Arizona is a community property state and has no-fault laws. This means that all property acquired during the marriage --- as well as all debt---is considered to be joint regardless of the name on the property title or the credit card. Because of the no fault laws, a divorce will be granted if one party wants it, despite any objections by the other partner. The court is not interested in determining the reason for the divorce when dividing property and debt. The law now requires an attempt at settling all issues with the help of private mediators or the Alternative Dispute Resolution services of the court.

Issues you may wish to discuss with Marilyn include how to determine the marital portion of pensions, when is spousal maintenance (“alimony”) awarded and what are reasonable amounts and length of the award, who pays which credit card debts, are bonus payments and overtime used in computations for child support, how are vested and unvested stock options divided, what is done with a gift of a house down payment from the parents of one of the parties, and how are military benefits allocated.