Maricopa County Family Law Blog

Many myths surround domestic violence despite it occurring across all economic and cultural backgrounds. A quarter of all women experience some form of domestic violence in their lifetimes. This fails to account for the millions more who endure severe verbal and emotional abuse.

Below are some of the misconceptions associated with domestic violence.

Fathers of past generations used to be at a disadvantage when pursuing child custody cases against the mothers of their children. While the pendulum has begun to swing in the other direction, giving fathers a better chance at justice in Maricopa County family law courts, dads still sometimes wind up shortchanged of time with their children.

If you're an Arizona father seeking custody of your kids, the below tips may be helpful.

If you and your spouse are divorcing and own property together, whether you keep or sell your holdings, it's vital to get them accurately appraised.

Don't expect the judge in your divorce to be able to assess a value to the family home and/or other properties like vacation homes and rental units. That's out of his or her wheelhouse. You and your soon-to-be ex must hire a fair and impartial appraiser in order to derive the market value of the property.

Some of the collateral damage of domestic violence is the abuse that the beloved pets of the victims suffer. But the Phoenix courts have begun recognizing a link between animal abuse and domestic violence.

Some courts are extending the orders of protection they give domestic violence victims to include custody of pets. The orders also include provisions that abusers may not have access to the pets. At the prosecutors' discretion, they can ask the judge to mandate defendants accused of abusing animals to attend counseling for domestic violence in order to accept a defendant's plea bargain.