Arizona Learn
Ten topics, in plain terms — and the clock that runs from service leads
Each topic is written in Arizona's own vocabulary — legal decision-making, parenting time, community property, covenant marriage — keys only citations that resolve against the verified corpus, and carries an honesty note naming exactly where county practice or a court's judgment controls. The first topic is first on purpose.
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Arizona's sixty-day clock runs from SERVICE — file and serve promptly
The court cannot hold a trial or hearing or consider a dissolution decree until sixty days after the date of service (or acceptance) of process — the clock runs from service, not filing. Filing early does nothing until service happens; serving promptly starts the only clock that matters.
§ 25-329
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Covenant marriage: the question Arizona asks first
Arizona recognizes covenant marriage — an opt-in regime entered by declaration — and a covenant marriage dissolves only on statutory grounds: adultery, certain felony sentences, a year's abandonment, physical or sexual abuse, two years' separation, a year's separation after legal separation, habitual substance abuse — or both spouses' agreement. Most Arizona marriages are not covenant marriages.
§ 25-901§ 25-903
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Dissolution in Arizona: ninety days, no-fault, and the findings
A standard Arizona dissolution requires ninety days' domicile (or military stationing) before filing and a finding that the marriage is irretrievably broken — no fault ground is required, and the conciliation-court provisions can pause proceedings when invoked.
§ 25-312
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Community property, divided without regard to misconduct
Arizona pools property acquired during the marriage as community property, keeps separate property separate (owned before marriage, gifts, inheritance — with its increase and rents), and divides the community equitably, though not necessarily in kind, WITHOUT REGARD TO MARITAL MISCONDUCT.
§ 25-211§ 25-213§ 25-318
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Spousal maintenance: five gates and a guidelines instrument
Maintenance requires one of five statutory gates (insufficient property; inadequate earning ability; a child whose age or condition precludes outside work; contribution to the other spouse's career; long marriage plus age) — and the amount and duration run through guidelines the Arizona Supreme Court adopts, applied unless the court makes a written inappropriate-or-unjust finding.
§ 25-319
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How Arizona child support works
Arizona child support is income shares under the Supreme Court's Child Support Guidelines: both parents' incomes combine, the schedule yields a basic obligation, and the parenting-time adjustment allocates it. Deviation requires findings.
§ 25-320
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Legal decision-making and parenting time — Arizona's own words
Arizona's statute speaks LEGAL DECISION-MAKING (the authority to make major decisions) and PARENTING TIME (the schedule), determined in the child's best interests on all relevant factors — the parents' relationships with the child, adjustment, health, which parent facilitates contact with the other, domestic violence, and the rest of the statutory list.
§ 25-403
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Orders of protection and injunctions against harassment: two lanes
Arizona's protective orders live outside the family title: the Order of Protection covers domestic violence within qualifying relationships (with ex parte issuance), and the Injunction Against Harassment covers a series of harassing acts by someone outside those relationships. The relationship list is the door.
§ 13-3602§ 12-1809
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How an agreed Arizona dissolution actually finishes
Fully agreed cases commonly finish on a consent decree: file, serve promptly (the sixty-day floor runs from service), prepare the decree terms while the clock runs, and submit after the floor — county practice controls whether an appearance is needed.
§ 25-329§ 25-312§ 25-318
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Self-help in Arizona: the Self-Service Center and certified preparers
Arizona built real self-help infrastructure: the Judicial Branch's Self-Service Center provides official forms and instructions, and the state certifies Legal Document Preparers who may prepare documents and provide general legal information — but not legal advice.
§ 25-312
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Every page here is legal information, not legal advice — no strategy selection, no predictions, no guarantees. The tools these topics link to organize from the same verified corpus the citations resolve against.