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 is to keep each spouse from making decisions or taking actions about money and property belonging to both spouses and about the legal interests of any minor children until written agreement is reached by the parties or the court has had the opportunity to make fair decisions about these matters. As much as possible, it keeps everything as it was during the marriage while the divorce case is before the court. The Preliminary Injunction is an official court order that is effective until the divorce case has ended.
Basically, the Preliminary Injunction does these things:
- Directs the spouses not to sell, give away, transfer, borrow against or hide any community property, unless needed for the necessities of life or done in the usual course of a business.
- Prohibits family violence.
- Orders both spouses not to remove any children living in Arizona from the state without the written agreement of both spouses or the court’s permission.
- Requires that all types of insurance coverage for the spouses and any children remain effective and that no one be removed. A spouse who disobeys the Preliminary Injunction may be arrested and prosecuted for the crime of interfering with judicial proceedings; that spouse may also be held in contempt of court (punished by fine or jail for violation of a court order).