Category: Family Law

Community property is property acquired by the spouses during the marriage. Generally, the law presumes that any property purchased or obtained by either spouse during the marriage is community property. …

Not necessarily. State law provides that property (of all types) owned by a person before marriage can remain the “separate property” of that spouse. Also items that a spouse receives …

It is important to know what community property the spouses have because in a dissolution case the court is required by law to divide the community property in a fair …

Spouses are encouraged to resolve as many issues as possible. One way to do this is by a written agreement (called a “separation agreement”) indicating how matters should be handled …

The Petition is the legal paper that asks the court to legally end the marriage and to issue other orders necessary to deal with the spouses’ property and debts as …

In any legal case, the people involved are referred to by words that describe their role in the case. In a divorce case, the person who starts the court case …

The Summons is the official court paper that tells the other spouse that a divorce case has been started and that some action must be taken if the other spouse …

The Preliminary Injunction prevents (“enjoins”) each spouse from doing certain things that might damage the person, property or legal rights of the other spouse. The purpose of the Preliminary Injunction …

Under state law (section 25-329, Arizona Revised Statutes), a divorce cannot be granted by the court until at least 60 days after the first court papers are delivered to the …

Yes. Because ending a marriage is a serious step with many legal and personal results, the Superior Court in many counties has trained family counselors and mediators available to assist …