Dissolution is the court process to determine all of the very important issues involved when a couple have decided to end their marriage. Every divorce is different, but they generally all include similar issues: the division of property and debts, custody and visitation of children, support of children and support of a spouse (spousal maintenance).

To file for a divorce in Arizona you or your spouse must have been domiciled (lived) in Arizona or been stationed as a member of the armed forces here for at least 90 days before you filed. Also, if you are asking the judge to decide matters about children, like custody and support, you must generally have resided here for 6 months with the children, immediately before you file for divorce, unless there are other emergency circumstances to file in Arizona.

Upon the filing of the necessary documents with the Court, the Clerk of the Court issues a Temporary Restraining Order to Both Parties, which forbids either party from selling, concealing or wasting the community assets. It also prevents either parent from removing any common children from the state of Arizona. It also prohibits either party from bothering or harassing the other party. Failure to obey this restraining order is punishable by proceedings for contempt.

A decree of dissolution of marriage in Arizona cannot be entered until the expiration of 64 days from service of the divorce documents upon the other party or the filing with the Court Clerk of an acceptance of service of the Divorce documents upon the other party, signed by the other party.

Although deciding what information to put in the divorce papers is often complicated, the process for many divorces in Arizona can be quite simple. Arizona is a no-fault divorce state, which means that you do not need to prove that the other spouse did something which entitles you to a divorce. You simply need to allege that the Marriage is irretrievably broken and that there are no reasonable prospects of reconciliation.

However, Arizona has recently allowed individuals to enter into “Covenant Marriages”. If you and your spouse decided to enter into a Covenant Marriage, then there will be different rules to follow in seeking a divorce.