Hi. My name is Larry Hirsch, and I practice exclusively in the domestic relations group at Jaburg & Wilk. Arizona has a case called [?], and that case has allowed the spouse that doesn’t own the business to actually have an interest in the appreciation and value of that business during the course of the marriage. What we’re looking at is labor, toil, and efforts of the community. Best way to think about this is, if I have a sole and separate business and I’m actually doing something to help that business, my spouse may have a claim to my sole and separate property.
This same situation can occur with separate property homes. So let’s say that you get married, and you have a house that’s worth $500,000. Your community earnings bought the new pool, the new landscaping, and put in the addition, and when you file for divorce that house is worth $1.5 million, so you’ve got $1,000,000 of appreciation during the marriage. Is it fair that the spouse who owned the house coming into the marriage receives all $1,000,000 of appreciation? The courts in Arizona don’t typically think so. So those are two situations where your sole and separate property is not necessarily 100% your sole and separate property. Always be wary that there may be what we call a community lien on your separate property.
Hi. My name is Larry Hirsch, and I practice exclusively in the domestic relations group at Jaburg & Wilk. Arizona has a case called [?], and that case has allowed the spouse that doesn’t own the business to actually have an interest in the appreciation and value of that business during the course of the marriage. What we’re looking at is labor, toil, and efforts of the community. Best way to think about this is, if I have a sole and separate business and I’m actually doing something to help that business, my spouse may have a claim to my sole and separate property.
This same situation can occur with separate property homes. So let’s say that you get married, and you have a house that’s worth $500,000. Your community earnings bought the new pool, the new landscaping, and put in the addition, and when you file for divorce that house is worth $1.5 million, so you’ve got $1,000,000 of appreciation during the marriage. Is it fair that the spouse who owned the house coming into the marriage receives all $1,000,000 of appreciation? The courts in Arizona don’t typically think so. So those are two situations where your sole and separate property is not necessarily 100% your sole and separate property. Always be wary that there may be what we call a community lien on your separate property.
My name is Jason Castle. I’m an attorney at Jaburg Wilk and my practice areas are family law and criminal defense.
A petition for dissolution of marriage is the initial formal document that starts the legal proceeding. The petition will typically set forth the jurisdiction, which gives the court the power and authority to rule on your issues. Then, it will set forth the issues that you have outstanding.
For example, if you have children you’re going to include that you want decision making power, you want parenting time. It will also set forth what you’re wanting as a final resolution. In a divorce action you’re wanting to get divorced, so you want the marriage to be dissolved.
To serve a petition is actually a formal process. In a general sense, it’s to make sure that the opposing party has notice of the action. I get a lot of clients that come in and they want to just hand the other spouse the documents and they think that that’s service. That is not effective legal service. Legal service requires a service processor who is certified to either serve it or for a person to waive service, which is a form they would sign and it would be filed with the court.
By: Jason Castle
My name is Jason Castle. I’m an attorney at Jaburg Wilk and my practice areas are family law and criminal defense.
A petition for dissolution of marriage is the initial formal document that starts the legal proceeding. The petition will typically set forth the jurisdiction, which gives the court the power and authority to rule on your issues. Then, it will set forth the issues that you have outstanding.
For example, if you have children you’re going to include that you want decision making power, you want parenting time. It will also set forth what you’re wanting as a final resolution. In a divorce action you’re wanting to get divorced, so you want the marriage to be dissolved.
To serve a petition is actually a formal process. In a general sense, it’s to make sure that the opposing party has notice of the action. I get a lot of clients that come in and they want to just hand the other spouse the documents and they think that that’s service. That is not effective legal service. Legal service requires a service processor who is certified to either serve it or for a person to waive service, which is a form they would sign and it would be filed with the court.
By: Jason Castle
A person can get a legal separation the way he or she can get a divorce. All they have to do is file a petition for legal separation. And the only difference between a legal separation and a divorce in the final analysis is that in a legal separation, obviously you don’t get a divorce. Now, when people come to us we actually advise against it, except in very special cases.
For example, I had a case once where a 55-year old couple were splitting the blanket and were in complete agreement that they should have a legal separation because the wife had cancer and the husband was a top executive for Motorola.
Motorola has an outstanding medical plan and so she couldn’t get that kind of coverage if they were to get a divorce because insurance companies are not going to ensure anybody after the divorce. She couldn’t continue to carry his insurance. She could have what we call COBRA, it’s an expensive temporary application for a short period of time, but that’s one reason why obviously you’d decide to have a legal separation. Could be religious. Catholics, they often don’t want a divorce.
Only in special situations do we advise it because they don’t work out, unless it’s something serious like that. They’re going to come back in less than a year probably and tell the judge they want to change it to a divorce. But, it’s one of the things people can always come talk to us about and have up front information before they start trying to make decisions.
By: CD Owens
A person can get a legal separation the way he or she can get a divorce. All they have to do is file a petition for legal separation. And the only difference between a legal separation and a divorce in the final analysis is that in a legal separation, obviously you don’t get a divorce. Now, when people come to us we actually advise against it, except in very special cases.
For example, I had a case once where a 55-year old couple were splitting the blanket and were in complete agreement that they should have a legal separation because the wife had cancer and the husband was a top executive for Motorola.
Motorola has an outstanding medical plan and so she couldn’t get that kind of coverage if they were to get a divorce because insurance companies are not going to ensure anybody after the divorce. She couldn’t continue to carry his insurance. She could have what we call COBRA, it’s an expensive temporary application for a short period of time, but that’s one reason why obviously you’d decide to have a legal separation. Could be religious. Catholics, they often don’t want a divorce.
Only in special situations do we advise it because they don’t work out, unless it’s something serious like that. They’re going to come back in less than a year probably and tell the judge they want to change it to a divorce. But, it’s one of the things people can always come talk to us about and have up front information before they start trying to make decisions.
By: CD Owens
Legal separation can take a number of months. It can actually take longer than that, but the minimum time in Arizona is sixty days, which is the exact same as a divorce. So, if you were hoping for a quicker disposition of your legal separation, unfortunately you are not able to do that any faster than you would a divorce. But, that’s not the only reason to consider a legal separation. Each case is different. Each case is unique and we’d love the opportunity to talk about that with you. If you’d like more information, contact me.
Legal separation can take a number of months. It can actually take longer than that, but the minimum time in Arizona is sixty days, which is the exact same as a divorce. So, if you were hoping for a quicker disposition of your legal separation, unfortunately you are not able to do that any faster than you would a divorce. But, that’s not the only reason to consider a legal separation. Each case is different. Each case is unique and we’d love the opportunity to talk about that with you. If you’d like more information, contact me.
My name is Jason Castle. I’m an attorney at Jaburg Wilk, and my practice areas are family law and criminal defense.
A resolution management conference – often called an RMC – is one of the first times the parties will end up going to court. Most of my clients when they come in are scared of court and don’t want to go. So the RMC ends up being their first opportunity to be a party in a lawsuit, and to go to court.ย The RMC sounds scary as well. It is not. It is primarily just a scheduling conference.
However, it is an important step in the process towards litigation. It typically is scheduled somewhere between 45 and 60 days after the Respondent files his or her response, and the order setting the RMC will require the parties to have a settlement meeting prior to the RMC.
During the settlement meeting, depending on where the parties are in the litigation process, some people come in already having an idea of what they want to do in order to resolve their divorce. Others do not. That’s a good time to set what are called temporary orders.
Temporary orders are the rules or the orders that will apply between that point in time and the final decree. ย During the RMC, you will then go to be in the court. They’ll tell the court, These are our issues. This is how long we need for trial. The court will look at its calendar, talk to the parties to find out when it’s good for them, and schedule the trial.
By: Jason Castle
My name is Jason Castle. I’m an attorney at Jaburg Wilk, and my practice areas are family law and criminal defense.
A resolution management conference – often called an RMC – is one of the first times the parties will end up going to court. Most of my clients when they come in are scared of court and don’t want to go. So the RMC ends up being their first opportunity to be a party in a lawsuit, and to go to court.ย The RMC sounds scary as well. It is not. It is primarily just a scheduling conference.
However, it is an important step in the process towards litigation. It typically is scheduled somewhere between 45 and 60 days after the Respondent files his or her response, and the order setting the RMC will require the parties to have a settlement meeting prior to the RMC.
During the settlement meeting, depending on where the parties are in the litigation process, some people come in already having an idea of what they want to do in order to resolve their divorce. Others do not. That’s a good time to set what are called temporary orders.
Temporary orders are the rules or the orders that will apply between that point in time and the final decree. ย During the RMC, you will then go to be in the court. They’ll tell the court, These are our issues. This is how long we need for trial. The court will look at its calendar, talk to the parties to find out when it’s good for them, and schedule the trial.
By: Jason Castle
Reclaiming a maiden name is very simple. You need only make the request. You can make the request in a petition for dissolution or a petition for legal separation. Similarly, you can make the request in a response to either one of those petitions. However, if you don’t make a request in any of those documents, you can wait till the final day, the final minute that the court is entering a final decree, make the request then and you’re fine. It’s important to consider that once you have a final decree, you’ll probably need to send certified copies of it to various state agencies like social security. If you have any other questions about this matter or any other family law matter, please do not hesitate to contact me at Hildebrand Law. The number is (480) 305-8300. Thank You.
If you wish to reclaim your maiden name, please visit this attorney’s profile and complete their contact form.
Reclaiming a maiden name is very simple. You need only make the request. You can make the request in a petition for dissolution or a petition for legal separation. Similarly, you can make the request in a response to either one of those petitions. However, if you don’t make a request in any of those documents, you can wait till the final day, the final minute that the court is entering a final decree, make the request then and you’re fine. It’s important to consider that once you have a final decree, you’ll probably need to send certified copies of it to various state agencies like social security. If you have any other questions about this matter or any other family law matter, please do not hesitate to contact me at Hildebrand Law. The number is (480) 305-8300. Thank You.
If you wish to reclaim your maiden name, please visit this attorney’s profile and complete their contact form.
It is a general rule that an Arizona court must equitably divide all of the spouses community property and debts, without regard to marital misconduct when it enters its final decree of dissolution of marriage. The term equitable is a concept of fairness, depending upon the facts of a particular case.
Consistent with this fairness concept, the court may not order the sale of a community marital residence during the pendency of a divorce proceeding absent an agreement of spouses, a separately filed and consolidated partition action, or circumstances which demonstrate that the residence is at risk of being foreclosed, and neither spouse has the ability to void the foreclosure to preserve existing equity in the residence.
An equitable division of community property is not necessarily or presumptively an equal division of community property. Having said that, an equal division of community property and debts by a court in a divorce proceeding generally will be the most equitable result. However, there sometimes are circumstances that exist which lead a court to unequally divide community assets or debts because the judge determines it is equitable or fair to do so. The court may consider excessive or abnormal expenditures by a spouse, such as those to support gambling habits or drug addiction during marriage, for example.
The court also may consider a spouse’s destruction, concealment, or fraudulent disposition of community, joint, or common property in it’s division of community assets and debts. These particular matters often are referred to as waste, and can result in the court making an unequal division of community assets or debts.
By: Kevin Park
It is a general rule that an Arizona court must equitably divide all of the spouses community property and debts, without regard to marital misconduct when it enters its final decree of dissolution of marriage. The term equitable is a concept of fairness, depending upon the facts of a particular case.
Consistent with this fairness concept, the court may not order the sale of a community marital residence during the pendency of a divorce proceeding absent an agreement of spouses, a separately filed and consolidated partition action, or circumstances which demonstrate that the residence is at risk of being foreclosed, and neither spouse has the ability to void the foreclosure to preserve existing equity in the residence.
An equitable division of community property is not necessarily or presumptively an equal division of community property. Having said that, an equal division of community property and debts by a court in a divorce proceeding generally will be the most equitable result. However, there sometimes are circumstances that exist which lead a court to unequally divide community assets or debts because the judge determines it is equitable or fair to do so. The court may consider excessive or abnormal expenditures by a spouse, such as those to support gambling habits or drug addiction during marriage, for example.
The court also may consider a spouse’s destruction, concealment, or fraudulent disposition of community, joint, or common property in it’s division of community assets and debts. These particular matters often are referred to as waste, and can result in the court making an unequal division of community assets or debts.
By: Kevin Park
A judge can decide a number of things in your divorce case. Most commonly, the judge will divide your assets, the judge will divide your debts, and if you have common children with your spouse, the judge will award child support to the custodial parents or outline parenting time in the parenting plan, but each case is different so you’ll need an attorney that will be able to identify all of your legal issues and make sure that they make it into the decree either by consent or through trial. If you’d like to discuss your divorce case with me, feel free to email me.
A judge can decide a number of things in your divorce case. Most commonly, the judge will divide your assets, the judge will divide your debts, and if you have common children with your spouse, the judge will award child support to the custodial parents or outline parenting time in the parenting plan, but each case is different so you’ll need an attorney that will be able to identify all of your legal issues and make sure that they make it into the decree either by consent or through trial. If you’d like to discuss your divorce case with me, feel free to email me.
I’m Kathi Sandweiss. I’m the Chair of the appellate practice section at Jaburg and Wilk.
You can appeal basically any final judgement, and that means you can appeal a dissolution, but it’s not as if you’re no longer divorced. You’re not appealing the fact of the divorce. What you’re appealing typically is about money. It can be about something else, but typically somebody will appeal a distribution of property, for example. And a lot of times that will go back to what the lower court determined was the value, for example, of a business. And the value of that business will then impact how your property is distributed.
One of the basic errors that someone alleges in the divorce decree, in the dissolution decree is that a business was not valued properly. So, that goes back to a dueling expert standard. My expert witness, say, valued my art practice at $300,000. Your expert witness valued my business at $500,000, and that’ll determine a lot of how much money is distributed to each party. The problem with it is you’re looking at credibility of witnesses, and you don’t want to be in the position of asking the higher court to determine that there was a factual error because that’s a much tougher standard on appeal.
By: Kathi Sandweiss
I’m Kathi Sandweiss. I’m the Chair of the appellate practice section at Jaburg and Wilk.
You can appeal basically any final judgement, and that means you can appeal a dissolution, but it’s not as if you’re no longer divorced. You’re not appealing the fact of the divorce. What you’re appealing typically is about money. It can be about something else, but typically somebody will appeal a distribution of property, for example. And a lot of times that will go back to what the lower court determined was the value, for example, of a business. And the value of that business will then impact how your property is distributed.
One of the basic errors that someone alleges in the divorce decree, in the dissolution decree is that a business was not valued properly. So, that goes back to a dueling expert standard. My expert witness, say, valued my art practice at $300,000. Your expert witness valued my business at $500,000, and that’ll determine a lot of how much money is distributed to each party. The problem with it is you’re looking at credibility of witnesses, and you don’t want to be in the position of asking the higher court to determine that there was a factual error because that’s a much tougher standard on appeal.
By: Kathi Sandweiss
Arizona Dissolution of Marriage
In divorce, many issues require a resolution. Those issues can be resolved either by you or by the court before you can…
Read MoreA Judge Can Order a Parent to Attend Counseling in Arizona
A Judge Orders a Parent to Attend Domestic Violence Counseling in Arizona Can a judge order a parent in a child custody…
Read More
