Family Law

In Arizona, custody is known as legal decision making authority. The judge considers many factors, including the parents’ wishes; which parent has been the primary caregiver; the children’s adjustment to each parent and to home, school and community; the children’s wishes (in some cases); and which parent is more likely to allow the other parent

Spousal maintenance (alimony) is a consideration in divorce and legal separation cases.  The parties can agree whether or not spousal maintenance will be paid in their case, and what the amount and duration will be. If they are not in agreement, a party can ask the judge to  decide if spousal maintenance is appropriate to the

Collaborative Law refers to a non-adversarial legal process used mainly in family law matters—such as divorce, child custody, or property division—where both parties and their attorneys agree to work together cooperatively to reach a settlement without going to court. Each side hires their own collaboratively trained lawyer. All parties sign a participation agreement committing to open communication, full disclosure, and

Yes. We can start with consultation and document preparation. If you need it, we can change the representation to full representation. If the legal matter permits, we could also change to limited scope representation.

Your house could be your separate property, your spouse’s separate property, community property, or a combination of these. We have experience in determining how your property should be characterized. Zawtocki Law can also help you understand your rights and obligations. For some people, it is appropriate to sell the house for financial reasons or to

Arizona does allow spousal maintenance in divorce cases, depending on the law and guidelines. Spousal maintenance and alimony are the same. The parties can reach an agreement on whether to have a spousal maintenance award to one party as well as the amount, duration, and whether it is modifiable. If the Judge is deciding, A.R.S.

Child support is governed by the Arizona Child Support Guidelines. It is calculated using a formula outlined in the Guidelines after many variables are determined by agreement between the parties or by a judge following a court trial. These include: gross income for each parent, cost of supporting children not common to the parties, whether

The parents can agree or the judge will decide this issue. If the Judge is making the decision, the judge may send the parties to a mental health provider or court conciliation services professional who will help the judge make this difficult decision.

At the initial consult we will have more information about your situation which will help us to better answer this question. Many divorcing couples with no children in common and no real estate, business interests, or retirement accounts can get divorced quite inexpensively. When the case involves minor children, support, real estate, retirement accounts, business interests