No fault means that Arizona does not require proof that one spouse caused the marriage to fail in order to grant a divorce. In a standard non-covenant marriage, the only finding the court needs is that the marriage is irretrievably broken. Neither party has to establish that the other did anything wrong.

This matters practically in several ways. You cannot prevent your spouse from divorcing you by being a good spouse. You cannot obtain a better outcome in the property or support proceedings by proving your spouse was unfaithful or unkind. Marital misconduct is generally not a factor in property division or spousal maintenance under Arizona law.

No fault does not mean conduct is always irrelevant. Domestic violence is directly relevant to parenting decisions. Waste of community assets is relevant to property division. A spouse who dissipates community property can be held accountable for it regardless of the no-fault framework. The no-fault principle applies to the grounds for divorce, not to every aspect of the case.

Arizona has been a no-fault divorce state for standard marriages for many years. The concept is well-established. Understanding it helps clients avoid investing energy in proving wrongdoing that will not affect the outcome and refocus on the issues that actually will.