A statute is a law enacted by the Arizona Legislature. Arizona family law statutes are primarily found in Title 25 of the Arizona Revised Statutes, which is titled Marital and Domestic Relations. When a statute is cited in a filing, an order, or a court ruling it is directing attention to the specific law that governs the issue.

Statutes define the legal standards courts must apply. They set eligibility requirements, procedural obligations, evidentiary standards, and the scope of court authority. Understanding which statute controls a given issue is the starting point for legal analysis.

Statutes are amended by the legislature and signed into law by the governor. The Alec and Lydia Act, for example, amended A.R.S. § 25-403.03 effective June 22, 2026. What the statute said before that date and what it says now are different, and knowing which version applied when matters in any case that spans the effective date.

Throughout this glossary statutes are cited where they are controlling. Those citations are the starting point. The full text of any Arizona statute is available at azleg.gov.