{"id":10677,"date":"2024-03-21T16:35:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-21T16:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/draftmylegaldocs.com\/?p=10677"},"modified":"2024-03-21T16:35:00","modified_gmt":"2024-03-21T16:35:00","slug":"contested-divorce-arizona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/draftmylegaldocs.com\/blog\/contested-divorce-arizona\/","title":{"rendered":"Filing for a Contested Divorce in Arizona"},"content":{"rendered":"

Going through a divorce can be an emotionally overwhelming and time-consuming process. It can also prove to be equally as financially straining if the spouses cannot come to an agreeable resolution and are required to take their case to trial or extensive mediation. However, for some married couples, divorce is still the best path forward for both parties involved. Nobody gets married expecting it to end this way, but the reality is that divorce is quite common.<\/p>\n

If you are thinking about ending your marriage, then it is crucial that you understand how the legal process works, how to properly file for divorce<\/a>, and the various legal paperwork involved to proceed with your dissolution of marriage.<\/p>\n

What Is a Contested Divorce?<\/h2>\n

In Arizona, a contested divorce is a type of divorce where the spouses involved are not able to come to an agreement on the terms for settling one or more of the financial or parenting-related issues that are critical to formulate the divorce decree. Some terms that are commonly disagreed upon are alimony payments, child support, parenting time, division of marital property, division of marital debt, and similar important elements associated with the dissolution of a marriage. The failure to reach an agreement on just one of these important issues can mean a contested divorce.<\/p>\n

When spouses are unable to reach an agreement, then the case may be sent to trial, where the issues at hand will be decided by a family court judge. Because of the need to go to trial, these contested divorces are often far more expensive and can take substantially longer than uncontested divorces, where both spouses are able to reach a complete agreement regarding the terms of the end of the marriage. An alternative is mediation, which can help the couple avoid litigation but still takes time for a settlement to be reached.<\/p>\n

Establishing Grounds to Filing for Divorce in Arizona<\/h3>\n

If you intend to file for divorce in the state of Arizona, you must be able to specify and establish the grounds on which you wish to dissolve your marriage. What this means is that you need to provide official legal justification as to why your marriage is irrevocably broken and should, therefore, be dissolved.<\/p>\n

Arizona is a no-fault state, like many others in the US, which means that only one of the involved spouses needs to establish grounds for divorce in order for the court to grant them a divorce. These grounds can be as simple as irreconcilable differences, since neither spouse must prove that wrongdoing by the other necessitated the divorce. However, if you and your spouse have previously entered into a covenant marriage, then different rules will apply to you should either of you wish to file for a divorce.<\/p>\n

A covenant marriage is essentially a premarital arrangement where both of the marrying spouses agree that their marriage will last for the rest of their lives. This agreement includes pre-marital counseling prior to their wedding, as well as marital counseling and other necessary steps when they are considering a potential divorce. There are only three states in the US that currently recognize covenant marriages, which are Arizona, Arkansas, and Louisiana. However, a covenant marriage can still provide legal grounds for divorce, but only in a limited number of scenarios.<\/p>\n

Here are the scenarios in which a covenant marriage can legally file for divorce in Arizona:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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