Tuscon Arizona Family Law Blog

Arizona members of the U.S. military understand when they sign up that they will be making many personal sacrifices. They spend months or years away from their loved ones and often feel out of place when they return. What they may not expect is that their service would affect child custody issues if their marriages end in military divorce.

Theoretically, one's status as a member of the armed forces should not result in the loss of custody of the children. However, because the standard for deciding custody issues is the best interests of the children, many factors must be considered when a court rules on a parenting schedule. While its intentions may be to provide a balance of time for the children to spend with each parent, the court may see deployment and relocation as a disruption to a child's life.

Financial stability is important to most Arizona families. Whenever divorce enters the picture, financial stability can become a concern. Most husbands and wives have joint credit accounts ,which may include mortgages, car notes, credit cards and more. While who is responsible for which debts will be addressed in the divorce decree, creditors will look to both individuals for repayment of the joint debt.

One step that can be taken to protect one's credit is to close joint credit accounts. If possible, the balance on the account can be paid off or transferred to an account solely in the name of the individual responsible for repayment. With larger accounts, such as a mortgage, it may be necessary for one individual to refinance the home in his or her name. Or, it may be better to sell the residence and use the proceeds to pay off outstanding debt.

The Arizona Court of Appeals recently ruled in a case regarding whether a divorced woman has the right to become pregnant using frozen embryos without the consent of her ex-husband. In what has become a contentious family law topic, this case actually helped spur changes to the state's laws regarding how viable embryos will be handled in the event of divorce. Motivated by this case, the state passed legislation last year to award embryos to the parent who wishes to have children, while rescinding the parental rights of the other party who does not wish to have children. However, the law does not apply to this particular situation because the law did not exist when the couple first took the matter to court several years ago.

The matter started in 2014 when the ex-wife received a diagnosis of bilateral breast cancer and her doctors told her she would not be able to conceive after chemotherapy. Purportedly, the couple decided to use frozen embryos to protect the woman's fertility due to her desire to have children. Apparently, the couple was dating at the time but eventually married and then divorced. The ex-husband had apparently reluctantly agreed to use his sperm only after his ex-wife stated she would use an ex-boyfriend as the donor.

Experiencing a marital breakup in Arizona can no doubt be emotionally challenging. However, it can also be financially difficult when a marital home is involved, as the two individuals getting divorced might not be in agreement with how to handle it. Here are two options for tackling the family's home when going through divorce.

First, one of the two spouses might decide to stay in the home while the other one purchases a new one. In this scenario, the person who chooses to stay put can simply buy out his or her future ex. The second and most commonly chosen option is for the two parties to put the home on the market. Then, when the house is sold, they can share the profit.