By Neta, founder of SortMyDivorce · Published · Updated
90 days in Arizona before you can file, then 60 days after your spouse is served before a decree can be entered. Arizona does grant legal separation.
Arizona calls it 'dissolution of marriage,' not divorce, and its rules on property, timing, and grounds differ enough from other states that knowing them early changes how you prepare.
| Residency requirement | At least one spouse must have lived in Arizona for 90 days before filing (active-duty military stationed in Arizona for 90 days also qualifies). |
|---|---|
| Grounds | No-fault only — the court must find the marriage 'irretrievably broken.' A limited number of covenant marriages require proving specific fault grounds instead. |
| Waiting period | A minimum of 60 days must pass after the other spouse is served before a decree can be entered. |
| Legal separation | Arizona does grant legal separation. It settles the same questions a divorce settles — support, parenting and, depending on the case, property — but leaves the marriage in place, so neither spouse can remarry without a divorce. |
| If you were never married | Arizona does not create common-law marriage, and living together gives neither partner property or support rights. Claims rest on agreements between you. A common-law marriage validly formed in a state that does create them is generally still recognised. |
| Where you file | Petition for Dissolution of Marriage is filed with the Clerk of the Superior Court in the county where you or your spouse lives. |
| Filing fee | Confirm current fee with the court clerk — fee waivers are available for those who qualify based on income. Filing fees are set by the court and change without notice: check the current schedule on the court's own website before you file, and ask about a fee waiver if the cost is a barrier. |
| Starting forms | Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, Domestic Relations Cover Sheet, Summons, and Preliminary Injunction, plus Notice Regarding Creditors and Notice of Right to Convert Health Insurance; add the parenting plan and child support forms if you have minor children. |
| Simplified option | Summary Consent Decree (A.R.S. §25-314.01) — for spouses who agree on every issue, filed together, often without a court hearing. |
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Arizona is a community property state under Title 25 of the Arizona Revised Statutes: with limited exceptions, income and property acquired during the marriage belong equally to both spouses, and courts generally divide it equally regardless of whose name is on the account or who earned it. Property owned before the marriage, or received individually as a gift or inheritance, is usually treated as separate property — but only if it stayed separate and wasn't mixed with shared funds, which is where many disputes start. Debts follow the same community rule, so a credit card opened during the marriage is typically a shared obligation even if only one spouse used it.
Arizona is also a no-fault state: the only ground is that the marriage is 'irretrievably broken,' and courts don't weigh blame in deciding property or support. One notable exception is covenant marriage, a legal option a small number of Arizona couples choose at the time of marriage (it requires premarital counseling and a signed declaration). If your marriage is a covenant marriage, dissolving it requires proving a specific ground — such as adultery, abandonment, abuse, or a period of living apart — rather than simply stating the marriage is broken, so confirm early which type of marriage you have.
Filing happens in Superior Court in the county where you live, and at least one spouse must have lived in Arizona for 90 days before filing (with an exception for active-duty military stationed in the state). Arizona also imposes a mandatory 60-day waiting period: a judge cannot finalize the dissolution until at least 60 days after the other spouse is formally served with the petition, even if both of you agree on every term.
Because Arizona treats most marital property and debt as jointly owned, thorough documentation is what lets you tell separate property apart from community property later. Start gathering: recent tax returns, pay statements, and statements for every bank, retirement, and investment account; mortgage and property tax records for any real estate; vehicle titles and loan statements; and a list of debts with account numbers and balances. If you're claiming something as separate property — an inheritance, a pre-marriage asset, a personal injury settlement — collect the paper trail showing when you got it and that it stayed apart from shared funds, since Arizona courts look closely at whether separate property was 'commingled.'
Keep copies of every letter from the other spouse's attorney and every document your own attorney sends, from the very first one. In Arizona's process, correspondence often carries the deadlines and proposed terms that shape the case, and having them organized in one place — rather than scattered across email and paper — makes it much easier to respond on time and to spot when a deadline is approaching.
Arizona courts decide custody — called 'legal decision-making' and 'parenting time' — based on the best interests of the child, considering factors like each parent's involvement, stability, and the child's relationships. Child support generally follows the Arizona Child Support Guidelines, a formula based primarily on both parents' incomes and the parenting time split; courts generally require a completed Parenting Plan for cases involving children. Many Arizona counties also require parents to complete a court-approved parent-information class before a decree involving children can be finalized, so check your county's requirement early rather than discovering it at the last step.
Spousal maintenance (Arizona's term for alimony) isn't automatic — it depends on factors like the length of the marriage, each spouse's ability to become self-sufficient, and the standard of living during the marriage. Confirm current guidelines with a local family law attorney or your county's self-service center, since practices vary somewhat by county.
Legal separation is available in Arizona. It is a court proceeding, and in most respects it runs like a divorce: the court can settle support, parenting arrangements and, depending on the case, the division of property, and the resulting order binds both spouses.
What it does not do is end the marriage. People choose it for a range of reasons — health coverage, religious conviction, immigration status, or simply not being ready — and it leaves the door open to reconciling without starting over.
Two consequences follow. Neither spouse can remarry unless they later obtain a divorce, and modifying the order generally takes the court's approval rather than a private agreement between you. If you expect to divorce eventually, ask what converting the separation into a divorce involves here before you start.
Arizona does not create common-law marriage. There is no number of years of living together that turns into a marriage here, and none of the divorce machinery on this page applies to a couple who never married — no property division, no spousal support, no residency requirement to satisfy, because there is nothing to dissolve.
What unmarried partners have instead are ordinary civil claims: whatever you agreed between yourselves, in writing or by clear conduct, and claims over property you actually hold jointly. These are argued like any other contract or property dispute rather than as family-law entitlements, and they turn on what can be proved.
One qualification runs the other way and matters. A common-law marriage validly formed in a state that does create them — Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas or Utah — is generally recognised elsewhere. A couple who met that state's test while living there, and later moved here, are married, and separating means divorcing. Children are unaffected either way: custody and child support are decided on the same basis whether or not the parents married.
1) Confirm your residency status and, if relevant, whether your marriage is a covenant marriage — both affect which forms and grounds apply. 2) Build your document set early, separating community property records from anything you believe is separate property, with dates attached. 3) Because the 60-day clock only starts once the other spouse is served, understand how and when service will happen, since it directly affects your earliest possible finalization date. 4) If children are involved, look up your county's required parent-education class and get it scheduled rather than leaving it for later. 5) Save every letter and notice as it arrives, noting its date and any deadline it sets, so nothing slips past you during the waiting period.
You or your spouse must have lived in Arizona for at least 90 days before filing (or been stationed there on active duty for 90 days). Legal separation, by contrast, has no 90-day requirement — only current residency at filing.
If you and your spouse agree on everything — property, debt, parenting time, support — you can use the Summary Consent Decree process (A.R.S. §25-314.01), which both spouses sign and file together. Otherwise you'll file the standard Petition for Dissolution of Marriage.
The Arizona Judicial Branch Self-Service Center publishes separate packets for dissolution with children and without children. Pick county-specific versions where your county court provides them, since some counties add local forms.
At minimum you'll prepare the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, a Domestic Relations Cover Sheet, a Summons, and a Preliminary Injunction (plus the Notice Regarding Creditors and Notice of Right to Convert Health Insurance). Bring the Summons and Preliminary Injunction in original plus two copies for the clerk to issue.
File in the county where you or your spouse resides and pay the filing fee, or submit a fee waiver application if you can't afford it — ask the clerk's office for current amounts, since fees change periodically.
Unless you're both filing a joint Summary Consent Decree, the Petitioner must formally serve the Petition, Summons, and Preliminary Injunction on the other spouse under Arizona's rules of civil procedure; the 60-day waiting period starts on the date of service.
The Respondent generally has a set number of days to file an Answer. Whether or not the case is contested, use this period to negotiate or mediate property division, debt allocation, parenting time, and support — a written, signed settlement can become a binding Rule 69 agreement.
The court cannot finalize the divorce until at least 60 days have passed since service, even if both spouses agree on every term.
If you've reached full agreement, submit a Consent Decree for the judge's signature. If not, the case proceeds toward a default judgment (if the other spouse never responds) or a trial where a judge decides the remaining issues.
Arizona is a community property state, and courts generally divide community property and debt equally. Separate property — owned before the marriage or received individually as a gift or inheritance — is usually excluded, but only if it wasn't mixed with shared funds. Confirm specifics with a local family law attorney.
Arizona law requires at least 60 days between when the other spouse is served with the petition and when a judge can finalize the dissolution, even in agreed cases. Contested or complex cases commonly take longer; check current timelines with your county's Superior Court.
Covenant marriage is an option some Arizona couples choose at the time of marriage, requiring premarital counseling and a signed declaration. If you're in a covenant marriage, dissolving it generally requires proving a specific ground rather than simply stating the marriage is broken — check your marriage paperwork or with the court to confirm your status.
A legal separation in Arizona settles much of what a divorce settles — support, parenting and, depending on the case, property — and the order binds both spouses. The difference is that it does not end the marriage, so neither spouse can remarry without later obtaining a divorce. People use it for health coverage, religious reasons, immigration status, or because they are not ready to divorce. Changing the order generally requires the court's approval.
No. Arizona does not create common-law marriage, and living together for any length of time gives neither partner property division nor spousal support. Unmarried partners rely instead on agreements between themselves and on claims over jointly held property, argued as ordinary civil matters. One important exception: a common-law marriage validly formed in a state that does create them — such as Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas or Utah — is generally recognised here, so that couple would need a divorce. Custody and child support apply regardless of marriage.
If you are in immediate danger, call 911. For support with domestic violence, contact the Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence at 1-800-782-6400 (weekdays, not 24/7). Nationally you can also reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788 if a call is not safe. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988.
Last reviewed August 2026. Researched and written by Neta, founder of SortMyDivorce. I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice — laws, fees and forms change, so please confirm current details with the official sources above or a local family lawyer.
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