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Divorce is one of the most significant decisions you’ll ever make, financially and emotionally, and who you choose to represent you is part of that decision.

Lincoln & Wenk serves Scottsdale clients from our North Phoenix office on Tatum Blvd, a short drive from central and south Scottsdale. We have spent decades representing clients through Maricopa County Superior Court and know the judges who’ll decide your case.

Our Scottsdale, AZ divorce lawyers handle contested and uncontested divorces, mediation, high-asset cases, and child custody throughout the Valley.

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Divorce in Scottsdale, Arizona

Arizona is a no-fault state under ARS 25-312, which means you don’t need to prove wrongdoing to file for divorce. There’s a 90-day residency requirement and a mandatory 60-day waiting period after your spouse is served with the divorce papers under ARS 25-329.

Under ARS 25-211, Arizona is a community property state. This means everything you and your spouse acquired during the marriage, such as the marital home, savings, retirement accounts, and debts, is considered jointly owned and generally split 50/50 in a divorce. What you owned before the marriage, or received as a gift or inheritance during the marriage, is typically yours to keep.

While this sounds simple in practice, asset division is rarely straightforward. Whether you built a business during the marriage, mixed assets together over the years, or signed a prenuptial agreement, the final split can look very different from a straight 50/50 division. An experienced Scottsdale divorce attorney can make sure nothing gets overlooked in the division.

 

Contested and Uncontested Divorce

Whether you and your spouse can agree on the key issues is the single biggest factor in how your divorce plays out. An uncontested divorce means you’ve already agreed on all the issues, such as asset division, spousal support, and arrangements for the children.

With an uncontested divorce, you won’t need to go to court, and the process is faster and cheaper than traditional divorce proceedings. It also gives you both more control in how things are settled.

A contested divorce is one where at least one issue can’t be resolved. But that doesn’t automatically mean your case will go to trial. Most contested cases in Maricopa County settle through negotiation or mediation before they get that far. Contested divorces take longer, cost more, and the quality of your legal representation can make a real difference to the outcome.

Lincoln & Wenk handles both contested and uncontested divorces, and we can give you a clear picture early on of what to expect with either.

Dividing Complex Assets in a Scottsdale Divorce

Many of our Scottsdale clients come to us with complex estates that need untangling. They may have a primary home, investment properties, a business built over years, retirement accounts, stock portfolios, or deferred compensation. Each of these assets needs to be valued properly and divided correctly.

Get it wrong, and the financial consequences can follow you for years. Getting it right often requires expert valuation and attorneys who understand how Arizona community property law applies to each type of asset.

Some of the issues that come up regularly in high-asset Scottsdale divorces include:

Real estate:
Real estate needs accurate valuation before it can be divided fairly. Mortgages, equity, and any separate property contributions all affect the final number.
Business ownership:
Whether a business or its growth during the marriage qualifies as community property is one of the more contested areas of Arizona divorce law. Business valuation usually requires the help of a forensic accountant.
Retirement and investment accounts:
Retirement and investment accounts can’t simply be split and transferred. Without the right paperwork and court orders, you could trigger tax penalties or lose a portion of what you’re entitled to.
Separate property:
Assets you owned before the marriage, or received as a gift or inheritance, usually belong to you. But over the years these assets often get mixed in with marital funds, and untangling what belongs to whom takes careful documentation and tracing.

Spousal maintenance also comes up, particularly in longer marriages or where one spouse earned significantly more or stepped back from a career during the marriage. Arizona has no fixed formula for alimony. Instead, courts look at the length of the marriage, earning capacity on both sides, and the lifestyle established during the marriage.

Our high-asset divorce representation covers how these issues are handled in complex Scottsdale divorces and what you can do to protect your position. Contact us to discuss your situation. Call 623-294-2464.

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Divorce Mediation in Scottsdale

Many people assume divorce means going to court, but mediation is often a better option. In mediation, a neutral third party works with both spouses to reach an agreement outside of court. It’s private, usually faster than litigation, and less expensive.

For Scottsdale clients with significant assets or children, divorce mediation has two specific advantages:

  • Control. At trial, a judge who doesn’t know your family will divide your assets and set your parenting schedule based on what can be established in limited court time. Mediation, on the other hand, keeps those decisions in your hands.
  • Privacy. Maricopa County court proceedings are public record. Mediation is confidential and often preferable for clients with business interests, professional profiles, or who simply want their privacy.

Mediation isn’t just for couples who already agree, but works well even when there are real disputes to work through. A skilled mediator can find common ground that spouses wouldn’t reach on their own. A Lincoln & Wenk Scottsdale family law attorney can represent you throughout your mediation, review any proposed agreement, and tell you whether it’s in your interest to accept it.

Child Custody and Parenting Time

In Arizona, custody or visitation are called “legal decision-making” and “parenting time.” Under ARS 25-403, both are decided on the basis of the child’s best interests. How those terms are set out in your decree will affect your family’s day-to-day life for years, so getting them right is vital.

Legal decision-making covers the big decisions, like schooling, healthcare, and religious upbringing. The court can award sole or joint legal decision-making.

Parenting time is the schedule of when the child is with each parent. Arizona courts generally favor arrangements that give children time with both parents, but the details depend on your family’s situation. For families with demanding careers, frequent travel, or homes in more than one location, putting together a schedule that works takes more thought than a standard arrangement.

A parenting plan can be modified if your circumstances change down the line, but going back to court can be time-consuming and expensive. Our Scottsdale child custody and parenting time attorneys can help you put a plan in place that works for your children, and push back when the other parent isn’t being reasonable.

Why Scottsdale Clients Choose Lincoln & Wenk

Choosing an attorney is one of the most consequential decisions you’ll make when getting divorced. Lincoln & Wenk brings decades of combined family law experience across three Valley locations. For those looking for divorce lawyers in Scottsdale, AZ, our North Phoenix office on Tatum Blvd is the most convenient.

Russell Wenk and Michael Lincoln are both Board-Certified Specialists in Family Law, a designation held by fewer than one percent of attorneys in Arizona, which means you have specialists handling your case, not generalists. Russell Wenk has also served as a Judge Pro Tem in Maricopa County Superior Court, giving him an understanding of how judges approach divorce cases.

We’re a full-service firm covering divorce, mediation, custody, and estate planning, so if your circumstances change after your decree is entered, you won’t need to start over with someone new.

Schedule a consultation Contact us  with a Lincoln & Wenk divorce attorney serving Scottsdale and the surrounding Valley. Call 623-294-2464.

 

Call us at 623-294-2464 or contact us to schedule your consultation today.

GOODYEAR OFFICE
1616 North Litchfield Road, Suite 140, Goodvear, AZ 85395
Goodyear Office Location
PHOENIX OFFICE
20860 N Tatum Blvd, Suite 125 Phoenix, AZ 85050
Phoenix Office Location
PEORIA OFFICE
16165 N. 83rd Avenue Suite 200, Peoria, AZ 85382
Peoria Office Location