To begin a divorce case, the party seeking the divorce must file certain papers with the court. The most important is called a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage (“Petition”). This Petition is the document that opens the case and informs the court and the opposing party that the filing party, the petitioner, is seeking a divorce. The basic requirements of the Petition are set forth in A.R.S. Section 25-311 – 312, 314, and Rules 23-31 of the Arizona Rules of Family Law Procedure (“ARFLP”).
In short, the Petition must provide basic information about the parties (See A.R.S. Sec. 25-314), claim that the marriage is irretrievably broken, that the court’s free marriage counseling services would not help save the marriage, and that one of the parties resided in Arizona for ninety days prior to the filing. The Petition must also include a short and simple statement of the relief the petitioner is requesting.
As for the relief the petitioner is requesting, the Petition is NOT required to state everything the petitioner wants with specificity. For example, the petitioner may specifically list in the Petition each item of property she is requesting, but it is also sufficient to simply state that the petitioner seeks “a fair and equitable division of the community assets and debts.” Similarly, the Petition may specifically state the parenting time schedule requested, including pick up and drop off times and specific holidays, but it is also sufficient for the Petition to simply state that petitioner seeks “a parenting time schedule in the children’s best interests as determined by the court.” The Petition may request a specific dollar amount of spousal maintenance for a specific period of time, but it is also sufficient for the Petition to simply state that the petitioner “seeks spousal maintenance in an amount and duration to be determined by the court.” A simple statement providing notice of the claims the petitioner is making will do. The Petition must be signed by the petitioner and notarized.
Along with the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, several additional documents must be filed to open the case, including a cover sheet, summons, preliminary injunction, notice of right to convert health insurance, and notice regarding creditors. These documents are standard forms and are the same in every case. The summons notifies the opposing party, the respondent, that he has a deadline of twenty days in which to file a response to the Petition and the consequences that may result from failing to file a response. The preliminary injunction notifies each party of actions which are prohibited while the case is pending, such as cancelling insurance, selling property, and removing children from the state absent an agreement or court order. The notice of right to convert health insurance notifies the parties that if one party is covered under the other’s health insurance, she may have a right to continue the health insurance coverage for a period of time under COBRA. The notice regarding creditors notifies the parties of certain rights with respect to debts and creditors, including the right to obtain a copy of the other party’s credit report.
When the Petition and all accompanying documents are ready, the petitioner makes two copies (one for herself and one for the respondent) and then files the originals at the Superior Court filing counter along with the required filing fee (presently $321 in Maricopa County).
The next step is getting the papers served on the respondent, which will be my topic for next week’s post. Stay tuned!
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