Divorce Without a Lawyer

Quick Steps How to Get a Divorce in Arizona Without Hiring a Lawyer

1. Know the Requirements and the Law
2. Decide Whether to take a chance and Represent Yourself, Hire an Affordable Divorce Legal Paraprofessional, or Retain a Costly Divorce Lawyer
3. Determine Whether You Should Pursue an Uncontested vs. a Contested Divorce
4. File the Petition for Dissolution in the Appropriate Court
5. Serve the Petition to your Spouse
6. Resolve the Issues Through Negotiation or Trial
7. Finalize Your Paperwork with a Legal Paraprofessional

The decision to end a marriage is rarely easy and can be scary if you have never gone through the process in the past. While you might believe that divorces are always dramatic, your divorce does not have to be filled with bitter conflict and protracted litigation.

Many Arizonans think that they must hire a divorce lawyer to get divorced or represent themselves. However, you can choose the third option and hire a licensed legal paraprofessional at a significantly more affordable divorce cost as compared to a traditional Phoenix divorce attorney.

Stephanie Villalobos at De Novo Law is a licensed legal paraprofessional with decades of experience in family law. She is licensed to represent her clients throughout their divorce matters, including divorce trials.

Below are 7 steps you can follow to get a divorce with the help of a Licensed Legal Professional without needing to hire an expensive divorce lawyer.

1. Know the Requirements and the Law

If you are planning to divorce, you need to understand the following requirements to file a petition in Arizona:

• • You or your spouse must have lived in the state of Arizona for at least 90 days before you can file your petition.
  • If you and your spouse share children, your children must have lived in Arizona for at least six months before the Arizona court will have jurisdiction over child custody and parenting time.
  • Once you file your petition, there will be a minimum waiting period of 60 days before your divorce can be finalized.
  • As a no-fault state, Arizona does not require you to prove fault to obtain a divorce.

2. Decide Whether to Represent Yourself, Hire a Licensed LP, or Retain a Divorce Lawyer

You will need to decide whether to try to represent yourself to obtain a divorce without a lawyer, hire a licensed Arizona legal paraprofessional to obtain a divorce without a lawyer, or retain a divorce attorney.

Representing Yourself (The Cheapest but Potentially Disastrous Method)

While spending money while dealing with the issues of filing for divorce is the last thing on people’s minds, there is always the ability to file paperwork yourselves.

However, many things can go wrong. If documents are not completed correctly, or within strict deadlines, many things can go against your favor. The cleanest way that you could represent yourself in a divorce is if the following circumstances apply:

• You and your spouse agree on all divorce issues.
• You do not share children.
• You have little or no marital property. 
• You understand the forms and the filing requirements. 

The forms are available online on the website of the Arizona Judicial Branch. 

As mentioned, it is imperative that you complete them correctly. If you don’t understand the paperwork and your requirements, you might find yourself adding much more stress to the situation.

Similarly, if you have accumulated substantial property during your marriage, cannot agree on the issues, or share children with your spouse, you also might be better off getting help from a legal professional for an affordable divorce. 

Hiring a Licensed Legal Paraprofessional vs. Divorce Lawyer

If you cannot agree with your spouse on the issues in your divorce, known as a contested divorce, your case might need to go to trial. Similarly, even if you and your spouse can agree, you will want to hire a professional who can represent your interests in court. Arizona provides two options, including hiring a licensed legal paraprofessional or hiring a divorce attorney.

Like a divorce lawyer, Stephanie Villalobos is licensed to practice divorce law and represent clients in family court. She can do so at a much more affordable cost as compared to a typical high-priced divorce attorney.

Ms. Villalobos has decades of experience practicing in the area of family law and is fully equipped to represent you in your divorce case.

Hiring a licensed attorney is the most expensive method of getting divorced in Arizona. It might make more financial sense for you to hire an Arizona licensed paraprofessional to represent you instead of an attorney.

3. Determine Whether You Should Pursue an Uncontested vs. a Contested Divorce

Your next step will be to decide whether you will be pursuing a contested or an uncontested divorce. You will be pursuing a contested divorce if you and your spouse cannot agree on the various issues of your case, including property division, spousal support, child custody, and child support. If you and your spouse agree on everything, your divorce will be uncontested. 

If your divorce is contested, your Arizona legal paraprofessional can negotiate with your spouse to try to resolve the outstanding divorce issues in a way that is favorable to you and protective of your interests. If children are involved, a contested divorce can become an intense legal battle that will require extensive knowledge and experience to fight for you.

Contested divorces typically take a longer time to resolve and might end up going to trial. As such, reaching an agreement through negotiations short of trial can help you achieve a more affordable divorce than litigating the issues at a divorce trial. 

4. File the Petition for Dissolution in the Appropriate Court

If you’re working with an LP, you won’t need to know how to file the proper paperwork. Your legal paraprofessional will handle the process for you. However, if you are choosing to represent yourself to obtain a divorce without a lawyer, you will need to know how to file for divorce. 

The process involved with how to file for divorce begins with drafting and filing a petition for dissolution in the appropriate court. You can download the petition from the Arizona Judicial Branch website with the other required documents. If you are filing the petition, you will be known as the petitioner.

Your spouse will be known as the respondent. You will want to ensure that you check with the court in the county in which you intend to pursue your divorce to make sure you have the right forms and know the filing fees. 

You will choose between a divorce without children or a divorce with children. These two different types of divorce have different paperwork requirements. Make sure you select the right packet. 

If you are the petitioner who wants to know how to file for divorce, you will need to file all of the following documents:

• • Petition for dissolution with or without children
  • Summons to notify your spouse to respond
  • A preliminary injunction to prevent both you and your spouse from engaging in certain actions until your decree is issued
  • Domestic relations cover sheet to provide information about you and your spouse

If you share children with your spouse, you will also need to file the following documents:

• • Affidavit regarding minor children
  • Proposed parenting plan
  • Parent information program

You will need to make three copies of your documents, including the original to be filed with the court, a copy for your records, and a copy to serve on your spouse. You will also need to remit the filing fee at the time you file for divorce unless you are granted a deferral because of your inability to pay it. 

If the court determines that spousal support is warranted, it will decide the amount and duration to order based on other factors. Spousal support will automatically end when either spouse dies or when the recipient remarries unless otherwise agreed to in writing. 

5. Serve the Petition to your Spouse

After you have filed your petition, you must properly serve it to your spouse. Your papers must be served within 120 days of your filing date to avoid your case from being dismissed. 

If your spouse is unrepresented, you must serve the paperwork on him or her at his or her house. If he or she has retained a divorce lawyer or a licensed legal paraprofessional, serve the documents at the lawyer’s or LLP’s office.

The service of process must be proper and must be handled in one of the following ways:

• • Through the sheriff’s office in your county
  • Through a process server
  • Via certified, return-receipt mail if your spouse lives in a different state

If you can’t locate your spouse, he or she is in the military or is incarcerated, different service process rules might apply.

Your Arizona Legal Paraprofessional can help you understand the rules and effectuate proper service. 

6. Resolve the Issues Through Negotiation or Trial

The major issues in most divorces include property division, child custody and parenting time, child support, and spousal support.

Arizona is a community property state for property and debt division in divorce cases. This means that all of the property that you or your spouse accumulated during your marriage should be divided equally.

Any property that you or your spouse owned before your divorce is separate property that won’t be divided. Similarly, if you received assets through inheritance or by gift, they will also be considered your separate property. 

However, if you spent money from your community property to improve your separate property, a lien will be created against the separate property and divided equally. 

Moreover, if you commingled your separate property with your community property, it might lose its separate nature and be subject to division in your divorce. Debts accumulated during the marriage will also be divided equally between you and your spouse.

If you share a child with your spouse, two major issues will include child custody/parenting time and child support. If you and your spouse can agree to a parenting time and custody arrangement, you can file a joint parenting agreement with the court.

The Arizona family law courts use child support guidelines to determine the appropriate amounts of child support to order. Your legal paraprofessional can help you understand what you might expect to pay or receive based on your combined income and other factors. 

Spousal support might or might not be an issue in your case. While either you or your spouse can ask for spousal support, courts do not have to order it. Instead, the spouse that asks for spousal support will need to prove the following things:

• Has insufficient assets to support his or her needs
• Long duration marriage
• Is unable to support himself/herself through employment
• Is a child’s caregiver, making him or her unable to get a job

If the court determines that spousal support is warranted, it will decide the amount and duration to order based on other factors. Spousal support will automatically end when either spouse dies or when the recipient remarries unless otherwise agreed to in writing. 

7. Finalize Your Paperwork

After you have filed everything and have resolved your outstanding issues with your spouse, you can file a consent decree with the court with everything you have agreed to. The court will include your consent decree as a part of your divorce decree, and you will receive your divorce without having to appear in court. 

If your spouse does not respond to your petition within the proper time, you can ask the court for a default divorce.

If you are granted a divorce by default, your spouse will not have the right to contest your claims, but he or she can participate in the hearing and argue about the amount that should be awarded.

You can also come to a partial agreement and file it with the court, allowing the court to decide the remaining issues at a divorce trial. Your LLP will represent you at a divorce trial if necessary.

Once you or the judge have decided on the issues, you will receive a signed copy of the decree from the judge. This document permanently ends your marriage and resolves the issues.

De Novo Law Blog

Getting a Temporary Spousal or Child Support Order

If you’ve moved out of your family home, or your spouse has done so, you might be struggling to make ends meet. Some spouses might not have worked outside of the home for a long time and may simply be unable to afford to pay for rent, food, utilities, and other similar expenses. Your spouse might also have moved out and have left you to care for your shared children.

Fortunately, it is possible for you to get temporary orders for spousal and child support while your divorce is pending with the help of Stephanie Villalobos, LP at De Novo Law

Divorce cases can take a long time, and you might be worried that you will have to wait until your divorce is final before you will receive alimony or child support. Fortunately, however, it is possible for you to get temporary orders for spousal and child support while your divorce is pending with the help of Stephanie Villalobos, LP at De Novo Law. Here is some information about temporary orders for spousal support and child support and what to do to get them.

What Are Temporary Orders?

It can take months to resolve a divorce case. While a divorce is pending, temporary orders might be necessary to address certain critical situations, including spousal support and child support. Temporary orders can be put into place by the family court judge while the divorce is still pending. When temporary orders are issued, they will last until the divorce decree is issued. At that time, any agreements or final orders will take their place. 

If you have a fairly amicable relationship with your estranged spouse, you can try to negotiate an agreement to address important issues like temporary child support and temporary spousal support while your divorce case is proceeding. However, if your spouse has moved out and refuses to pay child support or to pay alimony, you might then need to file a motion for temporary orders with the family law court. 

if your spouse has moved out and refuses to pay child support or to pay alimony, you might then need to file a motion for temporary orders with the family law court. 

If you do reach an agreement with your estranged spouse for him or her to pay child support or to pay alimony, you can file the agreement with the court. The judge will then enter your agreement as a court order. If you and your estranged spouse cannot agree, you can file a motion with the court to request temporary orders. The judge will then schedule a temporary hearing to address your request. Both you and your estranged spouse will have the opportunity at the temporary hearing orders hearing to make requests. After reviewing the evidence and the testimony at the temporary hearing, the judge will then issue a ruling about the temporary orders. 

There are a variety of other types of temporary orders in divorce cases beyond orders for temporary child support or temporary alimony. Some of these might include a temporary order for the exclusive use of your home, emergency custody orders, and others.

Temporary Orders vs. Emergency Temporary Orders

When you file a request for temporary orders, it can take between 30 and 60 days for the court to schedule a temporary orders hearing. You must also serve your estranged spouse with notice. However, if you are in an emergency, you can file documents with the court to receive an expedited hearing. 

For example, if you have moved out of your home with your children and do not have an income to support your children and yourself, you will may have the a standing to file a motion for emergency temporary orders. The court might also issue emergency custody and child support orders on the day that they are requested if your petition provides enough facts to show that you and your children are in imminent danger of harm. Being at risk of homelessness due to a lack of income or child support should qualify as being in imminent danger of harm and form the basis for emergency custody, child support, and spousal support orders.

What Is Needed to File a Motion for Emergency Child Support?

You must be in real and imminent danger of harm to file a motion for emergency child support or alimony. You should not file a motion for emergency child support or alimony simply to try to get an earlier hearing. If you do, the court could hold you in contempt or order you to pay your estranged spouse for costs that have arisen because of your motion. Talk to your legal paraprofessional before you file this type of motion to ensure you are eligible for it.

You must be in real and imminent danger of harm to file a motion for emergency child support or alimony

Your legal paraprofessional can then file a motion for temporary orders without notice for you. If your motion is filed before 4:30 pm, it will be reviewed the same day by 5 pm, and the judge will issue a decision. If it is filed after 4:30 pm, the court will review it the next day by noon. Stephanie Villalobos at De Novo Law can help you determine whether you should file a motion for emergency orders or regular temporary orders.

Steps For Getting Temporary Orders for Alimony or Child Support

1. Explain Your Financial Situation in Detail.

The first thing you should o do is to clearly explain your financial situation with your licensed legal paraprofessional. She can determine how to proceed with the support you need. Financial support provided to one spouse by the other while a divorce is pending can be a financial lifeline for some people. Ms. Villalobos will need information about your income, your children’s ages, your work history, and your current support needs. This type of information is necessary to properly draft and file your motion for temporary orders. 

2. Gather the Necessary Documents.

You will need to provide several types of documents to support your motion for temporary orders and to prepare your case information sheet so that the court can understand your financial situation. Some of the types of information your attorney legal paraprofessional might need include your wage statements, your spouse’s wage statements, income tax return, bank account statements, household bills, your children’s expenses, and your debts and assets. Bring these types of documents with you to your appointment at De Novo Law. 

3. Speak With a Financial Adviser.

It is a good idea to talk to a financial adviser about your support needs if you are seeking alimony so that you can afford to remain in your home. Even if your motion for temporary spousal support is granted, there is no guarantee that the order will be made permanent. Just like a divorce attorney, Stephanie Villalobos can work with your financial adviser to help you to make smart financial decisions during your divorce that might allow you to land on your feet even if the court does not issue permanent alimony orders.

4. Try to Negotiate an Agreement for Temporary Spousal or Child Support.

The goal at De Novo Law is to come to an agreement before needing to go to court to avoid any delays whenever possible. If you need temporary spousal support or child support, Stephanie Villalobos will try to negotiate an agreement with your estranged spouse to secure the needed support. In most cases, it will be in your best interests if you can negotiate an agreement with your estranged spouse for temporary spousal and child support. However, if an agreement can’t be reached, She she can prepare your motion for temporary orders for you and file them on your behalf. 

If your relationship with your estranged spouse is particularly acrimonious or you have been the victim of domestic violence during your marriage, it is not in your best interests to try to negotiate an agreement for support with your estranged spouse. Instead, you should let your legal paraprofessional at De Novo Law handle any negotiations for you or file motions for temporary orders directly in court. You do not want to be in a position in which you will be coerced or harassed into an agreement that might not be in your best interests. 

Divorces can be filled with emotional conflict, and some spouses refuse to pay any child or spousal support while their divorces are pending. Filing a motion for temporary support orders can be a way to secure the types of financial support you need before your divorce is final. De Novo Law can help you pursue some financial help from your estranged spouse now without being forced to wait until your divorce decree and final orders are issued.

Filing Taxes During A Divorce

If you are in the process of getting divorced in Arizona, taxes might be one of the last things on your mind. However, it is important for you to understand how to handle your income tax return when you are divorcing and what to do with any refund you might receive.

Just like a divorce attorney, Stephanie Villalobos, a licensed legal paraprofessional at De Novo Law, can help you to negotiate the various aspects of your divorce, including your taxes during a divorce.

Can You File a Joint Income Tax Return During a Divorce?

If you have a pending divorce case, you and your estranged spouse can file a joint income tax return for this tax year as long as you remain married on Dec. 31 and agree to file jointly. Similarly, if you were still married as of Dec. 31 of last year and agree to file jointly, you can file a joint income tax return for that year. 

There are some benefits to filing a joint income tax return during a divorce

There are some benefits to filing a joint income tax return. You and your spouse will be entitled to a larger exemption and more credits than if you file as married filing separately or as a single taxpayer. If you are separated at the end of the tax year but are still married, you can file jointly. If your divorce is finalized before the end of the year, you and your spouse will have to file separately next year.

Legal Separation Vs. Divorce When Filing Tax Returns

People who are legally separated have not received a final divorce decree and are considered to be married by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Your spousal support, child support, custody, and property division orders will not affect your ability to file a joint tax return. If you receive a decree of separate maintenance before the end of the year, you can choose to file as head of household or as single, but it still might be a good idea to file a joint income tax return with your spouse. Filing separate returns will likely mean that you will pay higher taxes. 

Pros and Cons of Filing Jointly

There are several advantages and disadvantages of filing a joint income tax return with your estranged spouse. While most people pay lower taxes during a divorce when they file jointly, some might benefit more by filing separately. 

One disadvantage of choosing to file jointly is that both of you will be responsible for paying any taxes you might owe.

One disadvantage of choosing to file jointly is that both of you will be responsible for paying any taxes you might owe. If your estranged spouse refuses to pay his or her share, the IRS will still try to collect what is owed from you. Your legal paraprofessional at De Novo Law can help to negotiate an agreement with your spouse to indemnify you for any tax liability attributable to him or her. You can also seek tax relief through the IRS, including separation of liability, innocent spouse relief, or equitable relief. 

Another potential issue with filing a joint income tax return might include when one spouse receives the refund and refuses to give the other spouse his or her share of it. De Novo Law can help you if this happens by asking the court to order your spouse to pay you your share. However, it is better to take proactive steps to prevent this from occurring. Include a provision about how you will handle tax liabilities and refunds in your property division agreement. If you will receive your refund by check, make sure that it is written to both of you. If the refund will be directly deposited, either write an agreement through which your spouse agrees to pay you your share or have it deposited into a joint checking account. 

…when one spouse receives the refund and refuses to give the other spouse his or her share of it. De Novo Law can help you

If you are unsure about whether your spouse can accurately prepare your joint tax return, don’t allow him or her to do so. Instead, talk to him or her about hiring a tax professional to prepare your return. If he or she will not agree, file separately.

Other Tax Filing Statuses

If you do not agree to file your taxes jointly, you will have to file your return with a status of single, head of household, or married filing separately. If you are eligible to file as head of household, that status will allow you to claim a higher standard of deduction and credits, including the child tax credit, dependent care credit, and earned income credit. The eligibility criteria for filing as head of household include the following:

• You paid more than half of all of your living expenses, including rent, food, insurance, utilities, and taxes during the year.
• Your estranged spouse did not live with you during the last six months of the tax year.
• Your child lived with you for more than half of the year.
• You must be eligible to claim your child as a dependent on your tax return.

If you file as head of household, your estranged spouse will have to choose the married filing separately status. 

The married filing separately status normally results in both of you paying higher taxes. This status also prevents you from claiming certain deductions for which you might otherwise qualify. 

Relief From the IRS When Your Former Spouse Fails to Pay Tax Liabilities

If you file a joint return while your divorce is pending with your estranged spouse, both of you will be responsible for paying any tax liabilities from the return. If your former spouse fails to pay his or her tax liabilities from your joint return, there are a few types of relief you can apply for through the IRS. If you had a written agreement with your ex-spouse that he or she would indemnify you for any tax liabilities, Stephanie Villalobos, LP can file a motion with the court to secure an order for your ex-spouse to pay you. In the meantime, however, the IRS will still expect you to pay while you wait for the court order.

If you file a joint return while your divorce is pending with your estranged spouse, both of you will be responsible for paying any tax liabilities

Innocent spouse relief is a type of relief the IRS might grant when the tax liabilities from your joint return were caused by omissions or errors your ex-spouse made on the joint return.

Innocent spouse relief is a type of relief the IRS might grant when the tax liabilities from your joint return were caused by omissions or errors your ex-spouse made on the joint return. You can also petition the IRS for separation of liability. This type of relief might be granted if your former spouse failed to report all of his or her income. If you are granted this relief, the IRS will calculate the percentage of the liability each of you is responsible for paying, and you will only have to pay your percentage. If you do not qualify for either of these two types of relief, you can ask the IRS to grant you an equitable relief.