Jeff Adrian Biddle’s Answers

Ronald is right. I am a bankruptcy attorney in Gilbert, Arizona and your wages cannot be garnished here without first obtaining a judgment against you and then seeking garnishment after the judgment. I also represent creditors from time to time. The maximum that can be garnished is 25% but the court has discretion to go lower if you give reason for it to do so. Often, the creditor will be happy to accept the 15% garnishment without requiring a hearing on it, too.

Finding a pro bono attorney is going to be pretty difficult. You could try and find help at the local superior court building. There is a group called the Family Law Assistance Project (FLAP) that is available for free help but they will not represent you in court. It can be a bit of a crap-shoot, though. Sometimes you'll get the assistance of an amazing attorney, sometimes not. It is just attorneys volunteering their time. Some attorneys, like our office, offer free consultations and...

You or your attorney would need to file an adversary complaint in order to discharge student loan debt and it's just about impossible. It has been done, but it is extremely rare.

Since you are filing separately, the bankruptcy will only give YOU a discharge. You should list all of his debts, too, so that the creditors cannot come back after you. In a Chapter 13, you make plan payments that are typically based on your disposable income. Including his debts will likely have no impact on what the plan payments are. If you were to remain married, the creditors could not pursue him for these debts, either. Since you are divorcing, however, and are jointly liable for...

When you received the summons, you should have also received a complaint. The complaint will tell you what they are suing you for. In your response, you can merely deny that you owe the debt and force them to prove the debt or you can admit that you owe something but that you dispute the amount. In most cases, I would advise a general denial and have them prove the amount of the debt and that you are the correct people to sue.

Typically the person requesting the change of venue is the one that pays the transfer fees. Your petition will be deemed a response to their pleading and you should be given credit for the filing fee paid in Maricopa County. At least, that is what I have seen take place between transfers between Pinal and Maricopa.

In Arizona, I am not aware of any caselaw that allows a spouse to receive spousal maintenance after the divorce is finalized. Depending on your situation, you might want to consider bankruptcy. That might offer some relief from the bills.

It is not abandonment. It sounds like you need to file a motion to modify parenting time and child support. By the time you get in front of a judge, there will be a pattern of the new parenting time for the judge to see and child support will be changed effective on the first day of the month after Father is served.

No. The court did not err in setting an evidentiary hearing. Since you asked the court to enforce the child support order, they set an evidentiary hearing to determine whether your ex's failure to pay is intentional and contemptuous or if it is merely because he/she lacks the ability to pay. When you ask for sanctions and contempt, the court must set an evidentiary hearing in order to determine contempt. The other things the court has asked you to file (pretrial statement, tax returns, etc)...

From the question you have asked, it seems as though you are asking more about whether you have grounds for severing his parental rights. If so, there are several reasons you could state. 1. Failure to support 2. Failure to maintain reasonable contact 3. Unable to fulfill the responsibilities of parenting (whether it be due to incarceration, substance/alcohol abuse, etc.) 4. Neglect 5. Willful abuse of the child For other reasons check ARS 8-533 Unless you are seeking severance,...