I’m hearing that a lot of consent decrees are getting rejected lately because they don’t meet the court’s requirements. One major reason for rejection is not including the required findings for spousal maintenance. That’s not surprising–the guidelines are brand new and impose a lot of new requirements. I created some form language that should cover most situations where one party is receiving spousal maintenance. No guarantees, but this is the best I could come with based on the current rules and guidance from the court. I’m calling this version 1.0. Also, note that the supreme court just adop ..read more

Excited to share my recent article in Arizona Attorney Magazine where I explore the significant changes in the legal landscape of spousal maintenance. I dive deep into the intricacies of these new guidelines, examining the arguments on both sides and discussing what it means for divorcing couples and attorneys. Check out the full article to stay informed on these groundbreaking changes in family law! LINK ..read more

Following the 2019 amendment to Rule 78 that superseded Yee v. Yee, even post-decree orders must include a Rule 78(b) or (c) recitation to be appealable. Until a final appealable order is entered, the trial court can modify a non-appealable order entered in the same case. Here, a non-appealable order absolving Father of all child support arrears was revisited more than a year later after Mother submitted a corrected arrears calculation. Father was ordered to pay child support in the parties’ 1993 dissolution case. Father paid intermittently over the years, and the court entered an arrears judg ..read more

When a separation agreement is submitted to the court for approval, the court must find that the agreement was not unfair to either party at the time it was made, but is not required to determine whether the agreement is also equitable under § 25-318. In this dissolution case, the parties entered into an agreement awarding Wife an equalization payment of $5 million for her interest in Husband’s mortgage company. After the agreement was made but before it was reviewed by the court, the value of the mortgage company significantly decreased. Husband challenged the fairness of the agreement and ar ..read more

I reviewed a preliminary draft of the new Arizona Spousal Maintenance Guidelines (March 9, 2023). The guidelines will apply to any awards entered on or after July 1, 2023, unless the petition was filed before September 24, 2022. This is only a draft and will likely change significantly before the final version is adopted by the Arizona Supreme Court. Practitioners should be aware of these changes and their effective dates in any cases involving spousal maintenance, including temporary awards. Introduction Like the child support worksheet, the calculator will reference a large table of statisti ..read more

The easiest way to get copies of your tax returns is by requesting a Record of Account Transcript directly from the IRS. You should also request a Wage and Income Transcript which shows information from all W-2s, 1099s, and other tax forms under your name. If you provide both of these transcripts, you do not need to provide any other tax information. OPTION 1: Get Transcript Online You can request a copy of both the Record of Account Transcript and Wage and Income Transcript on the IRS website. You will need to create an ID.me account and verify your identity by uploading a photo of your drive ..read more

The Drahos/Barnett formula provides a consistent baseline for determining the community’s interest in a spouse’s separate property. The trial court has some flexibility in departing from the formula, but it cannot ignore the effect of a valid disclaimer deed or the reality of the separate property interest. Procedural History The parties purchased two properties during the marriage—Leisure Lane and 30th Way. Leisure Lane was purchased entirely with community funds, while 30th Way was purchased using both community funds and Wife’s separate funds. Both properties were titled in Wife’s name on ..read more

Property acquires character at the time of acquisition, which refers to the time at which the right to obtain title occurs, not the time when legal title is conveyed. The court must account for over- and underpayments of temporary child support in the final decree. Procedural History This opinion involves three discrete issues: (1) the character of an investment property purchased shortly before marriage; (2) reimbursement for a post-service tax garnishment; and (3) credit for an overpayment of temporary child support. (1) Investment Property: Prior to marriage, Father entered into a contrac ..read more

When dividing a pension, the court may utilize a “hybrid” approach with elements of both the present cash value method and the reserved jurisdiction method. The court may require the employee-spouse to obtain a term life insurance policy to ensure that the non-employee spouse receives their full interest if the employee-spouse dies prematurely. Procedural History The parties were married in 1995. Husband was a police officer and had a substantial PSPRS pension of $7,800 per month. Husband was also participating in the DROP program and had two other defined contribution accounts. At trial, Wi ..read more

When the same judge is assigned to a protective-order proceeding and a related family court case, each case is still a separate action and holding a contested hearing on the order of protection does not waive a party’s right to a peremptory change of judge in the family court case. Procedural History Wife obtained an order of protection against Husband in a limited jurisdiction court and then filed a divorce petition one week later. Husband requested a hearing on the order of protection and, because of the pending divorce case, the protective-order proceeding was transferred to superior cour ..read more