Filing of petition. In Arizona, a divorce (more properly called “dissolution of marriage”) is commenced by filing a petition for dissolution of marriage. The petition must be filed in Superior Court. A filing fee of $276 must be paid to the Clerk of the Superior Court at the time of filing. The response fee for the other party is $261 and must be paid when the response is filed. If a party meets certain income requirements, he or she can ask the court to defer or waive payment of the filing fees by filing a written application for deferment or waiver with the Superior Court. The petition alleges certain facts about the parties’ property rights, spousal maintenance, child custody, and support, as well as any other rights of the parties that are related to the marriage.
Documents to be filed. The documents that need to be filed with the petition are as follows:
a. Sensitive data sheet: this is where information that is private to the parties and their children is filled out. Examples of information to be included on the sheet are the Social Security numbers of the husband, wife, and children. The Court keeps this document sealed so that the general public cannot access the information, which could be used for fraud or other purposes.
b. Creditor notice: pursuant to the Arizona Revised Statutes, when a dissolution has begun, each party is required to receive a notice about rights and responsibilities regarding the debts incurred during the marriage.
c. Joint preliminary injunction: this is an order of the court that takes automatic effect when the divorce case has begun. It prohibits the husband or wife from transferring assets, selling properties, changing insurance policies, and other actions that may put community property at risk.
d. Notice of right to convert health insurance: pursuant to the Arizona Revised Statutes, each party must receive notice of his/her rights and responsibilities pertaining to existing healthcare insurance policies.
e. Summons: a summons is a legal document that tells the responding party (respondent) that a divorce case has been filed naming the respondent as one of the parties. Further, it informs the respondent that a response must be filed within 20 days if he or she wants to have any input regarding the divorce case.
Serving the documents on the other party. The initial petition for divorce and related documents listed above must be served upon the other party. In Arizona, service for family law cases can be made by the sheriff, by a private process server, by registered mail with return receipt, or by UPS/DHL if a return receipt signature confirmation is available. After the party is properly served, the petitioner must file a notice of service with the court.
Response to the initial petition. The non-filing party will be given 20 days from the service of the petition to file a responsive pleading. In this pleading, the party will either admit or deny the allegations in the petition. If the party neglects to file a response within 20 days, the filing party can file a request for default. If a default is granted, the respondent will not be able to contest any of the allegations in the petition. It is therefore imperative that parties who have been served with a petition file a response within 20 days or risk forfeiting valuable property rights and child custody rights.
After the petition and response are filed. If the parties agree on all of the issues in the petition and responsive pleading, they must wait 60 days and then file a “consent decree.” A consent decree is only available when the parties agree on each and every issue having to do with property, spousal maintenance, debts, and child custody. If the parties do not agree on the petition issues, the litigation process begins and each party will be entitled to request documents from the other side, request hearings before the judge, set depositions to question the parties and witnesses, hire expert witnesses, and ultimately have a trial in regards to the contested issues.
