Sunday, March 15, 2009

No Fault Divorce in Arizona

Just another of our many disagreements.
He wants a no fault divorce whereas
I would prefer to have the bastard crucified.
In about 1972 there was a movement to make divorce no-fault. Some states left fault in order to get a divorce or as a basis for determining the results of divorce. For example, New York requires fault to get a divorce but not to determine outcomes. Connecticut is just the opposite. Arizona did not require either. However, that may change. An article in the March 2, 2009, Arizona Star by Howard Fischer reports that "Adultery may be making a comeback in Arizona's divorce courts, along with a few other fault-finding concepts banished more than 30 years ago." See the entire article at
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/282402.php. He goes on to say "Legislation being pushed by Sen. Linda Gray, R-Glendale, would allow either party in a divorce case to introduce evidence of "misconduct" by the other spouse. The change made by SB 1206 would not affect whether a judge grants a divorce. The sole grounds for a court making that decision would remain that the union is "irretrievably broken." But it would remove a prohibition against judges considering "marital misconduct" when it comes to child support, dividing up community property and alimony, or spousal maintenance." The article goes on to quote Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Colleen McNally, who presides over the Family Court Division who questioned the need for a change. Judge McNally said, "the law already allows a court to consider "waste," where one party has burned up a marital community's assets...When you get to the point of child support, I don't understand that connection. If nothing else, the legislation, if enacted, would turn what are supposed to be fairly routine court hearings into longer, more-involved arguments. You're really inviting the parties to start bringing up who had the affair first and all these other issues It's really going to expand the litigation. What's worse is that those accusations will take away from efforts by Family Court judges to get the parents to focus on the children. Turning hearings on child support into forums for charges and countercharges regarding who was wrong "really has a negative effect on the kids."
What do you think about fault in divorce cases?
As always, you can post any comment about this blog, Divorce Mediation, or Tucson Arizona by following the directions at the right in the green column or at the bottom of this website. Learn more about mediation at http://www.center-divorce-mediation.com/ WM 3/15/09