Mallory – woodnicklaw.com

Will I Keep My House in My Divorce?

A house is often the most significant piece of property involved a divorce case. Commonly, people ask whether they can keep the house in the divorce. The answer is, “it depends.” Community Property Laws in Arizona: Arizona is a community property state, which means that married couples share in the assets acquired during the marriage. […]

Am I the Daddy? A New Ruling From the Arizona Supreme Court Says “Yes.”

The Arizona Supreme Court recently heard a case involving a biological father’s parenting rights [1]. After the mother offered the child to Adoption Choices of Arizona (“Choices”), the organization petitioned to terminate the father’s parenting rights. Choices contended that the father missed the 30 day deadline imposed for putative fathers and forfeited any claim of […]

Remembering Dr. Henry Kempe

Child abuse was not always criminalized. The United States did not prosecute a case until 1874. There, Mary Ellen Wilson was an adopted orphan whose mistreatment was discovered by her neighbors when she was nine years old. Because of her emaciated appearance, the neighbors thought she was five years old. Authorities soon discovered that Mary […]

So You’re Getting Divorced. What Happens to Your Retirement Accounts?

The short answer to “What happens to my retirement accounts if I get divorced in Arizona?” is “About half of the value will probably go to your spouse.” The longer, more technical answer requires a bit of background first. Arizona Is a Community Property State Arizona, and a handful of other states, view marriage as […]

A Court-Focused Perspective: The Benefits of a Second Opinion

By Gregg Woodnick and Isabel Ranney A term often thrown around when discussing family court matters is “high conflict litigation.” In general, family court can be traumatic and disputes involving the care of children all are emotionally draining. But the term “high conflict” really should be reserved for cases that are (sadly) explosive. Frequently, these […]

Alternative Explanations for Purported Child Abuse

A common joke among law students, especially for those like me with an undergrad degree in political science, is that we attended law school to avoid math and other topics like it. We certainly did not attend law school expecting to research medical conditions. But in my time working on cases involving allegations of child […]

To Catch A Predator: TikTok Edition

Everyone knows Chris Hansen’s show, To Catch A Predator. He was praised for exposing pedophiles to the world by posing online as underage girls that the pedophiles attempted to meet in-person, collecting evidence against the perpetrators just like law enforcement. But now, teenagers inspired by Hansen are exacting their own form of retribution against purported pedophiles. […]

Grey Divorces in Arizona: What, Why, and How

You might know an older couple who is suddenly getting divorced after being married for decades and thought, “Why now?” These “grey divorces” happen. And increasingly so, according to research conducted earlier this year [1]. What Is a “Grey Divorce”? The “grey” in “grey divorcing” refers not to an ethical area, but rather to the […]

Doty-Perez v. Doty-Perez (II)

Court of Appeals of Arizona, Division One | 245 Ariz. 229 | Filed July 31, 2018 CHIEF JUDGE THUMMA, opinion of the court (footnotes omitted): P1 In this family law case, Tonya L. Doty-Perez (Tonya) appeals from an order finding Arizona Revised Statute (A.R.S) section 25-409(C)(2) (2018) unconstitutional as applied. For the reasons that follow, […]

Doty-Perez v. Doty-Perez (I)

Court of Appeals of Arizona, Division One | 241 Ariz. 372 | Filed December 29, 2016 JUDGE THOMPSON, opinion of the court (footnotes omitted): P1 Appellant, Susan M. Doty-Perez (Susan), seeks reversal of the family court’s order denying her request to be declared a legal parent of four children legally adopted by her ex-spouse while […]

Author: Mallory