What if I was the one served?
If your spouse/partner filed the action against you, you must file a responsive pleading. You have a time limit, so make sure you know what it is. If you were served in the state of Arizona, you have 20 days to respond, if you are out of state, you have 30 days. Your response should…
What if I have no idea where the other party lives?
You qualify under this section of service if the following has been completed: 1. You have filed a petition with the accompanying documents here in Arizona, AND 2. You do not know where the other party is, AND 3. You have tried all reasonable ways to find your spouse, including: a. Mailed by certified mail…
Simple ways to serving the other party here in Arizona (Continued)
When people think of service, they generally think of a process server doing the job. With this method, you hire a process server to physically deliver those documents to your spouse. You will need to give the process server specific information as to where he or she can find your spouse. It is best to…
Simple Steps to “Serving” the Other Party in Arizona (continued)
Another option to service is mail or other delivery service requiring signature confirmation. This option requires that you send all of your documents using certified mail, restricted delivery. The “restricted delivery” entails a minor fee, but ensures that the deliverer confirm that he or she is delivering personally to your spouse. When you receive this…
How do you serve the other party with dissolution documents in Arizona?
“Service” is the technical name for the other party receiving from you the documents that you have filed. Arizona courts require one party to show proof that the other person was served. In today’s legal world, service does not have to be done with a process server. Instead, you can simply mail the documents to…
What if my husband quit his job on purpose to avoid paying me?
Here in Arizona, if you can prove it, the court will consider the earning potential, not necessarily what he is actually earning. You would want to get his work records through discovery to find out if he quit, was fired, or was laid off.
What if my spouse will not give me current financial information relating to his change in jobs from Scottsdale to Flagstaff?
You may send a written request by certified mail to your former spouse’s employer or former employer requesting detailed information about all pay and benefits paid to your former spouse by the employer. You may also file a Petition for Order to Show Cause or Request for Expedited Hearing, requiring your spouse to provide you…
What will the courts do here in Arizona if my spouse quits working in order to stop having to pay spousal maintenance?
A former spouse cannot avoid spousal maintenance or child support by voluntarily reducing or terminating his or her employment. The court has the discretion to attribute income to a spouse who voluntarily reduces his or her income and to require the paying spouse to pay spousal maintenance or child support in the former amount. The…
When does spousal maintenance end in Arizona?
Spousal maintenance terminates upon the death or remarriage of the receiving spouse. This is called non-modifiable, but excludes these two situations. There will be a beginning date and an ending date for the payments if you negotiate it and if a court orders it.
Family Law Success Stories
Best Law Firm has helped thousands of families during the past 18 years. We help families through negotiation, settlements, mediations and court litigation when necessary. The goal is to resolve issues with the least amount of money and stress and only use court litigation as a last resort. Every family we meet is important to us so we would like to share just a few of our success stories with you.
We represented an unmarried father and were able to reunite him with his 4 year old son after the mother secretly moved him to Florida.
We represented a mother and were able to require the father to undergo therapy before he could have any parenting time with his three daughters who he had been physically and emotionally abusing. We had a certified domestic violence expert testify in the case.
We represented an unmarried mother and were able to reunite her with her 2 year old daughter after the father took the child in secret without permission or a court order.
We represented a husband who had a large estate and the wife wanted assets greater than their prenuptial agreement allowed.
We represented a wife in a long term marriage to obtain the spousal maintenance that she was due.
We represented the husband whose wife violated their divorce decree's spousal maintenance agreement by living with her boyfriend.
We represented an unmarried mother and were able to obtain a large child support order from the father who was a professional athlete and it was upheld on appeal. (Murphy)
We represented an unmarried father and were able to fight abuse allegations filed against him and get a court order for 50-50 parenting time for his 2 children.
We represented an unmarried father and were able to defend him against false allegations and obtain a court order where he was named primary custodial parent of his 3 year old son.
We represented a mother who lived in Italy whose teenager was unlawfully kept in Arizona after summer visitation by the Father. It was ordered for the child to return to his mom in Italy.
We represented a father whose 2 children were taken to Kansas after their divorce was filed in Arizona and the court ordered them to be returned.
We represented a father who lived in Texas and fought for primary custody of his daughter who lived in Arizona. The daughter was able to move to Texas because of the mother's abuse and neglect.
We represented a Canadian mother whose husband attempted to get a divorce in Arizona where he could keep the kids. Mother had no long term visa and would have lost her children. Tali Collins was a "friend of the court" and was heard at a Canadian hearing on the same matter that had been filed in BC.
We were the mediators for a mother who wanted to keep the community house (and equity) and the father who wanted to keep his community retirement. We were able to craft an agreement where she received more spousal maintenance up front which the husband agreed to pay to keep the community retirement he had earned.
We represented two ER doctors and mediated their parenting agreement which was drafted to help each doctor have the maximum time with their son.
We represented a father who was a doctor and obtained sole custody of his two daughters after the mother had a worsening mental illness.
We represented a father whose former wife attempted to enforce an out of state child support arrears calculation that was incorrect. We also won the case on appeal. (Glover)
We represented a mother and successfully protected against potential kidnapping by the father to a non Hague country, the UAE. The parenting time order put in safety measures and supervisors to protect the daughters.
We represented a father from Japan to obtain a parenting time order for his young son.
We represented a father to severe the rights of the mother with their two daughters after the mother was imprisoned for criminal abuse against them.
We represented a father and were able to negotiate a parenting plan with joint legal decision making and a 50-50 parenting plan for his son.
We represented a divorced couple against the grandmother who wanted visitation time with their daughter against the parents' wishes.
We represented a married couple and negotiated visitation with a former mother in law, grandmother to their son/step son.
We represented grandparents and negotiated parenting time with a previously estranged father of their grandson.
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Scottsdale, Arizona 85253
