An Arizona family law case arose awhile back where two first cousins were married in Virginia but moved to Arizona sometime before ARS § 25-112 was amended in 1996. While legal at the time of marriage in Virginia when it occurred, a dispute arose as to whether the marriage should be considered valid under Arizona law. Current Arizona law would not consider the the marriage valid but the legal question involved timing.

Arizona law is applied when determining validity of a marriage from a state outside Arizona. Since Arizona only enacted its amendments to ARS § 25-112 in1996, marriages contracted in another state prior to enactment of that statute's amendments are not subject to the amendments. In other words, as long as a marriage is valid under the version of the statute prior to the 1996 amendments, Arizona cannot dispute the validity of a marriage even if the issue only comes up after the 1996 amendments. This ruling is from the Arizona domestic relations appellate case Cook v. Cook, 1 CA-CV 03-0727, January 13, 2005.

Wilcox & Wilcox, P.C.
Trent Wilcox
For the Firm

Phoenix office:
3030 N. Central Ave., Ste. 705
Phoenix, Arizona 85012
Ph: 602-631-9555
Fx: 602-631-4004

Goodyear office:
1616 N. Litchfield Rd., Ste. 240
Goodyear, Arizona 85338
Ph: 623-344-7880
Fx: 602-631-4004

Visit our website: www.wilcoxlegal.com

Disclaimer: Providing the above information does not establish an
attorney-client relationship. To create such a relationship, both the
attorney and potential client must sign a written fee agreement. The
information contained herein is meant only as general information and is not meant to be relied upon for the purpose of taking legal action. You should contact an attorney in person for further and specific information. Wilcox & Wilcox, P.C. attorneys are licensed in Arizona only except for personal injury attorney Robert N. Edwards, who is licensed in Arizona and Minnesota.

Legal Separation vs. Divorce

Quite a few people seem to believe that a legal separation is a shortcut to ending a marriage in Arizona. Although it is possible that a legal separation could involve slightly, and I mean slightly, less paperwork initially, the practical truth is that legal separations in Arizona can take just as much time, effort and resources as a divorce. That's because they involve pretty much identical issues as divorces --property division, debt division, child custody, visitation, child support, etc. Legal separations can end up going to a full-on trial, not to mention temporary evidentiary hearings prior to trial. Thus, if you're looking for a shortcut, a legal separation may not be the answer.

Besides not being a shortcut to getting rid of a spouse, legal separations end with the parties still being officially married. Although everything has been divided up, the parties remain married, meaning that neither may legally remarry. My experience with legal separations is that one party or both almost always later decide that they want a full divorce with more paperwork that must be submitted to the court to convert the legal separation to a divorce, resulting in more time and expense.

Wilcox & Wilcox, P.C.
Trent Wilcox
For the Firm

Phoenix office:
3030 N. Central Ave., Ste. 705
Phoenix, Arizona 85012
Ph: 602-631-9555
Fx: 602-631-4004

Goodyear office:
1616 N. Litchfield Rd., Ste. 240
Goodyear, Arizona 85338
Ph: 623-344-7880
Fx: 602-631-4004

Visit our website: www.wilcoxlegal.com

Disclaimer: Providing the above information does not establish an
attorney-client relationship. To create such a relationship, both the
attorney and potential client must sign a written fee agreement. The
information contained herein is meant only as general information and is not meant to be relied upon for the purpose of taking legal action. You should contact an attorney in person for further and specific information. Wilcox & Wilcox, P.C. attorneys are licensed in Arizona only except for personal injury attorney Robert N. Edwards, who is licensed in Arizona and Minnesota.