Cost of divorce in Arizona

A response fee that nearly matches the filing fee

Arizona is one of the states where the second spouse pays a substantial amount just to take part. Maricopa County Clerk of Superior Court: Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with or without children $376.00; Response/Answer to Dissolution $287.00. A respondent who files nothing avoids the $287 but leaves the petitioner free to ask for a default decree. The Maricopa County fee list also prices a petition for legal separation at the same level as dissolution.

The summary consent decree

Summary consent decree: spouses who agree on all issues can file jointly; Maricopa County charges $331.50 for a Summary Consent Decree (fee schedule). The 60-day wait of A.R.S. 25-329 still applies. Compared with a petition and a response, it saves $331.50 in fees alone.

Ninety days in, sixty days out

One spouse must have been domiciled in Arizona, or stationed there as a member of the armed services, for 90 days before filing (A.R.S. 25-312(A)(1)). After filing, no trial, hearing or affidavit-based decree on a petition for dissolution or legal separation until 60 days after service or acceptance of process (A.R.S. 25-329). The 60 days start at service, not at filing, so a respondent who accepts service the day the petition is filed starts the clock immediately. Arizona also offers covenant marriage, and couples in a covenant marriage can divorce only on the narrower grounds listed in A.R.S. 25-903.

The education program for parents

In a dissolution, legal separation or annulment involving a common minor child, the court shall order the parties to complete a domestic relations education program, unless the court finds it not in the best interests of the parties or child or a comparable program is completed (A.R.S. 25-352(A); programs under 25-351). Under A.R.S. 25-351, the superior court in each county adopts its own program, and the Arizona Supreme Court sets the minimum standards and approves each county's plan.

Working the numbers

Take a Phoenix couple who cannot settle custody. Both file, and each would pay a lawyer; our example prices one side at 15 hours and $300 an hour, invented figures for illustration that you should replace. The court fees for both sides are $663 and that side's estimate reaches $5,163. A spouse with a low income uses the clerk's deferral or waiver application. Spousal maintenance follows the Arizona guidelines on the Arizona alimony page and child support the income shares model on the Arizona child support page. Across the Colorado River, California charges both spouses too.