The Response

Likewise, if you are the Respondent filing a response, consider also filing a “counter-petition” to address any issues that your spouse may have failed to mention. Also, you do not need to follow the traditional “admit or deny” format for each paragraph of the Petition. You can instead “plead affirmatively” and tell the court what you want. This allows your Response to be understood without having the Petition read side by side. A respondent cannot ask for a default judgment on an initial divorce filing.

Contributing Attorney Writer: Billie Tarascio litigates family law and domestic violence cases at Modern Law.

Resources

Response Forms for Divorce with Children

Response Forms for a Divorce without Children

12 February 2020

A Brief Introduction to Discovery

In discovery, you will have access to information that you may not have previously had. For instance, if you spouse owns a business you may want to have it valuated before you commit to your spouse taking the business in exchange for you keeping the house. You will likely need to discover how much of your retirement accounts are community property (earned during marriage) and how much might be separate (premarital) property. Leaving your petition rather vague gives you the opportunity to gather more information as you refine your position. By becoming educated on the law, you can better assess your position of what is fair or what you can live with during your divorce. It can also help you to negotiate what is really important to you. For instance, let us say you learn that you spouse spent $50,000 in secret gambling over the last three years. You may have a marital waste claim for $25,000. Instead, you may use that potential claim to settle other issues in the case that are very important to you.

Contributing Attorney Writer: Billie Tarascio litigates family law and domestic violence cases at Modern Law.

18 December 2017

What to Include In Your Filing

When deciding how specific you want to be in your petition, ask yourself if your spouse is likely to agree with each and every aspect of what you would like. In the event that the two of you agree on everything, consider filing a very specific petition outlining all of the details of how you would like custody, property division, child support, spousal maintenance and any miscellaneous issues addressed. If you agree on everything, filing a comprehensive petition (with separate parenting plan and child support worksheet) allows the two of you the option to proceed via default. This allows the other person to bypass filing a response (and paying the filing fee for the response).

In the event you and your spouse are not likely to agree on every aspect of the divorce, consider filing a more vague petition with requests such as “child support pursuant to the guidelines” or requesting “an equitable distribution of property and debt”. This allows you to take full advantage of the discovery process without committing yourself to a position that may change.

Contributing Attorney Writer: Billie Tarascio litigates family law and domestic violence cases at Modern Law.

18 December 2017

Subpoena

A subpoena allows you to get documents from outside sources such as banks, or command a witness to attend a hearing. A subpoena must be issued by the clerk of the court and served upon the intended recipient.

Each discovery tool can help you to achieve a given objective. As always, know your strategy and what you must prove to determine which tools to use. Consider the cost benefit analysis of each decision and take advantage of either a certified legal document preparer, lay legal advocate, or an attorney for further information.

Contributing Attorney Writer: Billie Tarascio litigates family law and domestic violence cases at Modern Law.

18 December 2017

Depositions

Arguably, depositions are the most powerful discovery tool available to you as a litigant. A deposition allows you to ask any question that you would like of the opposing person (with few exceptions) under oath and on the record. This gives you the ability to test out questions and determine the demeanor of the other person and ability to answer difficult questions. It also locks down their story. You can depose both parties and witnesses by serving a “Notice of Deposition” upon the person or witness(es) you intend to call. Then, you will want to schedule a court reporter to take the deposition. Give yourself enough time to get the written transcript well before trial.

Contributing Attorney Writer: Billie Tarascio litigates family law and domestic violence cases at Modern Law.

18 December 2017

Request for Admissions

Requests for admissions are used less frequently than interrogatories and a request for documents, but can provide valuable information and insight for less money than the cost of a deposition. In a request for admissions, the opposing person is asked admit/deny questions and must either admit or deny the questions that you ask.

Contributing Attorney Writer: Billie Tarascio litigates family law and domestic violence cases at Modern Law.

20 March 2018

Request for Production of Documents

Like the interrogatories, a Request for Production of Documents asks that the other person deliver to you the documents you are requesting within 40 days of receipt. You can ask for any and all relevant documents including electronic accounting files, criminal convictions, drugs tests, even medical records. This is a fantastic tool to accompany interrogatories.

Contributing Attorney Writer: Billie Tarascio litigates family law and domestic violence cases at Modern Law.

20 March 2018

Interrogatories

A frequently used and very useful discovery tool is interrogatories. You can send both uniform and non-uniform interrogatories to the opposing person. Interrogatories are questions that must be responded to in writing by the opposing person within 40 days of receipt. This locks in the answer of the opposing person and provides valuable information you can use in making your case. As an example, the uniform interrogatories ask for the person to list all bank accounts, assets, insurance policies, pending litigation claims, etc. If your case has hotly contested issues, consider using the uniform interrogatories as a fantastic discovery tool for your case.

Contributing Attorney Writer: Billie Tarascio litigates family law and domestic violence cases at Modern Law.

18 December 2017

Rules of Evidence

In family court, the rules of evidence are relaxed unless one person files a “notice of strict compliance.” Under the relaxed rules, all relevant evidence is generally admissible unless it is repetitive or abusive. Generally, if it is relevant to the issues, a judge will allow you to use the evidence. If a notice of strict compliance is filed, all of the rules of evidence including hearsay and authentication rules apply. If you are going up against an attorney and they have filed the notice, we suggest you seek advice from an attorney. He or she can help you properly prepare your evidence for submission to the court.

Contributing Attorney Writer: Billie Tarascio litigates family law and domestic violence cases at Modern Law.

18 December 2017

Default Process

In the event you have served a petition on the opposing person and they do not respond, you have the opportunity to file for a default judgment. If the opposing person lives within the state of Arizona, they have 20 days to respond before you can initiate the default proceedings. If they are out of state, they have 30 days to respond. Another wrinkle to consider is that there is a 60-day waiting period before a judge may issue a divorce decree after you file. So, while the default rules allow you to ask for a default after 20 or 30 days, the judge will not sign a decree of dissolution prior to 60 days after the service of the petition.

In the event that the proper amount of time has passed, you can prepare an Application and Affidavit of Default. Simply create an account to access all of our professional legal documents. Make sure that you bring two copies with you when you go to file the documents. You will need to immediately mail, hand deliver or serve a copy of the documents to the opposing person. They then have an additional 10-day grace period to respond to your initial petition. After the 10 days has passed, you can call the court to schedule a default hearing. In the event that you do not have children, you can submit your documents via mail to the court and await the signature of the judge without scheduling a hearing.

To get a default judgment, you will need to submit a/an:

•    Completed Decree of Dissolution
•    Legal Separation or Order of Annulment and two copies
•    Parent Information Program Certificate (if it has not already been filed)
•    Signed Parenting Plan and two copies
•    Completed Child Support Worksheet and two copies
•    Order of Assignment and two copies
•    Completed Judgment Data Sheet
•    Wage information/pay stubs for both parties
•    Other financial information such as childcare costs, medical insurance premiums etc.
•    9X12 envelope addressed to the other party with 3 standard current postage stamps and
•    Copy of any prior Child Support Orders/Birth certificate for children

A default hearing is very informal. The judge will ask you questions about what you have included in your decree. The judge may make changes to what you have included in your decree. Also, you cannot put anything in your decree that you did not include in your petition. The other person is entitled to notice of everything that may end up included in the final paperwork. Alternatively, if you do not have children, you can submit the paper documents to the court for the signature of the judge. If you elect to go this route, make sure you deliver a copy of your documents to the chambers of the judge.

Helpful hint: Consider getting the phone number for the judicial assistant so that you can make follow up calls regarding the status of your documents.

Contributing Attorney Writer: Billie Tarascio litigates family law and domestic violence cases at Modern Law.

22 July 2019