Arizona Courts Will Employ New Rules In Family Law Cases
PHOENIX -- It should become easier for the thousands of Arizonans going to court each year on family law matters like divorce and child support to get their cases resolved, or at least to understand what's going on in the courthouse.
State Supreme Court Chief Justice Ruth McGregor today signed an order to implement a massive new set of statewide rules just for family law cases. Most of the rules take effect in January.
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Along with divorce and child support, types of cases and issues covered by the rules include child custody, legal separation, paternity and protective orders.
Previously, judges across the state used civil-procedure rules more suitable for other kinds of lawsuits or, in some counties, locally adopted rules.
Mark Armstrong is a Maricopa County Superior Court judge who led a committee that spent two and a-half years working on the new family court rules.
Armstrong says a prime focus in writing the new rules was to make them usable and understandable for the 70 percent to 80 percent of litigants in family law cases who represent themselves in court.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press.
