To Whom It May Concern:
I am the Managing Attorney of the Family Law Unit at Community Legal Services (CLS), a nonprofit civil legal aid program serving Maricopa, Yavapai, Mohave, Yuma, and La Paz Counties. I am also an appointed member of the Spousal Maintenance Guidelines Review Subcommittee.
I am writing to express general support for Rule Change Petition No. R-24-0061 and to raise one concern. At CLS, we assist many pro per litigants to represent themselves in their dissolution of marriage cases. Many of those litigants, several of them victims and survivors of domestic violence, find themselves at a disadvantage in the process, lacking access to financial support and other resources, and often facing opposing parties who are represented by attorneys.
While the goal of encouraging settlement via consent decrees is admirable and often beneficial, efficiency should never eclipse fairness. Both parties to an agreement should be fully informed, not just about what they are gaining in any settlement, but also about what they are potentially giving up.
The leap from requiring parties to file a completed spousal maintenance worksheet to completely ignoring the guidelines is a big one.
It’s hard to imagine how any party, let alone a self-represented party, would be capable of acknowledging that an award of spousal maintenance is “appropriate and just,” without ever consulting the guidelines that are intended to provide at least an estimation of those parameters.
As such, I suggest adding a reference to the Spousal Maintenance Guidelines in Rule 45(b)(1), should the amendment proposed in Petition No. R-24-0061 be adopted. For example, the section could instead read: “It must state the terms of the parties’ agreement. For dissolution or legal separation decrees that include an award of spousal maintenance, the parties must acknowledge they have reviewed the Spousal Maintenance Guidelines, and any award of spousal maintenance is appropriate and just.”
Again, I acknowledge the value of simplifying processes. However, if an agreement on spousal maintenance cannot withstand acknowledging the guidelines, that should be cause for concern.
Sincerely,
Patricia A. Madsen
Managing Attorney, Family Law Unit
Community Legal Services
305 South 2nd Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85003
(602) 258-3434
[email protected]