Domestic Violence & Family Law

A victim of domestic violence can request an Order of Protection, a court order to prohibit the perpetrator from contacting the victim. Orders of Protection can also order the perpetrator to stay away from the victim’s home or work, order that the victim have exclusive use of the home, or order a perpetrator to surrender firearms. A victim may be granted an Order of Protection if they can show the court that the other person has committed an act of domestic violence within the past year or is likely to commit an act of domestic violence in the future. Violation of an Order of Protection is a crime.

Typical grounds for getting an Order of Protection include: hitting, punching, slapping, kicking, grabbing, holding down, preventing you from leaving, preventing you from calling for help, breaking objects, punching holes in walls, threats to harm or kill, or credible threats to take the children out of the country, etc.

CLS typically only assists with Orders of Protection when there is an ongoing Family Court case. Also, most often CLS assists by giving legal advice, rather than providing an attorney to represent you in court. Many courts have advocates or staff available to assist with questions about Orders of Protection.

Also, the Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence has a Sexual & Domestic Violence Services Helpline , where advocates can answer questions about a variety of legal issues, including Orders of Protection.

• Include specific dates or estimated dates that an incident happened.
• Describe what the other person did to you (or your child, etc.) – be specific and say how you were affected. What did the person do? Were you injured? How? Did the person break your phone, punch holes in the wall, frighten you, etc.? Are you frightened of the person now?
• Don’t spend time describing why an incident happened. For example, the most important part of the story is not that the other person was angry you got home late – but that the person punched you in the cheek with a closed fist, which caused bruises, etc.
• Describe events in an order that will make sense to the person listening. Most times this means describing events in a chronological order, with what happened first. Write an outline for yourself, so you know you won’t forget anything.

There are consequences if you avoid being served with court papers. If you are considering relocating, especially moving out of state, you should speak to an attorney beforehand. For more information and to contact the Clerk of the Court in the County you live in, see Consequences of Avoiding Court Service.

Early Lease Termination A victim of domestic violence may be able to break their lease without financial consequences or ruining their credit. Download DV Early Lease Termination: Frequently Asked Questions

Victims’ Rights in Criminal Court Victims of domestic violence have certain rights concerning crimes committed against them by their abusers. CLS is able to assist some DV victims to exercise their victims’ rights during the criminal process. Download Arizona’s Crime Victims’ Rights .

Family law cases are cases in the Family Court , and the cases are usually between spouses or two parents of child( ren ), as opposed to cases in the Juvenile Court (dependency, guardianship, adoption, etc.). Family law cases include divorce, paternity, and child custody (now called “legal decision-making and parenting time”).

In Arizona, the Juvenile Court handles cases such as dependency, termination of parental rights, guardianship, and adoption. CLS does not assist with dependency cases or cases for termination of parental rights. CLS can help with some guardianship and adoption cases, through the Children’s Law Center .

Guardianship of a child is a legal relationship created by a court, where a non-parent (a guardian) is given the legal right and duty to care for a child (the ward). For instance, many grandparents obtain guardianship of their grandchildren in order to enroll them in school and obtain medical care, when the children’s parents are not capable of caring for them.

Adoption is a court procedure by which an adult becomes the legal parent of someone who is not the adult’s biological child.

CLS can help with some guardianship and adoption cases, through the Children’s Law Center.

In Arizona, family law cases are handled by the county Superior Courts. Family courts throughout Arizona handle cases in similar ways; however, details may be different, depending on the county where your case is. In very general terms, one party starts a case by filing a Petition with the court and having the petition served on the other party. If the other party disagrees, they file a response. To resolve the case, the parties either reach an agreement, or the court decides the issues the parties cannot agree on.

• Divorce (dissolution of marriage) – a court process to dissolve or end a legal marriage. The divorce decree will specify everything between the spouses like legal decision-making, parenting time, child support, division of property and debt, spousal maintenance (alimony), and can change the name of either party if they took the name of the other spouse at marriage and now want to go back to the former name.
• Property division – the court will divide the parties’ community property, which is generally all of the property acquired during the marriage, except property received by gift or inheritance.
• Debt division – the court will divide the parties’ community debt, which is the debt incurred during the marriage.
• Spousal maintenance (alimony) – the court can order one spouse to pay money to support the other spouse, depending on the length of the marriage, the financial resources of the parties, and other factors. If you want the court to consider whether spousal maintenance is appropriate in your case, you must ask for spousal maintenance in the Petition or the Response.
• Legal decision-making – for minor children of the parties, the court will order who has the authority to make decisions about the children’s major life issues, such as education, counseling and medical care.
  • Joint legal decision-making – both parents make major life decisions about the children together.
  • Sole legal decision-making – one parent is given the authority to make major life decisions about the children. A parent with sole legal decision-making is still expected to keep the other parent informed.
• Parenting Time (formerly “visitation”) – the amount of time each parent is permitted to spend with the child.

• Paternity – determines the legal father of a child when the parents are not married. Unmarried parents often establish paternity by signing an Acknowledgment of Paternity at the hospital when a child is born. Once paternity is established, parents can request Family Court orders for legal decision-making, parenting time, child support, and other issues involving the children. Find more information on paternity here .
• Legal Decision-Making (formerly “child custody”) – the authority to make decisions about the children’s major life issues, such as education and medical care.
  • Joint legal decision-making – both parents make major life decisions about the children together.
  • Sole legal decision-making – one parent is given the authority to make major life decisions about the children. A parent with sole legal decision-making is still expected to keep the other parent informed.
• Parenting Time (formerly “visitation”) – the amount of time each parent is permitted to spend with the child.
• Child Support – an amount of money one parent must pay to the other parent to contribute to the living and care expenses of a child. The amount depends on the parties’ income (or what they are capable of earning), expenses paid for the children, like medical insurance and daycare costs, and the amount of parenting time each parent has with the children.

• Enforcement – a court action to make someone follow court orders. Filing for enforcement is a good place to start when someone is not following family court orders, rather than just requesting to have the orders changed.
• Modification – a court action to change court orders. A party can only request to have a court order modified if there has been a substantial and continuing change in circumstances since the date of the last court order. Also, a party cannot request to change their court orders for one year after the orders are entered, unless a child’s physical, mental, moral or emotional health may be in danger.
• Relocation – If a parent plans to move to a new address, that parent may have to give advance notice to the other parent and/or file something with the court. Parents should research the current Arizona family law (statute) on relocation, when planning to move.

CLS has attorneys who represent people in their family law cases; however, we typically only provide representation in cases involving domestic violence or child abuse. Also, because of the very high demand and limited number of staff, most often we assist people by giving legal advice, reviewing court papers, helping to draft documents, and providing referrals to additional resources.

While many people would benefit from having an attorney represent them in court, most people can’t afford to hire an attorney. Around 80% to 85% of people in family court represent themselves. There are resources for people who are representing themselves in Family Court, and it is always a good idea to get advice from an attorney, if possible.

Resources for finding an attorney to hire to represent you can be found here.

If you are in Maricopa County and want to hire an attorney to represent you, you can find attorney listings on the Maricopa County Superior Court Self-Service Center Lawyer Roster

This booklet, How to Represent Yourself in Family Court , provides some helpful information, especially for domestic violence victims and survivors.

This flowchart outlines the basic divorce process.

Other resources for people representing themselves in Family Court include:

• Superior Court of Arizona Self-Service Centers:
  • Superior Court of Arizona Law Library Resource Center
  • Yavapai County Superior Court Self-Service Center
  • Mohave County Superior Court Self-Service Center
  • Yuma County Superior Court Self-Service Center
  • La Paz County Superior Court Self-Service Center
• Family Lawyers Assistance Program (Maricopa County)
• Arizona Department of Economic Security: Department of Child Support Services (for child support issues only)