Phoenix Arizona Family Law Blog

When parents split up, the process can quickly get very complicated. Parents only want the best for their children, so things like child support and custody arrangements are usually high on the list of priorities. Each state has differing guidelines regarding which parent pays child support and the amount to be paid. There's never a one-size-fits-all situation so, when appropriate, courts in Arizona are allowed deviate from these guidelines. Here are a few things to consider when going through this experience.

To calculate child support, courts take into account the number of children, each parent's income as well as how much time each parent spends with the children. However, circumstances may change a few months or years down the road. It is important to keep in mind that child support can be modified, and parents are allowed to return to court if child support needs to be amended.

In previous decades, fathers who wanted custody of their children after a divorce were out of luck. Traditionally, custody of children was typically awarded to the mother. In recent years, however, courts in Arizona and across the nation have encouraged more shared parenting child custody agreements.

When it comes to child custody, there are basically two types: physical custody and legal custody. Those who are granted legal custody have control over decisions that affect a child's well-being, like health care and education. Physical or residential custody focuses on where the child resides. These days, courts begin with a presumption of joint legal custody between parents, but courts are becoming more open to shared physical custody arrangements.

The complicated issues involved in the end of a marriage often include child custody, property division and support payments. However, it seems that fewer millennials are buying homes or having children, so these are not necessarily the family law issues that cause conflict during divorce. In fact, arguing over the fate of the family pet is becoming a more common and often fierce battle between Arizona spouses who are ending their marriages.

Attorneys are noticing the uptick in divorces that bog down when the question of who gets the pet arises. Some speculate that because couples in their 20s and 30s are choosing to remain childless, their pets are substitutes for children and therefore of great importance to them. While only a few states have laws considering the welfare of pets during divorce, most courts treat pets as property.

These days, more and more couples are deciding to end marriages later in life. In the last 30 years, the divorce rate for couples age 50 or older has more than doubled. Known as gray divorce, this late-life separation presents unique challenges for senior adults who find themselves suddenly single. Ending a marriage so close to retirement age can have a devastating financial impact. The following advice may be helpful for those in Arizona who find themselves in this situation.

One of the first things to do is to crunch the numbers and figure out how much cash is coming in and how much cash is flowing out. Doing this will enable individuals to see if they need to cut spending or increase income. This is also a good time to recalculate retirement savings. Update retirement savings goals and determine how much to save in order to reach goals. Without question, divorce can wreak havoc on finances so it may also be necessary to delay retirement.