State of Arizona Divorce Laws

• All divorce proceedings must be held under the jurisdiction of the Arizona Superior Court.couple arguing image by Luisafer from Fotolia.com
  
  If you are seeking a divorce in the state of Arizona, there are a few points of law you should know. Arizona, like all U.S. states, has its own set of laws governing who may get divorced, for what reasons a divorce may be granted and what procedures parties seeking a divorce must follow.
  
  

Jurisdiction and Procedures

• All divorce proceedings (known as dissolution of marriage under Arizona law) must be held under the jurisdiction of the Arizona Superior Court.
  
  Petitions for divorce must be filed with the family court, a subdivision of the Arizona Superior Court. Along with the submission for divorce on legal grounds to the court, the petitioner must also submit a filing fee or the case will not be considered. For example, there is a $321 fee for filing a dissolution petition with the family court in Maricopa County. Additionally, there is a $256 fee for a response filed in response to the dissolution petition by the other married party in that court. Both of these fees are current as per the 2010 fee schedule on file with the Clerk of the Superior Court of Maricopa County. Other counties in Arizona may set separate fee schedules.
  
  After the initial petition has been received by the family court, the married parties seeking a divorce must wait 60 days before commencing with the divorce proceedings.
  
  If both of the married parties agree that a divorce is necessary, they may file a consent decree with the family court after the waiting period has elapsed and their divorce will be granted by the court.
  
  If one party contests the divorce, or the grounds of the divorce (accusations of abuse, neglect, adultery, etc..), then they may file a response to the petition after the waiting period and a hearing date will be set by the court for further proceedings.
  
  

Neccessary Findings for Divorce

• In order for an Arizona Superior Court Family Court to grant a divorce, certain guidelines must be met outside of the mechanical aspects of proper filings and fees.
  
  One such guideline is residency. Under Arizona law, the court may grant divorces only if at least one of the married parties have maintained residence in the state or has been stationed with the military in the state for at least 90 days immediately prior to the date the petition of the divorce was filed with the court.
  
  Additionally, the court must find that all reasonable attempts at reconciliation have been made and that there is no hope of salvaging the marriage before granting the divorce.
  
  If there are children, and therefore a question of child custody involved in the case, the court must also ensure that provisions--approved by the court--regarding the custody of the children have been made before granting the divorce.
  
  

Covenant Marriage Ground for Divorce

• Parties in Arizona who were joined in a "covenant marriage," which is essentially a marriage legally granted through the clerk of the superior court, must prove certain grounds for divorce if the divorce is contested by one of the parties married under the covenant.
  
  Acceptable grounds for the dissolution of a covenant marriage are: adultery; one party has committed a felony for which they are imprisoned or facing the death sentence; a spouse has abandoned the shared home of the couple for at least one year and refuses to return; physical, mental or emotional abuse of a spouse, child or other family member; the two spouses have been living apart without any reconciliation for at least two years; the spouses have been living apart without reconciliation for at least a year from the date a legal decree of separation was granted; or if the respondent spouse is an alcoholic or drug addict.
  
  If both of the married parties agree to the divorce, the court will consider this mutual consent sufficient grounds to grant the dissolution.