How Long Must I Reside in Arizona to Get a Divorce?

Divorce is a court process to legally end a marriage. In Arizona divorce is called "dissolution of marriage" and court papers use the term dissolution of marriage instead of divorce. Arizona uses a no-fault divorce standard that does not require that one of the spouses prove blame or responsibility in order to end the marriage. The only question for the court when a "standard" marriage is involved is whether the marriage is "irretrievably broken," meaning that there is no reasonable chance that the spouses want to keep the marriage together.

Either you or your spouse must be a resident of Arizona for at least 90 days before you may file for a divorce. The divorce should be filed in the county in which the person filing resides. The legal divorce process begins when one spouse files a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with the Superior Court in the Arizona county where the spouse requesting the divorce lives. If the parties are in agreement about property and debt division, as well as child custody and child support matters, the divorce can be finalized without a trial.

Under Arizona law, a divorce cannot be granted by the court until at least 60 days after the first court papers are delivered to the other spouse. If you and your spouse are in agreement about getting a divorce and other issues, the divorce can be finalized soon after the 60-day waiting period is over. If you and your spouse are not in agreement on how to settle all issues, the time it takes will depend on the complexity of your case as well as the court's schedule.

A consent decree can be obtained without even going to court if you and your spouse can agree to all the terms of your divorce, including custody, parenting time, child support, property issues, debt issues, spousal maintenance and any other financial issues. The decree is the final order of the court legally ending the marriage. Spouses are not "divorced" until the court grants the divorce and the decree is signed by the judge.