Am I Going to Win? How Long Will It Take? How Much Will it Cost? What If My Spouse and I Reach An Agreement Together? Am I Going to Win? It is our firm’s belief that no one “wins” in a divorce case. We will provide you with our best efforts to have the issues in the case resolved in your favor, however, there are no guarantees in legal proceedings. [Back to Top] How Long Will It Take? Each case is different and it is difficult to foresee how long a case will last. We can provide you with a “timeline” about the divorce process but the length of your particular case depends on the number and complexity of the contested issues and the willingness of all parties/attorneys to reasonably attempt to negotiate a settlement. The following is a basic time frame for divorce proceedings in Arizona: A. 60 days From the date the other party is served with the Divorce papers, your divorce cannot be finalized for at least 60 days even if you settle all of the issues in the case. B. 20 days The party who is served the divorce papers, has twenty (20) days from the date of service to file a response with the court. Failure to file a response could lead to a default. C. Parenting Course When the parties have minor children in common, the Court requires the parties to attend a parenting course. You are solely responsible for registering for this course and completing the course within 45 days. Once we file your pleadings (the Petition or the Response) we will send the packet to you. In the packet with your pleadings will be a Receipt from the court containing a receipt number and an Order to Complete the Course in Domestic Relations. When you receive this information, call the number listed on the Order, give them your receipt number and case number, and schedule to take the parenting course. Once you complete the parenting course, a Certificate of Completion will be filed with the Court. If you feel the need for further information about how to parent through divorce it may be advisable for you to register for additional parenting courses. One useful parenting course online is: www.parentingthroughdivorce.com. There is a $60 registration fee but the seminar is very informative and useful. D. Mediation Prior to going to trial, if the parties cannot agree on a custody and parenting time arrangement for the minor children, you will be required to attend mediation. At mediation, there are no attorneys present, just the parties and a 3rd party mediator trained to assist people with resolved custody and parenting time disputes. At mediation you should do your best to negotiate an agreement. If you reach an agreement, you will sign the agreement and it will be filed with the court. If you do not reach an agreement, that is ok, and the case will proceed to trial. After you attend mediation please call the attorney as soon as possible to advise whether or not an agreement was reached at mediation. E. Trial Once an attorney (yours or your spouse’s), files a request to set the case for trial, trial is not usually set for at least 45-60 days, sometimes even longer. [Back to Top] How Much Will it Cost? It is difficult to determine how much a divorce will cost. The costs vary depending upon the complexity of the issues. If parties are willing and able to negotiate a settlement, the matter will be less expensive and will be resolved quicker. However, if the parties cannot settle the issues, for whatever reason, the case will go to trial. Going to trial is always more expensive than settling a lawsuit. There are things that you can do to make your divorce less expensive. For example, providing us the documents we request in a timely manner may lower your costs or putting your proposed resolution of the case in writing to us may help us. The more time you are willing to put into the case, the more time you can save the attorney which in the end allows the attorneys to use your money in the most efficient manner possible. [Back to Top] What If My Spouse and I Reach An Agreement Together? Generally this is a good thing. If you do come to an agreement with your spouse regarding anything related to the divorce, tell your spouse you will not agree to anything without consulting us first. Then please advise us immediately of the proposed agreement. Please do not sign any papers transferring any property or agreeing to transfer any property to or from the other party without first conferring with your attorney. If an agreement is reached the attorneys will prepare the proper documentation for your agreement to become a final order of the court. However, do not be intimidated by your spouse if an ultimatum or deadline is given to accept or reject an offer. Expect your spouse to resent your attorney and attempt to undermine his/her influence. If your spouse makes statements such as “my lawyer says” or “your lawyer is wrong because”, please contact us immediately so that we can advise you as to the truth of the statement(s) made. [Back to Top]