Over the years I have seen many ways for people to ruin their divorce case.  I know that I have not come close to seeing them all, but I have seen several ways that people hurt themselves in their divorce.  Some ways are more common than others.  The following list is some of the more common ways that people hurt themselves in family court. Lie to your lawyer or withhold information from your lawyer.  Your lawyer’s advice, analysis, and strategy depends on what you tell him.  If, for example, he proceeds under the assumption that you have never used illegal drugs because you lied to him about it, the family court consequences of your drug use will probably go from…

Many decades ago, our culture began believing that unhappy parents would raise unhappy children. This caused many parents to decide to divorce for their children’s sake.  Research spanning over 30 years, however, found that children suffer more and are less happy when their parents get a divorce.  As a result, the parents are not any happier than their children.  Divorce has both long-term and short-term affects on children. About 40% of American children under the age of 18 years will experience their parents’ divorce.  There are about 1,250,000 divorces a year in the United States.  Therefore, many millions of children will experience their parents’ divorce.  Parents should understand the short-term and long-term affects of divorce on children. Short-Term Affects of…

The Arizona Court of Appeals recently addressed the question as to whether the issuance of an order of protection requires actual physical violence.  In its recent decision in Michaelson v. Garr, the Arizona Court of Appeals stated that actual physical violence is not necessary for a court to issue an order of protection. Michaelson and Garr broke up in September, 2012.  Michaelson received an order of protection in October, 2012.  Garr later requested a hearing on the order of protection.  At the hearing, Michaelson never claimed that Garr committed any acts of physical domestic violence.  She testified that Garr was harassing her.  On September 26, 2012, he sent her over 60 unwanted text messages, and on October 4, 2012, he…

Your will is one of the most important legal documents you will sign during your life.  Your will directs how your money and goes upon your death, names a personal representative to administer the estate, names a guardian to care for your minor children upon your death, and names a conservator to manage minor children’s assets.  In order to serve these purposes, your will must be valid.  In Arizona, a will must meet the following requirements to be valid. Required Age to Execute a Will The testator (the person making the will) must be 18 years of age or older and must be of sound mind.  The person signing the will must be able to understand the extent of his…