Arizona Divorce Laws: Process, Timeline, and Cost

The ground rules

• No-fault: the only finding required is that the marriage is irretrievably broken — neither spouse has to prove wrongdoing (covenant marriages are the exception)
• Residency: one spouse must have been domiciled in Arizona for 90 days before filing (A.R.S. § 25-312)
• Waiting period: the court cannot finalize the case until 60 days after the petition is served (A.R.S. § 25-329)
• Community property: property and debt acquired during the marriage is divided equitably (A.R.S. §§ 25-211, 25-318); separate property stays separate

The process, step by step

One spouse files a petition for dissolution in superior court and has it served; the other has 20 days to respond if served in Arizona. Either side can ask for temporary orders covering the house, the children, support, and bills while the case is pending. Both spouses then exchange mandatory financial disclosures, negotiate — directly, through counsel, or in mediation — and either submit an agreed consent decree or take unresolved issues to trial before a judge. There are no jury trials in Arizona family court.

How long it takes

A fully uncontested divorce runs on the waiting period: with a consent decree ready, most finish within roughly 90 to 120 days of filing. A contested divorce depends on what is disputed — custody and business valuations take longer than dividing a checking account — and commonly runs 9 to 18 months. The fastest possible divorce in Arizona is 60 days after service; nothing makes it quicker.

What it costs

The court’s filing fees in Maricopa County run a few hundred dollars per side. Beyond that, cost tracks conflict: an uncontested divorce with an agreement is a fraction of a litigated one, and every issue the spouses resolve themselves is an issue nobody pays lawyers to fight about. Where one spouse controls most of the income, A.R.S. § 25-324 lets the court order that spouse to pay some or all of the other’s attorney fees.

Support: spousal maintenance and child support

Spousal maintenance eligibility is decided under A.R.S. § 25-319, with amount and duration set by statewide guidelines. Child support follows the Arizona Child Support Guidelines income-shares model. If you have minor children, the decree must also resolve legal decision-making and parenting time — usually the most important part of the case.

For what the firm handles at each stage — temporary orders, property division, consent decrees, trial — see the Arizona divorce page.