spouse who has been served with divorce papers).

You need to choose the packet that best fits your situation. Each packet contains instructions to guide you through the process. When completing the forms, respond to each question completely. It may be easier to fill them out on a computer. The Mojave County Judicial Branch website is a starting point for beginners and it details out what you can expect to find when you navigate to your county court’s website and divorce forms index.

What is the Process of Serving Your Spouse in Arizona?

If you are the petitioner, you will have 120 days to serve your documents on your spouse under current Arizona law. If you do not serve the papers on your spouse within 120 days, the clerk of court will dismiss your case immediately. If your case gets dismissed and you still want to get a divorce, you will need to start the process over again.

You can serve your documents by having a deputy sheriff or a process server (non-party over 18) deliver them to your spouse. You cannot deliver the documents personally by hand or by regular first class mail unless your spouse authorizes you to accept service and signs an Acceptance of Service form.

A process server will charge a fee for serving your spouse, but if you obtain a deputy sheriff to serve the papers, you can ask the court to waive or reduce the sheriff’s service fee. After your spouse has been properly served in the divorce, virtually all other documents in your case may be delivered by first class mail or hand delivery. Different rules may apply if you are trying to serve a spouse in the military, who is harder to locate, or who is currently in jail. It is useful to check with your local court clerk for more advice in these situations.

What Are Financial Disclosures That Need to Be Made?

Both spouses are required to complete financial affidavits as part of the divorce. An affidavit is a statement sworn in front of a notary. In the financial affidavit, each spouse needs to include all information about their income, expenses, assets, and debts. Moreover, you may need to provide supplemental documents, such as pay stubs, credit card statements, mortgage statements, or tax returns.

This allows everyone to understand each spouse’s financial picture and prevents one spouse from hiding assets. This financial information assists the spouses, and the judge makes fair decisions about alimony, property division, and child support. It is important to be accurate, clear, and detailed when you complete this form.

Arizona is one of the few states that have created a covenant marriage. To dissolve a covenant marriage, you and your spouse need to agree on dissolution or have already gone through a legal separation procedure. Furthermore, you may also prove a fault-based ground such as adultery, your spouse being convicted of a felony, abandonment for at least one year, physical or sexual abuse, domestic violence, or habitual drug or alcohol abuse.

In dividing property and debts, Arizona adopts the concept of community property, where property acquired during a marriage is considered marital property. Typically, each party will keep their “sole and separate” property. If the judge must divide the property, they may consider any “excessive or abnormal expenditures, destruction, concealment or fraudulent disposition of community, joint tenancy and other property held in common” per the local guidelines.

How is Alimony Determined in Arizona?

In Arizona, alimony is known as maintenance. In deciding whether to award maintenance and the amount and duration, the judge must determine some factors.

The amount and duration of maintenance take into account the following factors:

• The standard of living during the marriage;
• The duration of the marriage;
• The age, employment, earning ability, and physical and emotional condition of the spouse seeking maintenance;
• The ability of the other spouse to meet their needs while paying maintenance
• Comparative financial resources and earning abilities;
• Contribution of the spouse seeking maintenance to the other’s earning ability;
• The extent to which the spouse seeking maintenance has reduced income or career opportunities for the other’s benefit;
• The ability of both to contribute to the educational costs of the children;
• Financial resources, and ability to meet the needs of the party seeking maintenance;
• The time needed to acquire education or training to find appropriate employment;
• Excessive or abnormal expenditures, destruction, concealment, or fraudulent disposition of community or jointly owned property;
• The cost of health insurance for both parties and;
• Damages and judgments from criminal conviction of either spouse in which the other spouse or child was the victim.

When Do I Need to Contact a Lawyer?

If you reside in the state of Arizona and want to file for a divorce, it may be useful to research the local state guidelines on how to start the process. If you need additional assistance, it is recommended to seek out an Arizona divorce attorney to guide you through the process.