Family Law Blog
Posted on Jan 30, 2012 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
In a divorce case where spousal support is ordered, how are Social Security benefits addressed? The Arizona Court of Appeals addressed this issue in Leathers v. Leathers , a 2007 case. A federal ...
Continue reading "Alimony and Social Security" »
Posted on Jan 29, 2012 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
Unless otherwise specified, spousal maintenance lasts until one party dies or the dependent spouse remarries. Sometimes, the dependent spouse--typically the wife--will cohabitate with someone rather ...
Continue reading "Alimony: "Romantic Cohabitation"" »
Posted on Jan 28, 2012 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
How long must you pay alimony/ spousal support ? Forever, if you are not careful. Much less, if you have a good lawyer. Under proper circumstances, future maintenance payments may be terminated by ...
Continue reading "Alimony: Termination of the Award" »
Posted on Jan 27, 2012 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
Arizona has statewide guidelines for child support, partly because federal law requires us to. But federal law requires no spousal maintenance guidelines. Maricopa County, though, enacted spousal ...
Continue reading "Alimony: The Maricopa County Guidelines" »
Posted on Jan 26, 2012 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
How is an award of alimony enforced? Once again, it pays to have an aggressive and knowledgeable attorney on your side. First of all, the award of spousal maintenance needs to be in the decree. That ...
Continue reading "Alimony: Enforcement" »
Posted on Jan 25, 2012 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
Once the court finds the existence of one or more of the four statutory reasons for awarding alimony (spousal maintenance), the amount and duration of spousal support is left to the "sound ...
Continue reading "Alimony: The Factors" »
Posted on Jan 24, 2012 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
In a divorce case, the court is authorized to order spousal support for either spouse. Most people use the term "alimony," but Arizona law uses the phrase, "spousal maintenance" ...
Continue reading "Alimony: The Basics" »
Posted on Jan 14, 2012 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
In an Arizona divorce , several matters are handled prior to the hearing on the divorce petition by a preliminary injunction and temporary orders. A preliminary injunction is issued by the superior ...
Continue reading "The Automatic Prelminary Injunction" »
Posted on Dec 13, 2011 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
property division In a divorce action, the separation agreement is usually merged into the Court's dissolution decree. That means the terms of the agreement are set forth in the decree, and become ...
Continue reading "Separation Agreements--Merger and Enforcement" »
Posted on Dec 12, 2011 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
Arizona encourages amicable settlement of marital disputes. A.R.S. 25-317A authorizes separation agreements by spouses anticipating separation or divorce (which in Arizona is called dissolution of ...
Continue reading "Separation Agreements" »
Posted on Sep 23, 2011 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
In a military divorce , the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) can play a major role. To protect a surviving former spouse's share of military retirement, divorce courts can require a servicemember to ...
Continue reading "Military Divorce and the Survivor Benefit Plan: Election Options" »
Posted on Sep 22, 2011 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
In a divorce case, child support is often an issue. Each state has adopted guidelines setting automatic rates of child support. The support is based on specific criteria relating to income and the ...
Continue reading "The Arizona Child Support Guidelines" »
Posted on Sep 21, 2011 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
In every Arizona divorce or family law case in which a party has asked the court to determine child custody , child support and visitation (parenting time), both parties must complete the Parent ...
Continue reading "Parent Information Program (PIP)" »
Posted on Sep 20, 2011 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
Early on in a divorce or child custody case, often a party will request a Resolution Management Conference (RMC). In addition, the court may decide on its own initiative to schedule an RMC. Before the ...
Continue reading "The Resolution Management Conference" »
Posted on Sep 19, 2011 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
In a divorce or other family law case, the parties often want a temporary court order prior to trial. When there are no court orders yet in place, problems tend to surface quickly. These ...
Continue reading "Temporary Orders" »
Posted on Sep 18, 2011 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
OK, so you've filed for divorce , or as we say in Arizona, you've filed a petition for dissolution of marriage. What happens next? Pending hearing on the petition, several matters are handled ...
Continue reading "The Temporary Injunction" »
Posted on Sep 17, 2011 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
In a military divorce , one very important provision of the USFSPA is often overlooked, even by experienced attornies: In order for a state court to have jurisdiction over a member's retired pay, ...
Continue reading "Military Divorce and Jursidiction Over Retired Pay" »
Posted on Sep 16, 2011 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
In a military divorce , retired pay is often the major property division issue. It is a pretty complicated subject. So you need an experienced Phoenix divorce lawyer on your side. Let's take a ...
Continue reading "Military Divorce and Retired Pay" »
Posted on Sep 15, 2011 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
In a military divorce , there may be up to three separate jurisdictions where one can file for divorce: the legal residence of the military member; the legal residence of the spouse; and the state ...
Continue reading "Military Divorce and Jurisdiction" »
Posted on Sep 14, 2011 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
In a military divorce , there are only two ways to involuntarily take money from a service person's pay for spousal support (alimony) or child support: garnishment and allotment. Both methods ...
Continue reading "Military DIvorce and Support Obligations: Involuntary Allotments" »
Posted on Sep 13, 2011 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
In a military divorce , there are only two ways to involuntarily take money from a service person's pay for spousal support (alimony) or child support: garnishment and allotment. Both methods ...
Continue reading "Military Divorce and Support Obligations: Garnishment" »
Posted on Sep 12, 2011 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
A military divorce can differ from standard family law cases in many important respects. A firm understanding of these issues and others are necessary to successfully resolve your family law action. ...
Continue reading "Military Divorce and Support Obligations: Using the Chain of Command" »
Posted on Sep 11, 2011 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
A military divorce is exactly like a civilian divorce in one important respect: The best way of ensuring you receive spouse/child support from a military servicemember is by obtaining a court-order ...
Continue reading "Military Divorce and Support Obligations: Court Orders" »
Posted on Sep 10, 2011 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
A military divorce can differ from standard family law cases in many important respects. A firm understanding of these issues and others are necessary to successfully resolve your family law action. ...
Continue reading "Military Divorce and Support Obligations: The Basics" »
Posted on Sep 9, 2011 By Phoenix Divorce Lawyer
A military divorce can differ from standard family law cases when it comes to domicile or residence requirements for filing, obtaining service upon an active duty spouse, compliance with military ...
Continue reading "Military Divorce and Base/Post Housing" »