The Arizona Court of Appeals recently ruled that trial courts do not have the authority to choose a school for a child.  Courts may choose the parent who may make the decision, and courts may take into account in which school the parent would choose in making that decision, but the courts may not impose their own decision.  I wrote about that decision here: https://www.thomasamortonlaw.com/blog/item/94-family-courts-may-no-longer-decide-education-and-medical-decision-disputes-between-parents   Now the Court of Appeals has further limited trial courts’ authority to impose decisions on parents, recently ruling that the Family Court may not choose counselors for the children, prohibit discussing certain things with the children, and make other parenting decisions for the children.  The Court of Appeals again ruled that the Family Court…

Ever since I have practiced law, a former spouse who paid spousal maintenance could deduct the amount paid from his or her taxable income, and the recipient of spousal maintenance had to declare the payments as income and pay income taxes on them.  This is a useful negotiating tool in settling spousal maintenance cases.   Starting in 2019, the IRS will no longer consider alimony payments as tax deductible for the party making the payments or as taxable income to the party receiving the payments.  This is a major change and it was a part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump earlier this year.  This is very favorable to…

I frequently see questions in online forums regarding in which country a couple must seek a divorce.  The answer is you seek a divorce in the country in which you live.  In Arizona, the only requirement to get a divorce is that you lived in Arizona for the 90 days immediately preceding the day you file your petition for dissolution of marriage.  It does not matter whether you got married in another country, like Mexico, or you got married in Arizona, or you got married in another state in the United States.  In Arizona, you can get a divorce no matter where you were married.

Sometimes people have to go through the sad task of obtaining an adult guardianship.  Sometimes they need a guardianship over an elderly parent or other relative because the parent or relative has a diminished capacity in his or her old age.  Sometimes, an adult child, parent, or other relative has had an accident with a brain injury, for example, that has left him or her unable to address daily needs.  Sometimes an incapcitated child becomes an adult.  In all three situations, someone, usually a parent or child of the proposed ward, must seek a court order in the Probate Court of the Arizona Superior Court in order to have a guardianship over the incapacitated person.   The guardianship will allow…