If you and your partner decide to separate, and assuming you cannot agree concerning your jointly owned home, a partition action can be filed with the superior court to force the sale of the home. The court will appoint a real estate agent to sell the home and then will decide how the net sales... View More

That seems like an acceptable move.

Moves like yours happen all the time, and the vast majority do not result in any court action at all. It is common for parenting to continue to share equal parenting time at that distance. So most likely, it should be fine.

That said, nothing in... View More

You have described several reasons that you may be entitled to a child support modification, which are not related to his one time bonus.

Under Arizona law, seasonal or fluctuating income within a year are annualized to determine the average monthly Child Support Income. If this is truly... View More

One of the requirements for filing in Arizona is that at least one of the spouses must be domiciled in Arizona for 90 days. That means you must have lived here for the 90 days prior to filing for divorce with the intent to remain here. You indicate, "We wish to file for divorce soon after... View More

If you believe your daughter may be harmed if Father exercises parenting time, then YES, you need to seek temporary and/or emergency orders. Such is the quickest manner of getting to see your Judge. OR, perhaps a strongly worded letter from an experienced attorney would convince Father to make... View More

Because you made payments during the marriage those are technically considered community payments. Thus, since the house was gifted only to you during the marriage , you then were making community payments towards a piece of separate property. Husband can claim reimbursement for "community... View More

The Court will only enter orders if agreed upon. Otherwise, the Court will try to see what is necessary to move the matter along, and may ask you about mediation and discovery. If the matter is ready for Trial, the Court may schedule deadlines and Trial.

Once the Court swears you in, if... View More

If wife was ordered to take care of the debt related to the vehicle, then that remains true even now, but unfortunately is only binding upon the two of you. It is not binding upon the creditor who can pursue either of you if you were both on the loan. One option that you have is to file a petition... View More

She can sign a "Consent to Adoption" or "Consent to Termination of Parental Rights". A consent to adopt is irrevocable unless obtained by fraud, duress or undue influence. The consent must be in writing, must be witnessed by two or more credible witnesses OR shall be signed... View More

Do you work? You have to prove that you can support yourself. I have a brochure I could send you prepared by the Arizona Supreme Court that describes how that works.

In your Petition, ypu must allege, and then be able to prove, that:

- You are or can be self-sufficient... View More

You asked what the "actual grounds" are for spousal maintenance. Arizona's spousal maintenance law is very complex. But here is probably the simplest way to explain it:

First Step: Determine Eligibility

You have to qualify under one of the grounds listed under ARS... View More

You absolutely have the right to request spousl maintenance. Spousal maintenance is based upon so much more than just your income. If you review through our statute (google "ARS 25-319"), you can see the other topics.

Arizona also has recently adopted spousal maintenance... View More

Divorces are the same in every Arizona county. Every divorce basically will address the same topics:

1. Legal decision making

2. Parenting time

3. Child support

4. Spousal maintenance

5. Division of property

6. Division of debts

A... View More

You have certainly described some very concerning and disturbing circumstances that your judge would surely want to address. With your initial "Petition for Modification", you could also file a Petition for Temporary Orders. Such is the quickest manner of getting to see your Judge and... View More

Yes, you can get full custody under those circumstances, but it is far from a guarantee. This is not a clearcut case for getting full custody, but you have arguments you can make that could get you there. A judge is going to be very concerned about what happened with the gymnastics dropoff, but the... View More

You need to file a "Petition for Disolution".

You can find Pima County forms and instructins here: https://www.sc.pima.gov/law-library/forms/

This is obviously a very important matter. It is possible and allowed to file your own divorce and complete the process without... View More

When someone files a Motion, there are three filings that are permitted:

1. The Motion itself

2. The Response to the Motion

3. The Reply to the Response

You filed a "Reply to Plaintiff’s Reply to Respondent’s Reply to Motion to Quash," so that is a... View More

It unfortunately does not work that way, which I know is frustrating and makes no sense. But you have to pay the court-ordered amount for child support every month regardless of what she owes you. Like I said, it makes no sense, but it's the situation you're in. If she's not making a... View More

Don't text him directly if it violates a court order.

Absent hiring an attorney to communicate with him as Mr. Peters suggested, you might want to file a Request for Mediation and make sure you have checked off that requirement before going for contempt.

Be keeping a record of... View More

Perhaps a strongly worded letter from an experienced attorney would encourage him to be more communicative.

A qualified and experienced family law attorney can of course assist you in considering your options and then getting where you need to be. Most of us offer free, 1/2-hour... View More