Arizona Divorce Laws

Can I Appeal My Divorce Decree | Arizona

Kathi Sandweiss

 

Hi, I’m Kathi Sandweiss. I’m an appellate lawyer here at Jaburg and Wilk.

Can a divorce be appealed?

You can appeal really any of your issues that you disputed in your divorce decree, assuming obviously that you didn’t stipulate to your divorce decree. But assuming that there’s been a decree entered after some sort of a conflict – an adversarial proceeding – there’s no reason you can’t appeal.   The time for appeal is the same – 30 days – just as in a civil case.  And the kinds of things that we see people appealing in a divorce are: child custody arrangements, valuation of businesses, amount of spousal maintenance, amount of child support. Any of the things that you might be disputing in your divorce, if you’re unhappy with the result, certainly they can be appealed.  A trial lawyer will be looking for the facts, will be helping you through your case, and trying the case. An appeal is based on the record already made in the trial court.

Will you work with my current divorce attorney?

We like to work with the trial lawyers, including the divorce lawyers and certainly, we have no intention of stealing back your case after the case is decided on appeal. The hope for you, if we’re representing you as the appellant, is to have the matter remanded to the trial court, and at that point, then your divorce will proceed in the trial court.  Not only that, but we really like to have your trial lawyer’s input and have him or her review our briefs before they’re filed.

By: Kathi Sandweiss

Hi, I’m Kathi Sandweiss. I’m an appellate lawyer here at Jaburg and Wilk.

Can a divorce be appealed?

You can appeal really any of your issues that you disputed in your divorce decree, assuming obviously that you didn’t stipulate to your divorce decree. But assuming that there’s been a decree entered after some sort of a conflict – an adversarial proceeding – there’s no reason you can’t appeal.   The time for appeal is the same – 30 days – just as in a civil case.  And the kinds of things that we see people appealing in a divorce are: child custody arrangements, valuation of businesses, amount of spousal maintenance, amount of child support. Any of the things that you might be disputing in your divorce, if you’re unhappy with the result, certainly they can be appealed.  A trial lawyer will be looking for the facts, will be helping you through your case, and trying the case. An appeal is based on the record already made in the trial court.

Will you work with my current divorce attorney?

We like to work with the trial lawyers, including the divorce lawyers and certainly, we have no intention of stealing back your case after the case is decided on appeal. The hope for you, if we’re representing you as the appellant, is to have the matter remanded to the trial court, and at that point, then your divorce will proceed in the trial court.  Not only that, but we really like to have your trial lawyer’s input and have him or her review our briefs before they’re filed.

By: Kathi Sandweiss

Differences Between Divorce, Annulment & Legal Separation | Tempe Family Law

Douglas Gardner

 

Tempe Divorce, Annulment & Legal Separations

A divorce, an annulment, and a legal separation are all very similar in many respects, so there are a couple of important key differences that you should understand. When asked to enter a divorce, annulment, or a legal separation, the court is required to enter specific orders. If there are children involved, the court is required to make orders as to child support. The court is also required to enter orders explaining which parent is going to have the parenting time with the children and which parent, or both parents are going to have the legal decision-making for the child. Even if there are no children involved, the court is required to enter orders as to spousal support. Also, the court is required to enter orders dividing up the assets and debt of the parties. In those respects, a divorce, an annulment, and a legal separation are all very similar.

Legal Differences

Now, the differences are also important to understand. In a divorce, the judge is essentially saying, “I now pronounce the parties no longer man and wife”. With an annulment, the judge is saying, “We’re going to pretend that you guys were never really married”. With a legal separation, the parties actually remain married, but the court has divided up all the assets and debts. In a legal separation case, if the parties are able to reconcile the marriage, the court can remove the legal separation, and they are back to being married. If you would like more information, please contact me at (480) 733-6800, or you can visit us online.

For additional information on divorce, annulment and legal separation in Arizona, please visit a profile and complete a contact form.

By: Attorney Douglas Gardner

Tempe Divorce, Annulment & Legal Separations

A divorce, an annulment, and a legal separation are all very similar in many respects, so there are a couple of important key differences that you should understand. When asked to enter a divorce, annulment, or a legal separation, the court is required to enter specific orders. If there are children involved, the court is required to make orders as to child support. The court is also required to enter orders explaining which parent is going to have the parenting time with the children and which parent, or both parents are going to have the legal decision-making for the child. Even if there are no children involved, the court is required to enter orders as to spousal support. Also, the court is required to enter orders dividing up the assets and debt of the parties. In those respects, a divorce, an annulment, and a legal separation are all very similar.

Legal Differences

Now, the differences are also important to understand. In a divorce, the judge is essentially saying, “I now pronounce the parties no longer man and wife”. With an annulment, the judge is saying, “We’re going to pretend that you guys were never really married”. With a legal separation, the parties actually remain married, but the court has divided up all the assets and debts. In a legal separation case, if the parties are able to reconcile the marriage, the court can remove the legal separation, and they are back to being married. If you would like more information, please contact me at (480) 733-6800, or you can visit us online.

For additional information on divorce, annulment and legal separation in Arizona, please visit a profile and complete a contact form.

By: Attorney Douglas Gardner

How Do You Reclaim Your Maiden Name | Arizona

Kip Micuda

 

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.

By: Attorney Kip Micuda

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.

By: Attorney Kip Micuda

What Should I Expect During the First Meeting With My Divorce Attorney | Arizona

Mitchell Reichman

 

Hi, I’m Mitch Reichman. I’m a board certified family law specialist and I practice at Jaburg and Wilk.

How can I make the most of my first meeting?

The way a client can make the most of their first meeting with me is to be organized and to bring me basic general information. So I want a simple statement of their assets and their liabilities. I’d like to see the most recent three years of tax returns. And I recommend the client bring notes. At least bullet points of the topics the client would like to cover in that first meeting.

Should I bring all of my records to the first meeting?

I don’t ask them to bring a lot of documents to the first meeting. We’re going to follow up and gather a lot of documents during the process. Certainly I would not want the to bring a box of records to the meeting. It would be very inefficient, very expensive for the client for me to be thumbing through a box of records in that first meeting.

What information are you looking for initially?

We’re looking for broad strokes of information. We want to identify in that first meeting what the assets are and what the liabilities are. To find out about their children. To know about income and expenses. To see if someone is going to be needing spousal maintenance for example. So just broadly identify the topics we’re going to need to address. We’re going to gather a lot of details along the way, but that wouldn’t be a useful way to spend our time the first meeting.

By: Mitchell Reichman

Hi, I’m Mitch Reichman. I’m a board certified family law specialist and I practice at Jaburg and Wilk.

How can I make the most of my first meeting?

The way a client can make the most of their first meeting with me is to be organized and to bring me basic general information. So I want a simple statement of their assets and their liabilities. I’d like to see the most recent three years of tax returns. And I recommend the client bring notes. At least bullet points of the topics the client would like to cover in that first meeting.

Should I bring all of my records to the first meeting?

I don’t ask them to bring a lot of documents to the first meeting. We’re going to follow up and gather a lot of documents during the process. Certainly I would not want the to bring a box of records to the meeting. It would be very inefficient, very expensive for the client for me to be thumbing through a box of records in that first meeting.

What information are you looking for initially?

We’re looking for broad strokes of information. We want to identify in that first meeting what the assets are and what the liabilities are. To find out about their children. To know about income and expenses. To see if someone is going to be needing spousal maintenance for example. So just broadly identify the topics we’re going to need to address. We’re going to gather a lot of details along the way, but that wouldn’t be a useful way to spend our time the first meeting.

By: Mitchell Reichman

Will I Have to Attend Court or Testify During My Divorce Proceedings | Arizona

Mitchell Reichman

 

Hi, I’m Mitch Reichman. I’m a State Board of Arizona Certified Specialist in Family Law, and I practice at Jaburg and Wilk.

Will I have to appear in court during my divorce proceeding?

Yes, typically you’ll have to appear in court at least once. Judges in Maricopa County in divorce cases are very proactive, and so they call the parties to appear in front of them early on in the case to assess what their positions are and what other services might be required to help process the case, such as appraisers or custody evaluators. That appearance is not an appearance where you have to testify, but you will typically have to appear at least once in front of the judge.

Will I have to testify in my divorce proceeding?

One of the things that we do in your case is we put orders into place so that there is predictability while your case is proceeding. Those are called temporary orders. Orders for child support, orders for spousal maintenance, who gets possession of the house, how the bills get paid, these things need to be done in an orderly way, and we like to have court orders so that we are able to enforce people’s obligations during the process. That would typically require a hearing of some kind, and at that hearing, you would have to testify. That does not necessarily mean that you’ll have to testify for a long time, or that you would have to testify in a trial.  It is possible to complete your divorce without having a trial. In fact, we prefer that our clients complete their divorces without having trial, because trial is the most unpredictable way to resolve your divorce. There are a number of different alternatives, all of which we will explore. One is mediation. Another is arbitration, which is essentially hiring a private judge to make the decisions in your case. We can also ask our judge to appoint someone – called a Family Law Master –  to essentially take the place of the judge, and have hearings, and make recommendations in terms of findings. So there are a lot of different ways to settle your case or resolve it without having to go to trial.

By: Mitchell Reichman

Hi, I’m Mitch Reichman. I’m a State Board of Arizona Certified Specialist in Family Law, and I practice at Jaburg and Wilk.

Will I have to appear in court during my divorce proceeding?

Yes, typically you’ll have to appear in court at least once. Judges in Maricopa County in divorce cases are very proactive, and so they call the parties to appear in front of them early on in the case to assess what their positions are and what other services might be required to help process the case, such as appraisers or custody evaluators. That appearance is not an appearance where you have to testify, but you will typically have to appear at least once in front of the judge.

Will I have to testify in my divorce proceeding?

One of the things that we do in your case is we put orders into place so that there is predictability while your case is proceeding. Those are called temporary orders. Orders for child support, orders for spousal maintenance, who gets possession of the house, how the bills get paid, these things need to be done in an orderly way, and we like to have court orders so that we are able to enforce people’s obligations during the process. That would typically require a hearing of some kind, and at that hearing, you would have to testify. That does not necessarily mean that you’ll have to testify for a long time, or that you would have to testify in a trial.  It is possible to complete your divorce without having a trial. In fact, we prefer that our clients complete their divorces without having trial, because trial is the most unpredictable way to resolve your divorce. There are a number of different alternatives, all of which we will explore. One is mediation. Another is arbitration, which is essentially hiring a private judge to make the decisions in your case. We can also ask our judge to appoint someone – called a Family Law Master –  to essentially take the place of the judge, and have hearings, and make recommendations in terms of findings. So there are a lot of different ways to settle your case or resolve it without having to go to trial.

By: Mitchell Reichman

What Will the Judge Decide in My Divorce Case | Arizona

Michael Clancy

 

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.

By: Attorney Michael Clancy

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.

By: Attorney Michael Clancy

What is a Resolution Management Conference | Phoenix Divorce Attorney

Jason Castle

 

Introduction

My name is Jason Castle. I’m an attorney at Jaburg Wilk, and my practice areas are family law and criminal defense.

Resolution Management Conference

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.  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.

Settlement Meeting

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

Temporary orders are the rules or the orders that will apply between that point in time and the final decree.  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

Introduction

My name is Jason Castle. I’m an attorney at Jaburg Wilk, and my practice areas are family law and criminal defense.

Resolution Management Conference

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.  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.

Settlement Meeting

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

Temporary orders are the rules or the orders that will apply between that point in time and the final decree.  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

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