Every family law attorney handles divorce. Not every family law attorney has experience handling domestic violence cases. There is a huge difference in abilities and knowledge. Arizona’s domestic violence law changed on June 22, 2026. You are interviewing the attorney. You should ask these 5 questions:
What Do You Know About the Alec and Lydia Act?
You are listening for the new Arizona public policy that child safety is more important than parent access. This law exists because Alec and Lydia were murdered. The Act was effective when Governor Katie Hobbs signed it on June 22, 2026.
You are listening for what they know about the mandatory presumption that domestic violence is contrary to a child's best interests. If the presumption is not rebutted, that parent receives no legal decision-making authority and the court must impose parenting-time safeguards. The judge must make specific and detailed findings on the record. It is hard for the abusive parent to rebut the presumption.
Many cases in the system now were filed before June 22, 2026. Ask whether they will argue the Act applies to your case filed before that date. If they don’t know or suggest that it doesn’t, you might want to find an attorney who will advocate for you.
What Is Coercive Control?
This is the single best test of whether an attorney understands that coercive control is now defined as domestic violence.
You are listening for a pattern of behavior designed to dominate, isolate, and control another person even when no physical violence occurred. You are listening for examples: financial monitoring and control, isolation from friends and family, surveillance and tracking, threats, demeaning and degrading conduct, threats involving immigration status, welfare check calls placed as harassment, threats to harm you or your pets, and using the family court itself as a weapon by filing false or frivolous claims to exhaust or punish the other parent.
How Much of Your Practice Involves Domestic Violence?
Ask how many domestic violence cases the attorney has handled, how many they are handling right now, and how many they have taken to trial.
How Do You Get Evidence of Older Abuse Into the Record?
Much of what happened to you happened before this case, and some of it a court may have already heard.
You are listening for the admissibility rules. Under A.R.S. § 25-403.03(E), the court may not refuse evidence of a collateral act of domestic violence on the grounds that it or a related legal claim has been decided, predates the last decree, or could have been litigated at another time or place. Under A.R.S. § 25-403.03(C)(6), the court considers collateral acts of domestic violence by that parent against any person. Under A.R.S. § 25-403.03(D)(10), where the acts occurred over a period of time and with sufficient severity or frequency, the passage of time or the remoteness of an earlier act is an aggravating factor and not a mitigating one.
Are You a Trauma-Informed Attorney?
- Have you ever retained a domestic violence expert?
- Have you had clients working with a therapist while you handled their case?
- Have you worked with a therapist?
- What training have you attended?
What Should I Do Before the Consultation?
Be ready to tell your story. Don’t worry about a timeline or anything else. Just what happened to you. We will listen. We understand.
