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Arizona courts make decisions about legal decision-making and parenting time based on the child's best interests. Judges consider many factors, including each parent's relationship with the child, the child's adjustment to home and school, and each parent's ability to provide a stable environment. Whenever appropriate, courts encourage both parents to remain actively involved in their child's life.

Child support is calculated using Arizona's Child Support Guidelines. The calculation considers factors such as each parent's income, the parenting time schedule, health insurance costs, childcare expenses, and other relevant financial information. Every family's situation is different, so support amounts can vary.

Spousal maintenance, sometimes called alimony, is not awarded in every divorce. The court first determines whether a spouse qualifies for maintenance and then considers factors such as the length of the marriage, each spouse's financial resources, earning ability, and other circumstances when deciding the amount and duration, if any.

Arizona is a community property state, which generally means that property and debts acquired during the marriage are divided fairly between the spouses. Separate property, such as assets owned before the marriage or received by gift or inheritance, may remain with the original owner under certain circumstances.

Yes. In many cases, child support, parenting time, and legal decision-making orders can be modified when there has been a significant change in circumstances. Whether a modification is appropriate depends on the specific facts of your case and the applicable legal standards.

The length of a divorce depends on the complexity of the case and whether the parties can reach agreements. Arizona has a mandatory waiting period before a divorce can be finalized, but uncontested cases often resolve much more quickly than contested cases involving disputes over children, property, or support.

You are not required to hire an attorney to get divorced in Arizona. However, legal advice can be valuable when your case involves children, significant assets, retirement accounts, a family business, or disagreements about important issues. An attorney can help protect your rights and guide you through the process.

In some situations, grandparents or other third parties may ask the court for visitation. Whether visitation is granted depends on several factors, including the child's best interests and the specific family circumstances. These cases are often fact-specific and require careful legal analysis.

If a former spouse fails to comply with a court order involving parenting time, child support, spousal maintenance, or other family law matters, the court may have several options to enforce its orders. Depending on the circumstances, the court can require compliance, impose sanctions, or provide other appropriate remedies.