Things You Should Know About Divorce In Arizona

Divorce is a court process to legally end a marriage. In
Arizona divorce is called “dissolution of marriage” and
court papers use the term dissolution of marriage instead
of divorce. In addition to ending the marriage, the court
also has the authority to divide certain property and debts
of the spouses and in some cases to order one spouse to
pay support (alimony) to the other. If children are
involved, the court also can decide custody, parenting
time (formerly called visitation) and child support issues.

Only the court can legally end a marriage. However,
spouses are free to agree to as many terms of the divorce
as possible. Court services are available in several counties to assist in reaching agreements about such matters as
parenting time and custody of children. Because agreements between spouses leave fewer issues for the court to
decide, the result often is more satisfying to the people
involved and may speed the process of concluding the
court case.