Divorce in Arizona — the plain-English overview

Arizona has one of the more modern divorce statutes — it has retired "custody" terminology, has a relatively short residency requirement, and was an early adopter of pure no-fault divorce. There's a separate covenant marriage track that imposes additional grounds, but the vast majority of Arizona marriages are non-covenant and follow the rules below. None of this replaces talking to an Arizona family-law attorney about your specifics, but knowing the starting framework helps you read your own paperwork.

Where you file

Arizona divorces — formally dissolution of marriage proceedings — are filed in the Superior Court of the county where either spouse lives. At least one spouse (or a member of the U.S. armed services stationed in Arizona) must have been an Arizona resident for 90 days before the petition is filed (A.R.S. § 25-312).

Maricopa County (Phoenix) handles the largest share of family-law cases by far; Pima County (Tucson) is the next-largest, followed by Pinal and Yavapai. Smaller counties have a single Superior Court division covering all civil and family matters.

How long it takes

Arizona imposes a 60-day waiting period from the date the respondent is served with the petition before the court can enter a decree of dissolution (A.R.S. § 25-329).

In practice, most uncontested Arizona dissolutions take 90–120 days from filing to final decree once you account for service, the response window, and the court's calendar. Contested cases routinely run a year or more.

Arizona's only no-fault basis is that the marriage is irretrievably broken. If both spouses agree on that, the court generally accepts it without further inquiry. Covenant marriages (entered into under a separate statutory track) require fault grounds, but only a small fraction of Arizona marriages are covenant.

Property — what state law assumes

Arizona is one of nine community property states. Everything either spouse acquired during the marriage — wages, things bought with wages, retirement contributions — is presumed community property (A.R.S. § 25-211). The court divides the community property and community debts equitably, which in practice usually means equally (50/50).

Separate property — what either spouse owned before the marriage, plus inheritances and individual gifts — stays separate. The line between community and separate property gets blurry when separate funds were commingled with community money during the marriage; tracing those funds is one of the more common Arizona divorce disputes.

Custody — the starting framework

Arizona no longer uses the word "custody." The framework is legal decision-making (the older term was "legal custody") and parenting time (the older term was "physical custody" or "visitation") (A.R.S. § 25-403).

The court allocates:

• Legal decision-making — joint or sole — covering education, healthcare, religious upbringing, and personal care decisions.
• Parenting time — the schedule of when the child is with each parent.

§ 25-403 sets out the best-interest analysis with factors including the past, present, and potential future relationship between each parent and the child, the wishes of the child and each parent, the child's adjustment to home, school, and community, mental and physical health, which parent is more likely to allow the child frequent, meaningful, and continuing contact with the other, and any history of domestic violence or substance abuse.

Arizona courts emphasize frequent, meaningful, and continuing contact with both parents — there's an explicit statutory policy favoring it — but no statutory presumption of 50/50 parenting time.

Filing fees and fee waivers

Filing fees in Arizona vary modestly by county. In Maricopa County, the dissolution petition fee is approximately $349. Pima County is around $338. Most other counties fall in a similar range. The responding spouse pays a separate response fee (around $269 in Maricopa).

If you can't afford the fees, Arizona offers two paths under A.R.S. § 12-302: a deferral (you pay in installments after the case is over) or a full waiver (you don't pay at all). Eligibility depends on income relative to federal poverty guidelines and on receipt of certain public benefits. You file an Application for Deferral or Waiver of Court Fees.

What this page can't tell you

Arizona's 15 counties run dissolution practice with noticeable variation:

• Whether your county has dedicated Family Court Conciliation Services for mediation (Maricopa does; smaller counties may not).
• Local rules on parenting conferences before contested legal-decision-making and parenting-time hearings.
• The specific parent-information-program provider your county uses.
• Whether your case is assigned to a judge or a commissioner for most pretrial matters.

The Arizona Judicial Branch (azcourts.gov) and AZTurboCourt host statewide forms and information. Your county's Superior Court Clerk is the authoritative source for local rules and fee schedules. For anything strategic — especially around community-property tracing, spousal maintenance, or contested legal decision-making — talk to an Arizona family-law attorney.

Statutes referenced

• Residency — A.R.S. § 25-312
• 60-day waiting period — A.R.S. § 25-329
• Community property — A.R.S. § 25-211
• Legal decision-making & parenting time — A.R.S. § 25-403
• Fee deferral / waiver — A.R.S. § 12-302

These are the controlling statutes for the facts on this page. State law changes; the linked text always reflects current law.