A divorce can not be initiated unless the spouses meet certain requirements. Residency requirements for Arizona are rather unique in comparison to most other states. One of the parties must be domiciled in Arizona or stationed as a member of the armed forces for at least 90 days before filing for a dissolution of marriage.

Arizona is a no-fault state. This means that a petitioner can initiate a divorce by simply stating that the marriage is irretrievably broken due to irreconcilable differences between the spouses. However, the state of Arizona recognizes fault-based grounds for divorce if the partners are bound by a "covenant" marriage. The list of grounds includes: Adultery, Commitment of felony, Willful abandonment for 1 year, physical/psychological abuse, Habitual drug/alcohol abuse

Filing initial paperwork is rather straightforward. The petitioner needs to prepare divorce papers and file the petition with the court clerk in the county of one's residence. Some counties provide an option to file by mail and even e-file, although it is better to find out more about this on the county court's website. This is an important step as it launches the whole divorce process. The case gets assigned a number, and the petitioner then proceeds to the next steps.

Filing is not a free service. A petitioner needs to pay all of the required filing fees for the case to proceed. The amount required differs from county to county. However, the median filing fee in Arizona sits between $300 and $400. If the petitioner does not have the financial capacity to pay the filing fees, they can apply for a waiver and file for free.

Proper service of divorce papers is a legal obligation of the petitioner. There are several ways to serve papers to the defendant in the state of Arizona: Service by acceptance - the filing party mails or hands the papers in person. Service by the sheriff - the petitioner hires a local county sheriff to serve the papers for a fee. Service by a registered process server - the petitioner hires a professional server to deliver the papers to the defendant for a fee. Service by publication - this option is used if the petitioner is not able to locate the spouse. Notice of service is published in the local newspaper and the divorce proceeds by default if there is no response.

After the papers have been filed and served, the court issues a waiting period that is a minimum of 60 days before finalizing the divorce. If the divorce is contested, the waiting period is at least 90 days. It could become even longer if the partners cannot solve their issues. Everything depends on the circumstances of each case.

The court schedules a hearing after the mandatory waiting period if the divorce is uncontested. The judge finalizes the divorce at the hearing by signing a Decree of Dissolution of the marriage. Nonetheless, the divorce is not complete until the Decree is filed with the Clerk of the Superior Court!