Ultimate Guide to Getting a Divorce in Arizona

CFP®, CDFA® | Divorce Financial Planner and Mediator

No matter how agreeable the split, divorce nearly always brings additional stress and turmoil to you, your spouse, and your loved ones. If you’re an Arizona resident ready to file for divorce or if your spouse has recently served you with divorce papers, familiarizing yourself with Arizona’s divorce laws can help you prepare for the legal proceedings and reduce the emotional burden.

The staff of Simplify My Divorce, an online divorce resource organization, created this article to explain Arizona’s divorce laws, how to file for divorce in Arizona, the state’s standard legal proceedings, and the details of Arizona child custody laws, spousal support, and property division.

Table of Contents

Who Can File for Divorce in Arizona?

State law dictates that you and your spouse must meet Arizona residency requirements before filing for divorce. First, either you or your spouse must have resided in Arizona for at least 90 days.

Secondly, you and your spouse should have a “significant connection” to Arizona to ensure an appropriate division of property and debts. Finally, if you and your spouse have minor children together, one of you must have resided in Arizona for at least six months and at least one spouse must currently live in Arizona.

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Is Arizona a No-Fault Divorce State?

Arizona is a purely no-fault divorce state, with one exception discussed below. When filing for a no-fault divorce, the petitioning spouse can simply state that the couple no longer gets along, rather than alleging and attempting to prove that their spouse may have behaved in a way that contributed to the end of their marriage.

Alternatively, fault-based divorce ends the marriage on the grounds of one of the spouses’ behavior (or “fault”). Arizona state courts will only allow fault-based divorce in the event of a covenant marriage. Additionally, if you and your spouse entered into a covenant marriage when filing your marriage license, you must undergo marriage counseling before petitioning for divorce.

However, if counseling cannot repair the marriage, you must file for a fault-based divorce, then allege and provide proof of specific grounds, including:

Adultery
Criminal conviction of a felony
Abandonment
Domestic violence
Child abuse
Physical or sexual abuse
Ongoing substance abuse

The Arizona Divorce Process

Arizona divorce laws may allow spouses and their families to finalize the dissolution process quickly. The petitioning spouse can initiate divorce proceedings by filing the initial Petition for Divorce. After filing the appropriate Arizona divorce forms and paying the $349 filing fee, you can legally serve your spouse with divorce papers and proceed with an uncontested, contested, or collaborative divorce.

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Uncontested Divorce in Arizona

Uncontested divorces in Arizona eliminate the need for a trial, saving you thousands of dollars in fees and months spent waiting for a decree. To qualify for an uncontested divorce, you and your spouse must agree on several critical terms, including:

The “irretrievably broken” condition of the marriage
The impossibility of a reunion
The division of debts and property acquired during the marriage
The terms of spousal maintenance

If you and your spouse have children under the age of 18, you must also agree on the following:

Primary child custody and noncustodial care
Visitation schedules for the noncustodial parent
The terms of child support

After ensuring agreement, uncontested divorces will typically move forward in one of two ways:

Getting a divorce through a decree requires you and your spouse to sign a joint Consent Decree of Dissolution of Marriage 60 days after serving your spouse with papers. The document will outline several critical elements of your dissolution agreement, including division of property, child custody, and an agreement to attend compulsory parenting classes.

Once you and your spouse have signed the Decree of Dissolution before a notary, filed it with your Superior Court clerk, and attended parenting classes, you can request a hearing. A judge will then review and sign the Decree, typically finalizing the order for dissolution of marriage within 60 to 120 days.

Default Dissolution

Upon filing for divorce and paying the court filing fees, you must serve your spouse with the divorce petition in 120 days or fewer. If your spouse lives in Arizona, they will then have 20 days to respond to the petition or risk a Divorce by Default, or 30 days if they live out of state.

If your spouse fails to file a response within the predetermined period, you can proceed to file an Application and Affidavit for Default. After ten business days, you can schedule a default hearing with the court. There, your petition should likely receive approval.

A judge will then issue an official Default Decree of Dissolution of Marriage after a 60-day waiting period. Finally, you must serve your spouse with the Default Decree within three days of the final order.

Collaborative Divorce

Like uncontested divorces, collaborative divorces allow couples to end their marriages more amicably than a disputed divorce. However, unlike uncontested divorces, you can obtain a collaborative divorce decree without ever going to court.

Collaborative models provide families with a team of trained intermediaries and mental health professionals who offer legal advice, financial counseling, and family mediation to ensure that the final settlement terms adequately meet the needs of minor children.

After you finalize the collaborative divorce with your team, your attorneys will file your legal documents and settlement agreement with the court. The judge will then review and approve your divorce case, finalizing your marriage.

Contested Divorce

Contested divorces can quickly complicate divorce proceedings. If one spouse disagrees with the other spouse regarding any of the divorce terms, the dissolution process could last between one and two years and cost $30,000 or more between court filings, divorce attorneys, and ongoing mediation.

After your spouse files a Response to the Petition for Dissolution, your Arizona divorce attorney will begin a process called Discovery and Disclosure. This stage requires significant gathering and verification of information regarding debts, property, and income and can potentially impact child custody and spousal support decisions.

Either spouse may request third-party psychological or financial experts, which will then evaluate family members’ mental and physical health conditions or delve into the income and value of a self-employed spouse. These experts can take up to eight months to evaluate your circumstances and provide a recommendation.

Following the conclusion of the Discovery and Disclosure process and the expert investigations, you will receive a trial date. The judge will then hear your and your spouse’s cases and make a final decision regarding the division of assets, alimony, and child custody.

Converting a Legal Separation into a Divorce

If you and your spouse have already obtained a Decree of Legal Separation, you can convert your separation into a divorce by filing a new Petition for Dissolution of Marriage using the same case number as your separation case.

The divorce proceedings that follow will closely mirror those of your separation. After you file your divorce petition, your spouse will file a response. You can reuse the orders originating in your separation decree to streamline your divorce petition. Then, if you and your spouse agree to the terms set upon separation, you can finalize the divorce by signing a joint Decree for Dissolution of Marriage.

Preliminary Injunction

If the court determines it necessary, you or your spouse may receive a preliminary injunction. A preliminary injunction places rules upon both parties during the divorce proceedings that you must follow.

Though similar to temporary orders, which concern living situations, childcare, and living expenses throughout the proceedings, a preliminary injunction focuses on dividable assets. The order prohibits you or the other party from hiding or destroying assets that could potentially impact alimony and child support decisions.

Arizona Property Division Guidelines

Unlike other states, Arizona follows community property rules. These rules imply that all assets, including money and property, and debts acquired during a marriage belong to each party equally.

Court orders regarding community assets do not include sole and separate property, such as:

Property owned by one spouse before the marriage
Property or assets covered by a legally binding pre- or post-nuptial agreement
Property obtained as a gift or inheritance before, during, or following the marriage

If you and your spouse reach an agreement before going to court, you can include the terms of asset division in the settlement that you present to your judge.

However, if you cannot agree and need help dividing assets, a judge will distribute your marital property as equally as possible. The judge may also consider any extravagant spending, fraudulent disposition of joint tenancy or community property, or destruction of property discovered before or during the divorce proceedings.

Further, you may face some tax consequences following the court-ordered equitable property division. For example, if you remove money from your retirement accounts to halve with your spouse, you may have to pay a fee for early withdrawals.

Spousal Support in Arizona

Depending on the terms of your divorce agreement, your judge may need to decide whether or not to award alimony. Also known as “spousal maintenance” in Arizona courts, the judge will award financial support based on several factors, including:

The appealing spouse’s ability to earn a livable wage
The appealing spouse’s employment history and career opportunities
The physical and emotional condition of the spouse seeking alimony
The time needed to acquire sufficient education or training to find appropriate employment
The cost of health insurance for both the spouse seeking maintenance and the other spouse
Whether or not the couple’s shared children are of a suitable age and condition for the appealing spouse to seek employment
The financial resources of the appealing spouse and opposing party

The Arizona Supreme Court allows the judge to determine the amount of spousal maintenance and the length of time the spouse will receive support. Depending on the circumstances of your case, you or your spouse may receive ongoing monthly payments or a single lump sum.

Arizona Child Custody and Child Support

Unlike other states that award custody to one parent and visitation rights to the other, Arizona prioritizes parenting time and collaborative legal decision-making. With this in mind, the courts award custody based on how the parents will share their children’s time and which parent will have final decision-making authority, ensuring that each parent remains involved in their children’s lives.

If you and your spouse cannot settle on the terms of parenting schedules and legal decision making, the judge will provide a verdict based upon factors, including:

The past, present, and future relationship between the parents and child
The child’s adjustment to school, home, and community
Any history of domestic violence or abuse
Whether one parent intentionally misled the court to delay decisions, increase costs, or attempt to garner preference from the court

Further, Arizona state law dictates that each parent must financially support their children, making monthly maintenance compulsory. The courts will calculate the monthly amount using the Arizona Child Support Guidelines, which consider several factors, such as:

The income of each spouse
The cost of the child’s health insurance
Daycare costs
The amount of parenting time contributed by each spouse

Filing for Divorce in Arizona

Divorce is never easy. However, when you familiarize yourself with Arizona state divorce laws and hire a knowledgeable divorce attorney from a respected law firm, you can save yourself further emotional stress, mental strain, and financial burden.