This website is designed to provide only general information pertaining to family law matters in the state of Arizona. Nothing contained herein constitutes legal advice, nor is it intended to offer legal advice. Any information provided in this website shall not constitute legal advice nor establish any type of attorney client relationship. PERRY LAW FIRM, PLLC does not make any guarantee as to the accuracy or currency of any information contained herein or created through use of any link to another website contained in this website.

[CHILD SUPPORT]    [DIVORCE]     [GRANDPARENT RIGHTS]
[MEDIATION]     [ORDER OF PROTECTION]

DIVORCE

• EIGHT COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT DIVORCE
• COUNSELING
• RECONCILIATION
• DEALING WITH YOUR SPOUSE DURING THE DIVORCE
• NEGOTIATIONS
• CONTESTED CASES
• BEGINNING THE DIVORCE PROCESS
• DOCUMENTS REQUIRED DURING THE PROCEEDINGS
• EFFECT OF EMPLOYMENT ON SPOUSAL AND CHILD SUPPORT
• YOUR DAY IN COURT

EIGHT QUESTIONS COMMONLY ASKED DURING A DIVORCE

At Perry Law Firm PLLC, we advise our clients that winning and losing is normally never as clear cut as they would think and that each case is different. In family law, each new case forces to reassess our perspective and re-define “wining” and “losing.”

2.  How Long Will It Take?

It is difficult at the outset of a lawsuit to foresee how long it will take to complete. We are better able to give you an estimated time range as the matter progresses and we understand more clearly what is at issue. The time involved is primarily based on four factors:

• The number and complexity of the contested issues



• The intensity of feelings and whether there is an inclination to settle;



• The attitude and tenacity of your spouse; and



• The tenacity and desire for litigation of your spouse´s attorney.

By far, the factor that makes lawsuits last longer is the intensity of the feelings between the parties and how much they want to fight. However, in Arizona, if there are no contested issues, it might be possible to be divorced in 90 to 120 days. Arizona has a 60-day waiting period following the filing and service of the initial dissolution documents. After the 60 days, the court must sign the final dissolution documents.

3.  How Much Will It Cost?

It is difficult for any divorce attorney to make a realistic estimate of the total fee even when he or she knows what issues are contested, the intensity of the parties´ feelings, and the complexity of the issues. If the parties want to settle, make compromises, and end the matter quickly, they can do so. If the parties do not trust each other, want complete discovery of all assets and liabilities, and argue many issues to the bitter end, the process becomes very long, drawn out, and expensive. Going to trial is almost always more expensive than settling the lawsuit.

At Perry Law Firm PLLC, when we discuss "expensive," we talk about the three different ways in which you will pay--with your time, with the hole in your stomach, and with the hole in your pocketbook.

• The Demands on You Time: You will have to spend quite a bit of time to prepare your lawsuit. Your spouse does not prepare your lawsuit and your spouse´s attorney does not prepare your lawsuit. As your divorce attorney, Perry Law Firm PLLC prepares your lawsuit, but we can do so only with your help. You must make a commitment to put time into your case. It takes hard work. If you are unable or not prepared to spend the time, then your case will be more expensive. You should weigh the price that you will pay with your time to determine whether certain issues are worth litigation.



• The Hole in Your Stomach: Many health professionals will tell you that going through a divorce is one of the most painful experiences you can have. It is recommended that all parties going through a divorce be in counseling to help with the emotional issues. Your emotions will probably roller-coaster. It is unusual for both parties to want to end the relationship simultaneously. Therefore, one party is very often emotionally hurt along the way.  Often one party raises issues as a way of dragging the matter out to punish the other spouse. The more issues raised, the more painful and emotionally expensive the process can become. 
  
  
• The Hole in Your Pocketbook: Because preparing and trying a lawsuit is very expensive, at Perry Law Firm PLLC, we urge you to scrutinize the issues at an early stage and determine what issues can be settled. We do not recommend making unreasonable or unnecessary concessions, but we recommend you look carefully at the issues that separate you and your spouse. If there are concessions you can make that might bring your case to a speedy conclusion and thus reduce your fees, we will recommend that you consider making those concessions as a means of minimizing your legal expenses.
  
  

8.  Other Questions That May Arise During the Divorce Procedure

1) May I Date?
2) Should Credit Cards be Terminated?
3) Should I Use our Joint Bank Accounts?
4) Should I Withdraw or Sell Assets?

 
Contact your counsel if questions such as the above arise. These are appropriate questions—there are no “silly” questions.  At Perry Law Firm PLLC, we are eager to assist you throughout the process.

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COUNSELING

Family law cases are extremely emotional. For that reason, many clients consider seeking counseling before or during the legal process. Depending on the client´s needs, counseling may serve different purposes. One client may benefit from marriage counseling to improve or reconcile a relationship. Another may instead need "divorce counseling" to aid the parties in the process, accept that the marriage is over, cope with its demise, pick up the pieces and go on.

A client will often put off going to a counselor because his or her spouse will not agree to see a counselor. Don´t wait for a reluctant spouse to participate. Individual counseling can be extremely helpful and satisfying. Often parents and children attend counseling together. This helps to lessen the effects the divorce or custody dispute has on the children and helps the family put their emotions back together.

Counseling will aid you through this difficult time and make your attorney´s job easier. Your attorney is trained to assist you with your legal needs, and is not properly equipped to counsel you emotionally.

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RECONCILIATION

Most clients come to our office to seek a divorce. Not all have decided to take that big step, and seek first to know their other options. We encourage clients or potential clients to explore alternatives to divorce. We often suggest approaches, other than divorce, that will protect the client and meet his or her needs. Thus, if the topic of reconciliation arises, we are not questioning or judging your decision with respect to the divorce. Rather, we want to make sure you are aware that the results you seek are attainable by other means and confirm that you really want a divorce.

Further, at any time during the process, the divorce proceedings may be put on hold--or vacated entirely--while the parties attempt reconciliation.

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HOW YOU SHOULD DEAL WITH YOUR SPOUSE DURING THE DIVORCE

Divorce tends to bring out the worst in people. Self-interest apparently justifies deceptions and outright lies that would be intolerable to nice people in ordinary times. Self-protection requires a new set of guidelines for dealing with your legal adversary:

• If love is gone, substitute politeness



• Walk away from arguments or conflict



• Don´t enter into private negotiations without your lawyer´s knowledge and advice



• Don´t make agreements or sign anything without talking to your lawyer first



• Learn to say, "Talk to your lawyer and have him or her talk to mine"



• Obtain a post office box until the conclusion of the case so that your mail will not be intercepted by your spouse



• Do not keep any files in connection with your case at any location where your spouse could seize them, thus learning your entire case and strategy



• Do not enter into any Agreements of Sale on your real estate, or the acquisition of new real estate, without conferring with your attorney



• Do not presume that your counsel receives copies of any correspondence, legal pleadings, or notices that you may receive in the mail or by judicial process. Upon receiving any such documents, contact your attorney immediately and send your counsel copies of any such documents

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NEGOTIATIONS

Please note that Perry Law Firm´s approach to matrimonial litigation will always be to act so as to not make a bad situation worse. We will try to defuse tensions, avoid hostility, and maximize the ability of the parties and lawyers to arrive at a fair and reasonable settlement. Many studies and our own experience show that a negotiated agreement between the parties serves both parties best. An agreement allows the parties to "fine tune" matters between themselves in a way that courts are often unable to do. The court will never know a case as well as the parties and the attorneys do; therefore, it is always prudent to work out a settlement if possible.

However, there are times when a case will not settle despite the best efforts of the attorneys and clients. In our experience, this is a small percentage of the time. Settlement may be impossible to achieve for several reasons, including the unrealistic expectations of the parties, disputes as to the facts or the law, the existence of novel and as yet undecided issues, or the desire on the part of a party to deny a divorce to the spouse. In those instances where a settlement is not possible, our attorney´s litigation experience can be invaluable.

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CONTESTED CASES

Though both parties may desire a divorce, if there is not an agreement on all issues, the matter is “contested” and trial preparations become necessary. Upon the completion of all discovery, the case is set for a hearing. However, keep in mind that even with a trial set, a settlement can occur any time before trial.  If an agreement is reached "on the courthouse steps,” your attorney will recite the agreement on the record before the judge and court reporter.

Preparing for trial in a contested case is an intense, time-consuming, and expensive process. Testimony requires preparation; evidentiary documents must be copied and cataloged, your attorney may need to meet with the experts to prepare for cross-examination of the other side, any needed research must be conducted, and briefs may be necessary. Even though expensive, thorough preparation for the trial is essential; witnesses and records substantiate the positions of the parties regarding support, custody, property, or other issues.

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BEGINNING THE DIVORCE PROCESS

Either you or your spouse must be a resident of Arizona for at least 90 days before you may file for a divorce, and the divorce should be filed in the county in which the person filing resides.  Unless you request otherwise or unless we feel it would be in your best interest to wait, Perry Law Firm PLLC will begin working on your case as soon as we are hired.  The divorce process actually begins when either you or your spouse file a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with the Superior Court.  If you are the Petitioner in your matter, after filing the Petition for Dissolution on your behalf, we will have the Complaint served upon your spouse.  The law then provides a specified period for your spouse to answer your Complaint. The court or an agreement between attorneys may extend this period. Under Arizona law, a divorce cannot be granted by the court until at least 60 days after the first court papers are delivered to the other spouse. After the initial documents have been drafted and filed with the Court and your spouse has been served with same, the negotiations are ready to begin. 

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DOCUMENTS REQUIRED DURING THE PROCEEDINGS

At Perry Law Firm PLLC, we request that our clients start gathering as many of the following documents as possible. A complete picture of the assets and income of both spouses is absolutely necessary. Documents contain significant information that will help us prepare for settlement or trial. By providing us with the information and documents requested below as quickly as possible, you will save time and money. Additionally, possession of these documents will help in preventing your spouse from dissipating or hiding any assets.

• Income Tax Returns. Completed personal, corporate, partnership, joint venture, or other income tax returns, state and federal, including W-2, 1099, and K-1 forms, in your possession or control from the start of the marriage



• Income Information. Current income information, including payroll stubs and all other evidence of income since the filing of your last tax return



• Personal Property Tax Returns filed in this state or anywhere else from the start of the marriage.
• Banking Information. All monthly bank statements, passbooks, check registers, deposit slips, canceled checks, and bank charge notices on personal and business accounts, certificates of deposit, and money market and retirement accounts from banks, savings and loan institutions, credit unions, or other institutions in which you or your spouse has an interest



• Financial Statements submitted to banks, lending institutions, or any other persons or entities, which were prepared by you or your spouse at any time during the last five (5) years



• Any Loan Applications made within the last five (5) years



• Brokerage Statements. Monthly statements from all accounts of securities and/or commodities dealers or mutual funds maintained by you or your spouse during the marriage, and held individually, jointly, or as a trustee or guardian



• Stocks, Bonds and Mutual Funds. Certificates, if available, of accounts owned by either spouse during the marriage or pre-owned by you



• Stock Options. All records pertaining to stock options held in any corporation or other entity, exercised or not exercised



• Pension, Profit Sharing, Deferred Compensation Agreement, and Retirement Plans or any other kind of plan owned by you or by any corporation in which you or your spouse has been a participant during the marriage, including annual statements



• Wills and Trust Agreements executed by you or in which you have a present or contingent interest or in which you are a beneficiary, trustee, executor, or guardian and from which benefits have been received, are being received, or will be received and which are or were in existence during the past five (5) years, including inter vivos trusts. All records of declaration of trust and minute books for all trusts to which you are a party, including the certificates, if any, showing such interest and copies of all statements, receipts, disbursements, investments, and other transactions



• Life Insurance or certificate of life insurance policies now in existence, insuring your life, the life of your spouse, or the life of your children, and statements of the cash value, if available



• General Insurance. Copies of insurance policies, including, but not limited to, annuities, health, accident, casualty, motor vehicles of any kind, property liability, including contents, and insurance owned by the parties during the past five (5) years of the marriage



• Outstanding Debts. Documents reflecting all debts owed to you or by you, secured or unsecured, including personal loans, credit card statements, and lawsuits pending or previously filed in any court



• Business Records or ledgers in your possession and control that are either personal or business-related, together with all accounts and journals



• Real Property. Any deeds of property in which you or your spouse has an interest together with evidence of all contributions, in cash or otherwise, made by you or on your behalf, toward the acquisition of such real estate during the marriage or thereafter



• Sale and Option Agreements on any real estate owned by you either individually, through another person or entity, jointly, or as trustee or guardian



• Personal Property. Documents, invoices, contracts, insurance policies, and appraisals on all personal property, including furniture, fixtures, furnishings, equipment, antiques, and any type of collections, owned by you individually, jointly, as trustee or guardian, or through any other person or entity during the term of the marriage



• Motor Vehicles. All financing agreements and titles to all motor vehicles owned by you, individually or jointly, at any time during the last five (5) years, including airplanes, boats, automobiles, or any other types of motor vehicles



• Corporate Interests. All records showing any kind of personal interest in any corporation (foreign or domestic) or any other entities not evidenced by certificate or other instrument



• Partnership and Joint Venture Agreements to which you have been a party during the marriage



• Employment Records during the term of the marriage, showing evidence of wages, salaries, bonuses, commissions, raises, promotions, expense accounts, and other benefits or deductions of any kind. All records showing any fringe benefits available to you or your spouse from any business entity including, without limitation, auto, travel, entertainment, educational, and personal living expenses



• Employment contracts under which you or your spouse have performed services during the past three (3) years, including a list of description of any oral contracts



• Charge Account statements for the past three (3) years



• Membership cards or documents identifying participation rights in any country clubs, key clubs, private clubs, associations, or fraternal group organizations during the past three (3) years of the marriage, together with all monthly statements



• Judgments and pleadings in which you have been a party to, either as Plaintiff or Defendant, during the marriage



• Medical bills, prescriptions, evaluation reports, or diagnoses for psychiatric treatment received during the last five (5) years



• Appraisals of any asset owned by you for the past five (5) years



• Safe Deposit Boxes. A list of contents as well as the people authorized to enter

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EFFECT OF EMPLOYMENT ON SPOUSAL AND CHILD SUPPORT

In determining the issue of spousal and child support the court will want information on the ability of the supported spouse to earn money to contribute toward his or her own living expenses. A certified vocational evaluator can provide the court with an opinion about the supported spouse´s possible employment, need for education or training, the job market, and potential earnings. The court generally gives considerable weight to such testimony. The process by which the evaluator gains this information is called a "vocational evaluation." Many dependent spouses ask if they should return to work. We encourage you to prepare to return to employment by either completing your education or exploring employment opportunities. The support guidelines do not penalize parents for returning to work. If it is not detrimental to the children, employment may be emotionally helpful to you during this very stressful process.

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YOUR DAY IN COURT

The thought of going to court is bound to raise your anxiety a bit. Knowing what is going to happen and how to act will help diminish your nervousness. You should dress comfortably, conservatively, and in a manner that shows respect for the court. If you are uncertain about what is appropriate, ask your attorney. The personnel in the courtroom will usually include a judge, a court reporter, a court clerk, and a bailiff. In a contested trial, your spouse, his or her attorney, experts, and other witnesses will be present. If there is more than one case listed, you may have to wait a while for your case to be called. Being in court can be tedious.

When your case is called for trial, the general procedure will be as follows: As your attorney, Perry Law Firm PLLC will give a brief pending statement to inform the court about our case. This may occur in open court or may take place informally in the judge´s chambers. When the case is called, the petitioner will put on his or her witnesses first and then the other party will be given an opportunity to put on his or her witnesses. Witnesses will be called and sworn and will testify. The attorney for each party can question each witness, including the petitioner and the respondent. If you are the respondent in the case, you may be called for cross-examination (this means that the opposing attorney may request your testimony under oath) and/or as the first witness. This is the usual procedure, so we will prepare you for this should it occur. Once the case is complete, each attorney argues the issues. Sometimes each attorney submits briefs and/or memoranda after trial. The judge may decide the case immediately, may take it under advisement (study), or may wait to decide the case (hand down a judgment) after receipt and review of the memoranda or briefs.

During the trial, we will consult with you. You should inform us by written memo of anything you feel we should be aware of while the trial is in progress. However, be careful not to distract us while we are watching the trial proceedings. Particularly during testimony, we must have total concentration. We need to hear each question and answer, watch the reactions of the judge and opposing counsel, and be ready to object instantly.

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As your attorney, we will always be available to answer any questions specific to your case. The above information is general in nature and nothing herein should be construed as legal advice. Please call our office at 480-491-5152 if you desire additional information or wish to consult privately with an attorney, or click here to contact us online.

[CHILD SUPPORT]    [DIVORCE]     [GRANDPARENT RIGHTS]
[MEDIATION]     [ORDER OF PROTECTION]