Family Law

Our family law attorneys at Platt & Westby, P.C., provide a full range of family law services, including drafting of prenuptial and post-nuptial agreements, advising fathers on their rights to a child born to unwed parents, assisting grandparents in getting visitation with grandchildren, protecting the rights of parents to family medical leave, and all aspects of divorce, property division, spousal maintenance, and child custody.

Divorce is almost always a complex issue, both legally and emotionally. Self-service programs and paralegals would have you believe that by purchasing a “divorce package” you will get a cheap, complete and hassle-free divorce, just as if you were buying a can of beans off the shelf. Cans of beans may be similar but all marriages are different. A "one size fits all" divorce really fits no one. You need an experienced family law attorney for help in resolving complex issues of property division, alimony, child custody and child support.

Arizona is a community property state. Therefore, any property acquired during the marriage is considered community property and upon dividing the assets, will be split 50/50. However, property owned by a spouse before the marriage is their sole and separate property.

This area can become confusing if the owner makes a gift of the property to the other spouse, or commingles separate funds with community funds. Complications concerning separate or community property are often overlooked by unqualified and unlicensed "document preparers." They require an experienced family lawyer to reach an equitable resolution.

Retirement plans must be divided by a properly prepared “qualified domestic relations order” (QDRO) in order to satisfy IRS regulations and tax laws. The requirements of the trustee of the retirement plan will need to reflect the proper division of the parties’ respective interests, which can become complex when one spouse worked before marriage and earned retirement credit as separate property, or continues to work for the same employer after the divorce, accruing greater retirement credits. Paralegals either fail to recognize these problem areas or are not qualified to address the division of this valuable asset.

Source: www.plattwestby.com