What Does "No Fault" Divorce Mean?

Many people have heard that Arizona is a “no fault” divorce state, but exactly what does “no fault” mean? This post explains no fault divorce in simple terms. The no fault concept has application in three aspects of Arizona divorce cases: 1) the dissolution of the marriage itself; 2) the resolution of the financial matters in the case; and 3) the resolution of child legal decision-making and parenting time issues, if any.

1. Dissolution of Marriage. At its most basic level, no fault divorce means that a married person does not have to prove her spouse has done something wrong–that her spouse is at fault–in order to qualify for a divorce. In most Arizona marriages, if either party for any reason believes the marriage is “irretrievably broken”, there are sufficient grounds for dissolving the marriage. A.R.S. 25-312.3.

A person does not have to prove that her spouse is having an affair, is abusive, or is an alcoholic to get a divorce. Not only is such proof not required, it is not allowed in court as a basis for the divorce because such evidence is not legally relevant to the judge’s decision to grant the divorce. Judges simply do not want to hear about why the parties are getting divorced. They only want to know whether at least one of the spouses believes the marriage is irretrievably broken.

2. Resolution of Financial Matters. The second area where the no fault concept comes into play is the resolution of the financial matters, such as deciding spousal maintenance, child support, and the division of assets and debts. Whether a married woman has had an affair will have no impact on the judge’s decision as to whether she receives spousal maintenance. None of the statutory factors used to determine entitlement to, the amount of, or duration of spousal maintenance has to do with the bad actions of a person seeking spousal maintenance or the person who may be ordered to pay it. A.R.S. Sec. 25-319.

As for child support, it is governed by the Arizona Child Support Guidelines. These Guidelines set up a formula for calculating child support that is based on the parents’ incomes, the time spent with the children, and other financial factors. The formula for calculating child support has nothing to do with the conduct of either parent. The concept of fault is legally irrelevant to the child support calculation.

Likewise, the division of assets between the spouses is not affected by the fault of either spouse. Arizona law specifically provides that the Court “shall . . . divide the community . . . property . . . equitably, . . . without regard to marital misconduct.” 25-318.A (emphasis added). For example, a wife will not be able to get a greater share of the marital assets by proving that her husband has had an affair. A husband will not be awarded a greater share of the assets by proving that his wife is an alcoholic and will likely spend all of the money she is awarded on booze.

Again, as noted above, because evidence of fault is not legally relevant to the resolution of the financial issues in a divorce case, judges will not allow the evidence to be presented in court for these purposes.

3. Resolution of Child Legal Decision-Making and Parenting Time Issues. The third and final area where no fault concepts often apply is in the court’s determination of child legal decision-making (formerly “legal custody”) and parenting time issues. For example, a mother won’t be awarded sole legal decision-making over her children and have them placed with her full-time just because she is able to prove the father is having an affair. Like it or not, Arizona law does not equate adultery with bad parenting.

Some bad conduct is, however, relevant to the court’s determination of legal decision-making and parenting time matters. For example, significant acts of domestic violence perpetrated by one parent against the other or the children will be considered by the court. Given a sufficient finding of violence, a judge may award one parent sole legal decision-making or primary residential placement of the children. Similarly, if a parent has an ongoing substance abuse problem, the court may restrict that parent’s rights to the children.

To sum up, in a divorce case involving minor children, certain significant and ongoing bad actions by a parent may result in a court’s restricting that parent’s rights to his children. As to the dissolution of the marriage itself and the resolution of financial matters, however, the “fault” of the parties is legally irrelevant in Arizona and will not affect the outcome of the case. Because the fault of the spouses is legally irrelevant to these decisions under Arizona law, Arizona is considered a “no fault” divorce state.

Copyright © 2016 by Scoresby Family Law – J. Kyle Scoresby, P.C. All rights reserved.

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