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Legal Thoughts by Thomas A Morton

caring, family law attorney in Phoenix, AZ

Tuesday, 29 October 2013 10:17

Don't Screw Up Your Kids During Your Divorce!

Divorce has long-term effects on children, such as abandonment issues, depression, and anxiety. Still, a divorce can sometimes be better for the children than growing up in a home where it’s obvious that the parents hate each other. When divorce is necessary, parents should pay very close attention to how the divorce affects the children. 1. Many people unintentionally place their children in the middle without thinking about it (and some, unfortunately, do it on purpose. This happens even with the most conscientious parents. Comments and questions that seem harmless to the parent can inflict stress and feelings of disloyalty on a child. 2. Watch what you say and watch what others say in front of the kids. Especially watch…
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Friday, 18 October 2013 11:13

The Pros and Cons of Uncontested Divorce

Ending your marriage is never simple. However, you and your spouse can make the process more simple by remaining civil and working together to settle the issues equitably. If the spouses can work together to settle issues such as legal decision making, parenting time, child support, spousal maintenance, division of property, and division of debt, they can make their divorce a much less difficult process. This may be very difficult for many couples, but it is often well worth the effort. The advantages of an uncontested divorce are many. First, the process is much faster than going to trial. People going through the divorce process usually want to be divorced as soon as possible. If they settle rather than go…
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Wednesday, 11 September 2013 11:26

What to do When the Other Parent Wants to Move the Children out of Arizona

NOTE: EVERYTHING WRITTEN BELOW IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. IT IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE AND DOES NOT CREATE AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP. READING A BLOG IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR CONSULTING WITH AN ATTORNEY. You are divorced and have children with your former spouse, or you were never married and have children with a former significant other. One day, the other parent announces that he or she will be moving your children to another state, making it much more difficult or impossible to see your children as often as you do now. What should you do? Although the answer depends on your legal situation, each answer begins the same way: talk to the other parent. Some parents communicate better than others, but…
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Friday, 23 August 2013 17:37

Annulment in Arizona

Annulment of a marriage essentially means that a marriage is wiped from the slate. In other words, it never happened. Every state has annulment and the grounds and procedures for annulment vary from state to state. The Arizona annulment statute says, "Superior courts may dissolve a marriage, and may adjudge a marriage to be null and void when the cause alleged constitutes an impediment rendering the marriage void." That makes the grounds for annulment about as clear as mud, doesn't it? Fortunately, Arizona courts have more specifically defined the grounds for annulment over the decades. First, Arizona appellate courts have read the statute to mean that the Superior Court may grant an annulment if a marriage is void or voidable.…
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Monday, 19 August 2013 13:27

Application of the New Custody and Parenting Time Statutes

On January 1, 2013, new custody and parenting time statutes took effect in Arizona. One of the more obvious changes is that "custody" is now known as "legal decision making." Legal decision making is the right and responsibility to make the main life decisions regarding a child. It includes decisions regarding health, education, welfare, and religion. Parenting time means visitation. Parenting time is the schedule and amount of time the child spends with each parent. One of the big speculations about the new statutes was that they would cause Arizona family court judges to keep awarding parents joint legal decision making in most cases and award equal parenting time in more cases than in the past. I made this speculation…
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Monday, 12 August 2013 19:19

My First Experience as a Family Court Advisor

I accept occasional pro bono cases from The Children's Law Center. Recently, The Children's Law Center began offering free classes on child abuse and substance abuse in the context of acting as a family court advisor. I took advantage of them because I would get credit with the state bar for my continuing legal education requirements. Naturally, they asked me to accept an appointment as a family court advisor and I agreed. A family court advisor is a mental health professional or a family law attorney who investigates a family court case and makes an assessment and a recommendation to the judge regarding legal decision making (custody) and parenting time (visitation). The judge makes the actual determination. The family court…
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Friday, 26 July 2013 11:52

Arizona Family Courts May Modify Child Support on Their Own in a Legal Decision Making (Custody) and Parenting Time Modification Matter.

One factor in Arizona's child support calculation formula is how much time the children spend with each parent. Therefore, when the courts modify the amount of time the children spend with each parent, it is often appropriate to modify child support as well. The Arizona Court of Appeals recently issued a decision on a case where the trial court modified custody and parenting time, and then modified child support even though neither party had asked the court to do so. The case was Heidbreder v. Heidbreder, 230 Ariz.377, 284 P3d 888 (Ariz.App. 2012). The Heiderbreders divorced in 2010, and agreed to joint custody and child support in the amount of $1,000 per month, paid by the father to the mother.…
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Thomas A. Morton, P. L. L. C.
2916 N. 7th Avenue, Suite 100
Phoenix, Arizona 85013
(602) 595-6870
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