Arizona Laws of Property Division in Divorce Cases
When it comes to divorce without children under the age of 18 years old, many people make the mistake of not hiring a Phoenix divorce attorney to assist with their divorce. Or, they often try to obtain a cheap Arizona divorce online, falsely assuming it will be quick and easy.
Regardless if you are going through a divorce with children or if it does not involve children, the process of any divorce can have potential issues happen and there are many other factors that will influence you and your spouse’s lives.
Elements such as spousal maintenance, division of assets and community property, name changes, are there any pets involved, savings and retirements, and so on. Knowing how to handle these issues can make all the difference in your case and ensure you are protected as best as possible.
How is Community Property Divided in a Divorce?
In Arizona, the property that a couple acquires during their marriage is known as community property under ARS § 25-211. This law tells the courts how to handle a couple’s assets and debts in a divorce proceeding. In general, Arizona is a 50-50 state for the division of property. Community property is subject to division in a divorce, but the separate property will not be divided.
- Property that one spouse had before the marriage
- Property that was given as a gift to only one spouse
- Property that was inherited by only one spouse
- Property that one spouse acquires after the divorce petition is filed
In most cases, marital property is divided equally between the spouses and includes everything that has been acquired during the marriage, including retirement accounts, investment accounts, businesses, real estate, motor vehicles, furniture, and more.
A rebuttable presumption is created at the time that a petition for dissolution is filed, that all of the debts and assets accumulated during a marriage are included in the marital estate and subject to division.
Understanding What is Considered Separate Property
A spouse’s separate property will not be divided in a divorce. However, commingling separate and marital property during the marriage may cause an asset to lose its exclusion from the marital estate. Commingled property that may be included in the marital estate has lost its separate nature to such a degree that it cannot be traced back to its source.
Keeping separate property excluded from the marital property during a marriage is important.
For example, a spouse who brings money into the marriage might keep the funds in a separate account and keep detailed records. He or she may want to avoid using the funds to purchase marital assets or adding his or her spouse’s name to the account.
This can help a spouse prevent claims that he or she intended the separate property to become marital property.
There are some situations in Arizona under which grandparents might need to seek custody of their grandchildren or adopt them. In other cases, grandparents might be prevented from seeing their grandchildren by the children’s parents.
Arizona law includes a statute that allows grandparents to seek visitation rights with their grandchildren even if a parent objects. Each of these types of situations will likely require the help of an experienced family law attorney.
The lawyers at the Law Office of Daniel Hutto are experienced in handling grandparents rights cases and can explain the options that might be available to you based on the facts of your case.
Grandparents’ Visitation Rights in Arizona
Under ARS § 25-402(B)(2), a person other than a parent, including a grandparent, may petition the court for parenting-time rights. To do this, they must follow the process as outlined in ARS § 25-409. Under this statute, when a grandparent files for visitation rights with a grandchild, the court may grant the petition if it finds that visitation with the grandparent would be in the child’s best interests, and when any of the following are true:
- One of the child’s parents is deceased or has been missing for three or more months.
- The child’s parents are unmarried, and the child was born out of wedlock.
- The child’s parents have been divorced for three or more months.
- If the grandparent has served in loco parentis, the child’s parents must have a divorce or legal separation case pending.
The court must find that visitation would be in the child’s best interests. In making this determination, the court must consider the following factors:
- The child’s relationship with the grandparent in the past
- The grandparent’s motivation for seeking visitation rights
- The motivations of the parent who is denying visitation to the grandparent
- How much visitation time is being requested, and the potential negative impact that it might have on the child’s regular activities
- Whether there is a benefit to maintaining a relationship between the child and his or her extended family when a parent is deceased
In many families, grandparents develop special relationships with their grandchildren. It can be very difficult for a child and a grandparent when a parent prevents the grandparent from seeing the child.
Arizona recognizes that grandparents can play an important role in the lives of their grandchildren.
If a court determines that granting visitation rights to a grandparent is appropriate, the visitation times will be ordered to happen when the child visits the parent that is the grandparent’s relative. If that parent is deceased, the court might order that the visitation occurs when the deceased parent would have had visitation time with the child.
Proving that a parent is deceased or that the parents’ divorce happened before the grandparent filed a petition for visitation will be straightforward. However, it can become more difficult when the parent who has custody of the child objects to the grandparent’s petition for visitation.
Getting help from the Law Office of Daniel Hutto can help grandparents gather evidence and present it in a way that supports the reasons for requesting visitation and that shows that receiving visitation would be in the child’s best interests.
To learn more about the types of divorce and legal represeentation in Arizona visit The Law Office of Daniel Hutto PLL
About Daniel Hutto
An uncontested divorce in Arizona is generally easier to handle for both parties and their attorneys and is most common among couples who don’t have much property or debts to divide, or any children for whom they must find a way to share custody and establish child support.
However, even among couples with children, property, assets and debts, uncontested divorce is still the most common type of divorce proceedings in Arizona.
If you are considering a divorce or legal separation, contact The Law Office of Daniel Hutto. In Phoenix Arizona call (602) 671-0391.
Contact:
Law Office of Daniel Hutto
4201 North 24th St.
Phoenix, Arizona 85016
Phone: (6020 671-0391
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