05/29/2023
Legislative proposals and updates in family court:
Here are updates regarding matters that impact family court proceedings:
Legislative
ARS Section 25-320(B) allows for retroactive child support to the date of the filing of the underlying petition. HB 2502 was the legislation that would significantly expand the retroactive child support to before birth of the child and as early as the date in which a positive pregnancy test is confirmed by a licensed health care professional. It passed out of the House and Senate but this Bill has been vetoed by Governor Hobbs and will NOT go into effect.
Rule Proposal
A petition for rule change proposed by the Family Court Improvement Committee has been pending before the Arizona Supreme Court regarding the timing for court rulings. After considering the comments submitted to the rule petition, the Family Court Improvement Committee filed its reply and is making the following recommendations for amendments to the Arizona Rules of Family Law Procedure (ARFLP):
Rule 30, ARFLP- In its latest proposed version, this rule would read as follows: “In every domestic relations action, the parties are entitled to the timely resolution of their disputes. To ensure the matters do not linger unnecessarily, the courts of this state must abide by time requirements imposed by an applicable statute or procedural rule.”
Rule 43.1(e)(5), ARFLP- Stipulated Orders- When the parties submit a stipulated order, the court “must rule on any written stipulation within twenty-one days of the stipulation being filed with a notice of lodging and the proposed order included as an attachment.”
Rule 44.1, ARFLP- Default Decrees WITHOUT hearing- For default decrees that precisely track the provisions in the petition and therefore do not require a hearing, the proposed rule change provides: “The party seeking default judgment by motion must file a notice of lodging and attach the proposed default decree and any other documentation required by this rule. The court must rule on the motion within twenty-one days of the lodging date.”
Rule 45- Consent Decrees- When submitting a Consent Decree, the parties will be required to submit a notice of lodging that would accompany the Consent Decree. Thereafter, the court is required to “rule on the lodged consent decree within twenty-one days of the lodging date.”
Rules 47, 47.2 and 48- Temporary Orders- For pre and post-decree temporary orders, these rules would be amended to require that the court rule within 21 days of the conclusion of the hearing.
Rule 47.1- Simplified Child Support Modification- This rule would be amended to require that the court rule within 21 days of the conclusion of the hearing.
Rule 95.1- Enforcement of Parenting Orders- This rule would be amended to align with ARS Section 25-414 and require that the court rule within 21 days of the conclusion of the hearing.
The Arizona Supreme Court will be considering these rule changes at either its June or August meeting and, if adopted, the rule changes would likely go into effect as of January 1, 2024.
Spousal Maintenance Guidelines
The final draft of the proposed Spousal Maintenance Guidelines mandated by the legislature under ARS Section 25-319(B) has been submitted by the Family Court Improvement Committee to the Arizona Supreme Court. Further, the Maricopa County Superior Court is creating a calculator that will be used statewide for determining spousal maintenance ranges for amounts and duration. It will function in a fashion similar to the Child Support Calculator. The guidelines and calculator will be presented to the Family Bar on June 16, 2023 at the State Bar Convention. If these guidelines are adopted by the Arizona Supreme Court at its meeting during the last week of June, they may go into effect as early as July 3, 2023.
