Protecting families. Securing Futures.
Trusted Phoenix Metro
Family Law Advocates
By your side in divorce, custody,
& child support challenges
Family Law Attorneys Helping Clients in the phoenix area Find New Beginnings
Experienced & Trusted
Family Law Attorneys
The Sampair Group focuses on both simple and complex family law matters throughout Maricopa County. We provide aggressive, affordable legal representation for complex divorce cases, high conflict child custody, child relocation, division of property and debt, paternity matters, spousal maintenance (alimony) and the issuance of Temporary and Emergency Orders. Offices located in Glendale, Scottsdale and Chandler Arizona.
What Types of Cases Does The Sampair Group Handle?
Family Lawyers Serving Maricopa County
The field of family law in Arizona involves a wide range of legal actions. With the more than 60 years of experience combined among our family law attorneys, we know we have pretty much seen it all. One common family law situation that we help with is dissolving marriages, either through a divorce, annulment, or legal separation, as well as all of the issues involved in those proceedings. We can help you and your ex resolve child custody, child support, division of communal property, and spousal support questions. We are also ready and able to help you if you need temporary or emergency orders, such as restraining orders.
Our capable lawyers are very familiar with the rights of all parties involved and can help when you feel your rights as a parent or grandparent aren’t being respected. In any legal case, we are also able to offer mediation to resolve matters without court intervention as much as possible, all while listening to your wishes and making sure your needs are met.
How Do Family Law Lawyers Protect Children in Arizona?
Family Lawyers Serving Maricopa County
At The Sampair Group, children’s rights and safety are our foremost concern. Our family law lawyers take pride in representing clients in matters where the children are the primary focus, such as child custody, paternity, child relocation, domestic violence, and orders of protection.
These legal issues don’t just affect the adults involved, but can potentially take a high toll on the children. Our goal is always to minimize the negative impact on their lives and find solutions that will give them a better future. If you need help with a family matter involving your children, please reach out to us right away to discuss your situation with us in a case evaluation at one of our convenient Maricopa County locations. Call 623-218-1000.
Patrick Sampair
Brandy Ramsay
Carlie Owsley
Laura Gillis
Michele Surett
Divorce is a court process to legally end a marriage. In Arizona, divorce is called “Dissolution of Marriage.” A divorce proceeding will address the division of community assets and liabilities including retirement benefits and spousal maintenance. When there are minor children, it will also address custody, parenting time and child support.
Arizona is a no-fault state. Unless you have Covenant Marriage, the only grounds for divorce is that the marriage is irretrievably broken. The person filing for divorce will swear to this in their initial Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. If you have a non-covenant marriage, like most people do, you can not get a divorce based on the grounds of adultery, abandonment, abuse or neglect.
In Maricopa County, most uncontested divorce actions can be completed in about 75-90 days.
Arizona does not recognize common-law marriages.
A Legal Separation in Arizona addresses all of the issues that a divorce addresses, except that the parties are still legally married. This is sometimes referred to as a “financial divorce,” but it is not a divorce. It divides all of the assets and liabilities, addresses child custody, support andparenting time and allows continue to be legally married without being subject to “community property” rules. A legal separation requires that both parties are in agreement.
One spouse, called the Petitioner, files a document called a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage (along with several other documents) with the Clerk of the Court in his or her county of residence. The other spouse, called the Respondent is then served with the Petition and the other documents. If the Respondent does not agree with what the Petitioner is requesting in the Petition, the Respondent must file a Response no later than 20 days (30 days if served out of state) after he or she was served with the documents. If the Respondent fails to file a written Response within the time allowed, the Petitioner can apply to the court for a default. The Petitioner must then file an Application for Entry of Default with the court and mail a copy to the Respondent. The Respondent then has another ten days to file a Response. If the Respondent still does not file a Response within ten days from the date the Application for Entry of Default is filed and mailed, then the Petitioner can proceed with the dissolution hearing.
If the parties are completely in agreement, in divorce and some other cases, the matter can often be completed without either party ever having to physically set foot in the court house. In many cases, the parties can sign a Consent Decree, which is filed by the attorney with the court. The judge will then review and sign the Consent Decree and then mail the signed copies to each side.
To file a new Divorce, at least one of the parties must have been residing in Arizona for at least 90 days. However, generally, the Court does not acquire jurisdiction over the children until they have resided in Arizona for at least 180 days. As a result, except in those cases of emergencies, unless the children have resided in at least 180 days in the state of Arizona prior to filing a petition involving custody and parenting time, the Arizona Court could not have jurisdiction to enter such orders regarding minor children.
If a Petition is filed and served on a spouse the spouse has two options: do nothing if the spouse agrees with what is in the Petition or file a Response if the spouse does not agree with what is in the Petition. However be careful! The failure to file a Response will result in a Divorce Decree being entered and the spouse will have no input into that Decree. Often the filing spouse tells the other spouse not to worry that n answer is not required and no Response is file. Suddenly the spouse that did not Respond finds himself or herself without custody and owing child support and/or spousal maintenance.
All things being equal, men will do just as well as women in a custody dispute. There is no presumption under Arizona law that women are better qualified than men to parent or that physical custody or any preference should be with the mothers. Men are frequently awarded primary custody of children.
Parenting time is literally the time that the children spend with each parent. In the past, parenting time has been referred to as both “visitation” and “physical custody”.
A Parenting Plan is a document that outlines the time that the minor child/children spend with each parent. It also divides a holidays and vacation time. Usually there are also provisions governing the payment of extracurricular activities and unpaid medical expenses. A Parenting Plan is prepared in all custody cases.
If the parties are in agreement they do not have to follow the parenting plan on a day to day basis. If they fall out of agreement, they must follow the plan. The initial Parenting Plan is approved by the court, however the parties are allowed to modify the plan in writing on their own if they so agree.
Legal Decision Making is the decision making part of being a parent. Joint Legal Decision Making means that both parents have equal say with regards to major decisions, such as those related to education, health care, sports, social and other activities.
Minor children can never decide who they want to live with. However, the courts do give consideration to the child’s wishes in determining parenting time and custody issues. The older the child, the more deference given the child’s desires.
Grandparent Rights are the rights of grandparents to have visitation with their grandchildren. In general, grandparent visitation occurs during the visitation of the parent related to the grandparent. Oftentimes, the grandparent and parents are estranged or one of the natural parents is deceased and/or cannot be found. In those cases, the grandparent can file a petition for grandparent visitation with the minor child. In determining the level of visitation with the grandparent, the Court will look to the best interest of the minor child in having such visitation.
If one parent has reason to believe that the other parent is using illegal drugs or abusing prescription drugs or alcohol, there are many options available to help protect the children. First and foremost, the court can order drug testing through TASC, both urine and hair follicle tests can be ordered. A positive result will result in supervised visitation only until several months of clean UA’s are accumulated. Further options include a family evaluation by a trained professional that can include psychological tests, investigation of medical, mental health, court and other records. This type investigation may include interviews of family members, associates, the parties’ children and others.
A Title IV-D case is generally a case brought by the State of Arizona on behalf of the parent in “possession” of the child, to Order the other parent to pay Child Support. While Paternity is established through the Court, generally no issues regarding Joint/Sole Decision Making or Parenting Time are addressed in IV-D Court, so the other parent must bring a separate action to establish these rights
There are three types of alimony: permanent, rehabilitative, and temporary alimony. Permanent alimony is typically awarded to one who is not and cannot become financially independent. Permanent alimony may not last for the life of the recipient. Factors including, but not limited to, age of the parties, the recipient’s marital status, the recipient’s need for continued financial assistance, and a change in the payer’s ability to provide alimony, are all taken into account when determining whether permanent alimony should be continued after initially awarded. Rehabilitative alimony is temporary in nature. It gives a party a chance to obtain an education or additional career training in order to become self-supporting. Temporary alimony is alimony that lasts for a specific period of time usually one to two years. It is awarded in circumstances when the recipient needs a bit of financial assistance for a short and fixed period of time. Temporary alimony may also be awarded during the pendency of divorce proceedings.
Whether a party is eligible for alimony is determined by the courts on a case-by-case basis. The court takes several factors into account including: Duration of marriage. Earning capacity of each spouse. Age of each spouse. Contributions the spouses made during the marriage (e.g. Putting the other through school or staying home to raise the children). Age of children. Prenuptial Agreement. Courts may also consider any other economic circumstances in determining whether alimony is proper and the amount that should be awarded. Every state has different laws regarding alimony and the factors to be considered. More than one-half of the states in the country no longer take fault into account in granting or limiting alimony. Alimony may be received weekly or monthly or in a lump sum payment. Either the parties or the court will determine the method of how alimony is received. Alimony is taxable income to the recipient and must be reported on yearly tax returns. It is also constitutes a deductible amount by the payer.
The court may modify alimony if circumstances have changed. For example, a modification may be granted if a decrease in the payer’s ability to provide the original amount of alimony awarded to the recipient has occurred. A modification or cessation of alimony may be granted if the recipient remarries or if their circumstances change. Alimony ceases upon the death of the payer.
Instead of having alimony awarded to one party for a temporary or permanent period of time, the party could, for example, receive a larger property settlement, stay in the family home or keep an account that was previously in both parties’ names. Alimony in gross is not technically alimony but refers to a property division payable either in a lump sum payment or in installment payments over a set period of time.
Alimony awards, also called “spousal support,” are usually granted at the court’s discretion upon a determination, which takes into account certain factors, that spousal maintenance is necessary. Some of the factors considered when determining alimony payments include the education of the spouses, their respective work experiences, income histories, ages, health, the length of the marriage, and the time either spouse has spent out of the work force. Alimony may be either temporary (often called “rehabilitative alimony”) or permanent. The court grants rehabilitative spousal support when one spouse has been disadvantaged in order to equalize the burden of the divorce.
Child support is determined by a formula adopted by the Arizona Supreme Court. The amount of support is determined by adding together the monthly gross income for each party. From that number a basic support amount is determined from the guidelines. The basic support amount is then affected by such things as medical insurance for the child, child care, educational costs, the age of the child, and support of other children.
Usually, child support is paid by wage assignment. The wage assignment is sent by the Court to the employer of the parent ordered to pay child support. The employer is required, under federal law and state law, to withhold the child support in pay it over to the Support Payment Clearinghouse. However, if the employer does not withhold and pay over the child support amount, or pays less than the amount ordered, it is still the responsibility of the paying parent to make sure he/she stays current on the child support. Payments of child support are made through the Support Payment Clearinghouse. If payments are made directly to the seating parent, assumption is those payments are a gift unless otherwise agreed, in writing, by the parties.
State law requires that the parties tell the Court what child support should have been absent the agreement. It also requires that the parties provide a good reason to the Court why there should be no child support. It is up to the discretion of the Court to determine whether to agree with the parties desire not to order child support.
In cases where the non-custodial parent has not been contributing or under-contributing to the support of the children, the court can order up to 3 years of back child support. Additionally, the court can issue an award for unreimbursed birthing expenses.
We Are a Family Law Firm
