Arizona is a “community property” state. This means that in general, almost everything that you accumulate, including earnings, property, assets and debts, from the date you say “I do” until the day that divorce papers are served, is considered joint property (or joint debt). If it’s joint, it’s generally divided up to be about 50-50. If you owned it or owed it before the marriage, or if you inherited it or received it as a separate gift during the marriage, then it’s called “sole and separate” property, and you keep it once the marriage is over. The things which complicate the issue is whether or not you comingled your sole and separate property, such as if you use “community” earnings to pay the mortgage on a “sole and separate” house, then it’s quite possible that the increased value of the house will be divided between the spouses. For specific information about how to define sole and separate from community property, and how the judge and parties may divide up the property and allocate assets, please review A.R.S. 25-211 and 25-318. Back to Frequently Asked Family Law Questions
