Arizona has three requirements for divorce:

1) that either you or your spouse lived in Arizona for 90 days or more before filing;
2) that the marriage is irretrievably broken; and
3) that you wait 60 days, the mandatory “cooling off” period, before final paperwork is submitted to the court for your divorce.

Most divorces take longer than 60 days, depending on the circumstances. The more prepared you are, the less time the process should take.

Arizona is a no-fault divorce state, allowing a party to seek a divorce for any reason. This also means that marital misconduct, such as an affair, is not required to proceed with a divorce.

Find out as much information as you can about the family finances, savings accounts and insurance policies before you file for divorce. Make sure that you will have access to credit, savings, and an income source.

If you received any gifts or inheritances before or during the marriage, or entered into the marriage with any property, gather documentation showing where each item came from, to make sure the property does not end up being treated as ‘community’ property. Email, social media, and online account passwords should all be changed to a password that your spouse cannot guess.

Put together a list and take pictures of all marital property (furniture, appliances, etc.), and mark the items you want to keep. This can streamline the divisions of assets.

The immediate upheaval after you tell your spouse that you want a divorce is difficult.

Before you file, if it is possible, you should talk with your spouse about temporary agreements during the divorce. Those should include living arrangements, access to accounts, payment of bills, support and, plans about your children. If you and your spouse disagree, you can ask the court for a hearing to determine temporary orders.

Consider therapy, exercising more often, or taking up a new hobby. Actions based on emotion could hurt you in a divorce, especially if you have children.

The question should be, can you afford not to hire an attorney? If you have children, require child support, spousal maintenance, or own a home or other joint assets, a do-it-yourself divorce without the benefit of legal counsel is risky. Many couples who divorce without an attorney eventually end up having to hire an attorney to modify separation agreements, parenting plans, or support orders.

Even if you ultimately decide not to hire an attorney, you should consider consulting with one. An experienced family law attorney, like the attorneys at Rubin & Ansel, will explain what you should expect in the process. Hiring a skilled family law attorney will make the process of going through a divorce less stressful.