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Spousal Support in Arizona

Unlike other states, in Arizona there are no legal guidelines that guarantee an award of spousal support (sometimes called alimony or spousal maintenance). If a request for spousal support is made, the court will consider several factors, including whether the requesting spouse is entitled to spousal maintenance based upon a lack of property or an inability to obtain employment. The court will also consider whether the other spouse has an ability to pay spousal support while still meeting his or her needs. Ultimately, an award of temporary, permanent or indefinite spousal maintenance is in the discretion of the court.

Exploring Cost-Effective, Out-of-Court Alternatives to Spousal Support

I regularly save clients time and money by negotiating out-of-court property division settlements that meet the needs of both parties without having to resort to an uncertain court battle over spousal support. However, if the other party is unwilling to agree to a fair settlement, I will tenaciously advocate for my client’s interests at trial. I represent parties requesting spousal support, as well as those opposing an award of spousal support.

Contact me to speak to an experienced Phoenix spousal support attorney serving clients throughout Maricopa County.

Considerations When Awarding Spousal Support

Every client’s situation is different, but Arizona law looks to several factors when evaluating whether an award of spousal support is appropriate:

• The duration of the marriage
• The difference in earning abilities of the spouses
• The financial needs of one spouse, as well as the ability of the other to pay support and still meet his/her needs
• Whether the spouse requesting support is capable of meeting his/her reasonable needs through appropriate employment
• The age of the spouse requesting support and whether the marriage was of long duration
• Whether one party contributed to the educational opportunities of the other spouse
• If a spouse lacks sufficient property to provide for his/her needs —this includes property awarded in the divorce
• Whether one spouse is disabled

Contact Tracy M. Krall, Phoenix Alimony Attorney

I will provide you with the sound legal advice you need to minimize arguments and find the best possible resolution to your spousal support matter. Call Krall Law Office at 602-443-8284 or contact the firm by e-mail to arrange a consultation with a skilled spousal maintenance lawyer.

Joint Legal Decision-Making Authority (Formerly Known as Child Custody) and Parenting Time

In most divorces, legal decision-making authority and parenting time issues are the most heated and emotional topics for the parties involved. Krall Law Office, PLLC, in Phoenix, Arizona, takes a balanced, calm approach to difficult child custody issues. I am focused on finding solutions and compromises that provide the children involved with the stability and continuity that is in their best interests.

Arizona’s Preference for Joint Legal Decision-Making Authority

As of January 1, 2013, Arizona eliminated the legal concept of “custody” and the term “legal decision-making” took its place. Courts once favored mothers when awarding child custody, but this is no longer the case. While Arizona courts still make custody decisions based on the best interest of the child, they tend to favor awarding joint legal custody to both parents. Joint legal custody provides both parents with equal decision-making rights with regard to their child’s medical treatment, education, religious upbringing and personal care decisions. Sole decision-making authority may be awarded to one parent in cases where the other parent is abusing drugs or alcohol or is engaging in physical abuse.

Parenting time (sometimes called visitation) is different from custody/legal decision-making. Parenting time means the actual schedule of time during which a parent has access to a child at a specified time. Written parenting plans provide children and parents with predictability and consistency and can prevent future conflict. Each parent during their scheduled parenting time is expected to be responsible for providing the child with food, clothing and shelter and make routine decisions concerning the child’s care. Without regard to who has legal decision-making authority, each parent is entitled to reasonable parenting time to ensure the minor child has substantial, frequent and meaningful and continuing contact, unless the court finds, after a hearing, that parenting time would endanger the child’s physical, mental, moral or emotional health. Seemingly, Arizona courts wish to assure that the child has substantially equal time and contact with both parents. Parenting plans differ from case to case and are also based upon what is in the best interests of the child. Some example of parenting plans include the following:

5-2-2-5 Plan

Under this scenario, the child spends Monday and Tuesday with Parent 1, Wednesday and Thursday with parent 2, and then alternate weekends from Friday through Sunday with Parent 1 having the first and third weekends, and Parent 2, having the second and fourth weekends, etc. This plan allows both parents to participate in both school and weekend activities.

Week On - Week Off

Under this plan, the child spends Week One with Parent 1, Week Two with Parent 2, Week Three with Parent 1, Week Four with Parent 2, etc. This plan limits the number of exchanges that occur with the children.

• Two consecutive overnights every other week and an additional 3-6 hour period or overnight added each week
• Three consecutive overnights every other week and an additional 4-6 hour period each week

Parenting Time or Custody Modification

Circumstances change. What made sense at the time of your divorce may not make sense now. The parenting plan which was originally drafted with the needs of a five-year-old child in mind does not address the needs of a 12-year-old. You or your former spouse may need to relocate, or your child may be involved in extracurricular activities that necessitate a change in the parenting plan. Whatever the situation, I can help.

Krall Law Office, PLLC, in Phoenix, Arizona, recognizes that move-away cases are often the most challenging conflicts our clients face. The consequences of a court’s ruling in a parental relocation case can have profound effects on both parents and children. Frequently, the relocating parent sees the move as a fresh start after a difficult divorce, while the remaining parent views the move as a threat to his or her relationship with the child.

I am attorney Tracy M. Krall, and I have 18 years of experience providing affordable and thoughtful assistance to parents seeking to relocate, as well as parents hoping to prevent relocation. I approach parental relocation cases with an eye toward finding an acceptable solution and reducing conflict between the parties. Contact me to speak to an experienced Glendale parental relocation attorney serving clients throughout Maricopa County.

Overview of Child Support

In Arizona, both parents are legally responsible for the financial support of their children. This obligation applies to children born in or out of marriage and applies to adopted children. A court order is the only way to establish an enforceable child support obligation. A parent, a parent's attorney, or the Arizona Division of Child Support Services may file a child support case on behalf of a child. If a child was born out of wedlock paternity must be resolved before the court will deal with child support.

Unlike spousal support, there are statutory child support guidelines in Arizona that dictate how much child support should be ordered. The factors that go into determining child support are as follows:

• Income of both parties, which is based on gross monthly income or income before taxes.
• If alimony/spousal maintenance is being paid or received.
• Whether either party has children from another relationship that they are legally required to support.
• Which parent is providing health insurance for the child/children.
• Which parent is paying child care costs and how much.
• How much parenting time the non-custodial parent has with the child/children.
  *The parent who does not have primary custody ("non-custodial parent") is the one who will be responsible for paying child support to the other parent. It should be noted that if parenting time is shared equally and there is technically no custodial parent, child support still has to be calculated pursuant to the Child Support Guidelines and one parent may owe the other child support due to significant disparity of income of the parties.

Child support must be paid by wage assignment and through the Court's Clearinghouse. This means the employer takes out child support out of the check of the person ordered to make child support payments and forwards it to the Support Clearinghouse, which then forwards it to the receiving parent. If the paying parent is self-employed, payments must still be made through the Clearinghouse.

Child Support Continues until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever is later. If a child turns 18 and is still in high school, the child support continues while the child is in high school, but no later than age 19. In the cases of a special needs child, the court may continue support indefinitely after age 19.

Imputing Income for Child Support

Although most noncustodial parents have no problem making child support payments for their children, some will do anything to avoid their obligations. Unfortunately, some parents intentionally reduce their income in order to avoid their duty of support. They may do this by voluntarily accepting a lower paying job, cutting back work hours or refusing to work altogether.

In Arizona, if a court determines that a parent is reducing income to avoid support, a judge may impute, or hold accountable, income to that parent to coincide with that parent's actual earning capacity despite what he/she reports as an artificial lower income. Before imputing income, the court will first need to determine whether the reduction in income was involuntary or voluntary.

If a parent is found to be working below his or her potential, and has no reasonable cause, the court will usually impute income up to the parent's "full earning capacity."

To determine full earning capacity, the court will consider evidence of the following:

• the parent's former earning level or annual income (w-2s, tax returns and pay stubs
• local or regional salaries paid for jobs that are comparable to the parent's most recent job
• prevailing wage rates in the region, and
• where the court cannot determine earning capacity, the court may impute minimum wage.

Involuntary Unemployment

A parent is involuntarily unemployed when he or she is unable to work due to a job loss followed by the inability to find another job - despite good faith efforts. The parent must be prepared to show evidence of diligent efforts to find another job.

The court will most likely not impute income when a parent is:

• involuntarily unemployed
• physically or mentally disabled
• participating in a reasonable career or job training intended to establish basic skills or reasonably calculated to increase earning capacity
• at home with a child who has unusual emotional or physical needs, or
• a current recipient of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).

Voluntary unemployment or underemployment are when a parent has voluntarily quit his or her job or has voluntarily reduced his or her earnings without a reasonable cause. In these cases, courts are more likely to impute income.

In deciding if a parent is voluntarily unemployed, the court will look at the parent's efforts to find another job or to resolve the problems that caused the parent to lose the most recent job, such as substance abuse issues or certification noncompliance.

Child Support Modifications

Modifications to a child support order may be requested any time there is a substantial and continuing change of circumstances that result in a 15% increase or decrease of the current child support obligation. Changes in any of the following factors may be grounds for a modification of child support: change in employment/income, the number of children in the household, the presence or absence of the cost of child care and/or the amount of parenting time days. If you find that you are unable to pay the amount of child support that you were ordered to pay originally or if you are the receiving parent and you believe that you are owed an increase in child support, please consult with Krall Law Office to see if you are eligible to request a modification.

What is Paternity?

When a child is born to unmarried parents, paternity means fatherhood. Establishing paternity means that a court or a government agency has ruled as to who is a child's father.

Paternity in Arizona

It is not uncommon in our society for a woman to raise children without a father's involvement. In some situations, it's intentional; other times it's accidental. There may come a point when it's time for the dad to step up and when a child is born to unmarried parents the father may not have automatic legal rights to custody and/or visitation and he must establish paternity through the court. Likewise, it is necessary to establish paternity before there can be a determination of child support. This tab discusses paternity law in Arizona, but only provides a brief overview. If you have questions about paternity, or want to bring a paternity action, you should contact Krall Law Office for help.

How to Establish Paternity

The easiest way to establish paternity in Arizona is by signing a Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity. By signing a Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity, both mom and dad agree who the father is and signing this form will make it official and establish the child's legal and biological father. If the mother and alleged father do not agree about who the father is, under Arizona law, a paternity matter can be started by:

• the child’s mother
• a man who believes he is the father (also known as the “putative father”)
• the child’s guardian or the person the child is living with, also called a “custodian,” or
• a government agency that is providing welfare or health insurance benefits for the child.

In the case where voluntary paternity is not established, a paternity case can be initiated in the superior court of the county where the mother, the putative father or the child lives. The court has the power to order genetic testing or blood testing. To be considered valid, the test result must show that there is at least 95 percent likelihood that the putative father is the biological father. Once it is determined who the biological father is, Arizona courts can move forward to establish custody, parenting time and/or order one parent to pay child support. Absent a custody order, it is understood that the parent with whom the child has resided for the greater part of the last six months has legal custody.

What are the Benefits or Drawbacks to Establishing Paternity?

Obviously, for the person who is raising the child, establishing paternity can be essential to obtaining financial support for the child. The court will calculate the current child support obligation and additionally can calculate past support due for a period of time consisting up to three years before the paternity case was started. The judge can also order the father to pay the costs of the pregnancy and child birth as well. If a government agency has started the case, the agency may seek the father to reimburse the agency for welfare and other benefits paid out on the child's behalf.

For the man who is unwilling or unable to pay child support, a paternity action may be unwelcomed; however under Arizona law every parent has a legal duty to support his/her biological or adopted child/children, and Arizona courts do not take this responsibility lightly.

For a father who may want to be part of the child's life, the court can order a set parenting schedule as well as rule on the father's rights to be involved in the child's major life decisions such as medical choices, educational issues, religious upbringing, and personal care decisions. Establishing paternity can be essential to securing time with your child.

On the other hand, some mothers do not want the dads entangled in their kids' upbringing. If a court finds that either the mother or the putative father has acted unreasonably in the process, the judge could order the difficult party to pay the other side's attorney's fees as well as the cost of the genetic testing.

Parental Relocation and the Arizona Courts

A parent who is considering relocation must provide the other parent with 60 days written notice of the move. The law gives the remaining parent an opportunity to object, and if this happens, the court will make a determination of whether to allow the parent to relocate with the child. The court’s order will be based upon the best interests of the child, and the judge will consider many factors in making a final decision.

Parents wishing to relocate must do their homework —this means gathering information regarding crime statistics, educational opportunities and the standard of living in the proposed move location. Courts are concerned about financial stability for the child, and they are more likely to approve a parental relocation in which the parent is moving to take a higher paying job to create better opportunities for the child.

Contact Tracy M. Krall, Phoenix Child Relocation Attorney

Move-away cases are highly dependent on numerous factors, so it is important to speak to an experienced parental relocation lawyer who can help you discern which facts, statistics, and strategies can assist you in presenting a reasoned and persuasive argument to the court. Get the information and advice you need to ensure your child’s best interests are protected. Call Krall Law Office at 602-424-8083 or contact the firm by e-mail to arrange a consultation.