I’m very experienced. Been practicing for 25 years and doing family law for over 20 here in Arizona. For me, satisfaction in doing family law really comes from assisting people who are having a difficult time. Attorneys are also known as counselors, because most of the time when people come to you in a family law case they’re fearful, because they don’t understand what’s going to go on. They don’t understand what they can expect, so I try to get rid of those fears early on, giving them a plan, and then going forward with that.
Satisfaction, for me, comes at the end when we’ve been able to achieve all those things, and they’re happy that they had somebody who could help them along the way. I think the best-fit cases are ones that have interesting and complex financial cases. Particularly ones that involve stocks, investments, stock options, sometimes dealing with complex property issues and things like that, along with spousal maintenance.
I was a financial advisor, where I sat down with people and helped them build a financial plan for their future. My approach is such that I’m practical and pragmatic. I’m not aggressive just for the sake of being an aggressive lawyer. If it makes sense to push back, we’ll push back. But normally, I’m looking for pragmatic and reasonable approaches to getting solutions for the client.
By: Kevin Park
I’m very experienced. Been practicing for 25 years and doing family law for over 20 here in Arizona. For me, satisfaction in doing family law really comes from assisting people who are having a difficult time. Attorneys are also known as counselors, because most of the time when people come to you in a family law case they’re fearful, because they don’t understand what’s going to go on. They don’t understand what they can expect, so I try to get rid of those fears early on, giving them a plan, and then going forward with that.
Satisfaction, for me, comes at the end when we’ve been able to achieve all those things, and they’re happy that they had somebody who could help them along the way. I think the best-fit cases are ones that have interesting and complex financial cases. Particularly ones that involve stocks, investments, stock options, sometimes dealing with complex property issues and things like that, along with spousal maintenance.
I was a financial advisor, where I sat down with people and helped them build a financial plan for their future. My approach is such that I’m practical and pragmatic. I’m not aggressive just for the sake of being an aggressive lawyer. If it makes sense to push back, we’ll push back. But normally, I’m looking for pragmatic and reasonable approaches to getting solutions for the client.
By: Kevin Park
In Arizona, child custody is now called legal decision-making. The law establishes a preference for joint legal decision-making, and a parent seeking sole legal decision-making will have the burden to prove to the court why such an order is in the best interest of the minor children. Some acceptable reasons might include drug or alcohol abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse or mental illness.
In making it’s order, the court is required to consider all information that is relevant to the children’s best interest and in particular, the eleven statutory factors. I won’t describe all of those factors here, but they include the past, present and potential future relationship between the parent and the children; the children’s relationship with family members and their adjustment to home, school and community; the mental and physical health of the parents and the children; and if the children are of suitable age and maturity, the wishes of the children.
On this last point, there is no specific age at which a child gets to choose where to live. As the child gets closer to age 18, his or her wishes will carry more weight with the court. Typically, courts start giving significant weight to the child’s wishes around age 12 or 13. If you have more questions concerning legal decision-making or parenting time, please contact me.
In Arizona, child custody is now called legal decision-making. The law establishes a preference for joint legal decision-making, and a parent seeking sole legal decision-making will have the burden to prove to the court why such an order is in the best interest of the minor children. Some acceptable reasons might include drug or alcohol abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse or mental illness.
In making it’s order, the court is required to consider all information that is relevant to the children’s best interest and in particular, the eleven statutory factors. I won’t describe all of those factors here, but they include the past, present and potential future relationship between the parent and the children; the children’s relationship with family members and their adjustment to home, school and community; the mental and physical health of the parents and the children; and if the children are of suitable age and maturity, the wishes of the children.
On this last point, there is no specific age at which a child gets to choose where to live. As the child gets closer to age 18, his or her wishes will carry more weight with the court. Typically, courts start giving significant weight to the child’s wishes around age 12 or 13. If you have more questions concerning legal decision-making or parenting time, please contact me.
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
I want to speak to you today about the different forms of legal custody of a child in the state of Arizona. When we talk about custody, we are really talking about two different aspects of custody as it relates to children.
The first of which is, how much time the child or children spend in the each parent’s home. We refer to that as physical custody.
But, the other aspect of custody has to do with who gets to make the major decisions affecting the child. For example, the decisions regarding education, such as where the child goes to school, medical decisions, the children’s participation in extracurricular activities and even the child’s religious upbringing.
If a parent has sole legal custody, that parent gets to make all those decisions irrespective of the wishes of the other parent. If the parents share joint legal custody however, both parents must agree regarding those decisions for the child. If you have any other questions regarding custody or parenting time in the state of Arizona, please feel free to contact me.
By: Chris Hildebrand
I want to speak to you today about the different forms of legal custody of a child in the state of Arizona. When we talk about custody, we are really talking about two different aspects of custody as it relates to children.
The first of which is, how much time the child or children spend in the each parent’s home. We refer to that as physical custody.
But, the other aspect of custody has to do with who gets to make the major decisions affecting the child. For example, the decisions regarding education, such as where the child goes to school, medical decisions, the children’s participation in extracurricular activities and even the child’s religious upbringing.
If a parent has sole legal custody, that parent gets to make all those decisions irrespective of the wishes of the other parent. If the parents share joint legal custody however, both parents must agree regarding those decisions for the child. If you have any other questions regarding custody or parenting time in the state of Arizona, please feel free to contact me.
By: Chris Hildebrand
Like other assets, business interests can be treated as community property or separate property and sometimes, a combination of both. If your business was started during the marriage, then it is community property. If your business was started before the date of your marriage, it is your separate property.
However, the marital community may still have a claim to some of the profits and increase in value that occurred during the marriage, and these values must be apportioned between separate property and community property interests. Whether the business is community property or separate property, it will have to be valued.
To do so, it will be necessary to retain a business valuation expert. Whether valuing a community property business or apportioning an increase in value in a sole and separate business it is important that your attorney understand business valuations. Your attorney needs to understand the valuation approaches, methods and procedures and the law that applies to valuing and apportioning business interests. If you are facing a divorce and you or your spouse own a business, feel free to contact me for more information.
Like other assets, business interests can be treated as community property or separate property and sometimes, a combination of both. If your business was started during the marriage, then it is community property. If your business was started before the date of your marriage, it is your separate property.
However, the marital community may still have a claim to some of the profits and increase in value that occurred during the marriage, and these values must be apportioned between separate property and community property interests. Whether the business is community property or separate property, it will have to be valued.
To do so, it will be necessary to retain a business valuation expert. Whether valuing a community property business or apportioning an increase in value in a sole and separate business it is important that your attorney understand business valuations. Your attorney needs to understand the valuation approaches, methods and procedures and the law that applies to valuing and apportioning business interests. If you are facing a divorce and you or your spouse own a business, feel free to contact me for more information.
For divorce cases in Arizona, the court is required to enter orders as to three basic issues, or even better, if the parties can reach an agreement on those issues, the court can adopt that agreement as the court order.
The first issue is the parenting-time arrangement. This agreement should include which parent will have the child during the week, which parent will have the child on weekends, how the children will be divided up for the holidays, and other issues as to the transportation and the division of the children.
The second issue that the court will look at is the legal decision-making for the children. In Arizona, generally the court will give both parties joint legal decision-making, which means that both parties should be involved in making major medical decisions, major educational decisions, and major religious decisions. Only in rare circumstances will the court give one person sole legal decision making of those major decisions for the child.
The final issue is child support. In Arizona, we have a guideline adopted by the Arizona Supreme Court that gives us an opportunity to based on your income, the other party’s income, and several other factors we can figure out based on that formula real close what the court is likely to order for child support in each case.
If you’d like more information regarding child related issues in your divorce case please contact me at (480) 733-6800 or you can reach us online.
For divorce cases in Arizona, the court is required to enter orders as to three basic issues, or even better, if the parties can reach an agreement on those issues, the court can adopt that agreement as the court order.
The first issue is the parenting-time arrangement. This agreement should include which parent will have the child during the week, which parent will have the child on weekends, how the children will be divided up for the holidays, and other issues as to the transportation and the division of the children.
The second issue that the court will look at is the legal decision-making for the children. In Arizona, generally the court will give both parties joint legal decision-making, which means that both parties should be involved in making major medical decisions, major educational decisions, and major religious decisions. Only in rare circumstances will the court give one person sole legal decision making of those major decisions for the child.
The final issue is child support. In Arizona, we have a guideline adopted by the Arizona Supreme Court that gives us an opportunity to based on your income, the other party’s income, and several other factors we can figure out based on that formula real close what the court is likely to order for child support in each case.
If you’d like more information regarding child related issues in your divorce case please contact me at (480) 733-6800 or you can reach us online.
Hello, I want to talk to you today about the importance of establishing paternity in the state of Arizona. If you are the father of a child who is born out of wedlock, meaning the child was born and your were not married to the child’s mother, until you establish paternity, you have no legal rights with respect to that child.
The legal rights which I am talking about include the rights to participate in the child’s medical decisions, the rights to participate in deciding where your child goes to school, the rights to decide the extra curricular activities your child will participate and even the rights to participate in your child’s religious upbringing. Until you establish paternity, you have no rights into any of those decisions and you may not have rights to see your child until you establish paternity as well. If you have any other questions about paternity, please feel free to contact me.
If you need to establish paternity in Arizona, please contact a Scottsdale paternity lawyer.
By: Chris Hildebrand
Hello, I want to talk to you today about the importance of establishing paternity in the state of Arizona. If you are the father of a child who is born out of wedlock, meaning the child was born and your were not married to the child’s mother, until you establish paternity, you have no legal rights with respect to that child.
The legal rights which I am talking about include the rights to participate in the child’s medical decisions, the rights to participate in deciding where your child goes to school, the rights to decide the extra curricular activities your child will participate and even the rights to participate in your child’s religious upbringing. Until you establish paternity, you have no rights into any of those decisions and you may not have rights to see your child until you establish paternity as well. If you have any other questions about paternity, please feel free to contact me.
If you need to establish paternity in Arizona, please contact a Scottsdale paternity lawyer.
By: Chris Hildebrand
A child in Arizona can never decide which parent a child wants to live with. A child’s wishes are always, always a factor and never dispositive. The child is the child. The parent makes the decisions. For more information, call me, Greg Davis at Davis Limited, (602) 279-1900.
By: Greg Davis
A child in Arizona can never decide which parent a child wants to live with. A child’s wishes are always, always a factor and never dispositive. The child is the child. The parent makes the decisions. For more information, call me, Greg Davis at Davis Limited, (602) 279-1900.
By: Greg Davis
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