Blog Posts: Family Law

When most people hear the words "domestic violence," they think of physical harm. Arizona's new family court law, the Alec and Lydia Act (HB2995), effective June 22, 2026, changes that picture substantially. For the first time in Arizona, a pattern of behavior known as "coercive control" is explicitly included in the definition of domestic violence for purposes of ...

On June 22, 2026, Governor Hobbs signed HB2995, the "Alec and Lydia Act," into law. Because the legislation carries an emergency clause, the changes took effect immediately. Arizona's family court domestic violence framework is now fundamentally different from what it was the day before. The bottom line for anyone with a family law matter involving domestic violen...

Legal separation in Arizona is often misunderstood as a softer alternative to divorce, but in practice, it functions almost identically. Under Arizona law, a court may enter a Decree of Legal Separation if at least one spouse is domiciled in the state at the time the case begins, and if one or both spouses desire to live separate and apart. The only additional requ...

Divorce is an emotional and complex process, but one important aspect that often gets overlooked is your estate plan. If you don’t update it, your estranged spouse could still inherit your assets or make crucial financial and healthcare decisions on your behalf. In Arizona, unless you specify otherwise, your spouse remains a beneficiary until your divorce is fina...

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fxyLVifat0[/embed]Transcript: How much can you expect your divorce to cost? That is a question that I get asked almost all the time in almost every case. And in each situation, the answer is different. But it's always the same in one respect, which is, I don't know how much it's going to cost. Unfortunately, what I ca...

Mediation is a voluntary process where parties jointly select a neutral third-party facilitator to help reach settlement agreements for all or some of the issues in their divorce proceeding. The mediator is a private party who is engaged and will typically be compensated based on the time they spend at his or her hourly billing rate. Three-party mediations consis...

Arbitration is an underutilized tool in Arizona family law cases. Put simply, arbitration is a dispute resolution process where an agreed-upon third party—the arbitrator—resolves a family law dispute outside of a traditional courtroom. The parties jointly select a neutral, third party to consider the facts and evidence in the dispute, the arbitrator makes an aw...

Divorce and legal separation can entail more than just emotional and legal complexities.  They can also involve navigating intricate and complex tax implications. There are eight key considerations to consider relative to divorces and taxes that are specific to Arizona. 1. Strategic Tax Filing Status: The timing of divorce can significantly impact tax filing sta...

Imagine you are a parent. You have a son and a daughter, and they are fighting vociferously over the last remaining orange in the kitchen. The thoughtful parent that you are, you stop and quickly consider your options: You could take the orange and not give it to either child. You could give the entire orange either to your son or to your daughter. Or to be fairer,...

We often see family law clients who have misconceptions about divorces.  These misconceptions impact their decision-making.  We are going to debunk common myths about divorce in Arizona to provide clarity and empower individuals with accurate information. Myth #1: Arizona's No-Fault Divorce Means Fault Doesn't Matter Reality: A spouse does not need to prove “...