Riley Law Firm, PLC

Riley Law Firm, PLC We are a downtown Phoenix law firm specializing in QDROs, family law, and appeals.

Collaborative Divorce: The Team People Don’t ExpectMost people picture divorce as two lawyers arguing in a courtroom whi...
06/03/2026

Collaborative Divorce: The Team People Don’t Expect

Most people picture divorce as two lawyers arguing in a courtroom while a judge waits for one side to be more persuasive.

Collaborative divorce is built differently.

The process uses a team of trained professionals to solve the case before it becomes a fight. Each spouse has a collaborative attorney. A financial neutral helps both sides work from the same numbers. A mental health professional keeps the process productive. When children are involved, a child specialist can help bring the children’s actual experience into the room.

That structure matters.

Litigation gives you two lawyers and a courtroom. Collaborative divorce gives you a team designed to help the family reach a workable resolution.

That is the difference.

To learn more about our mediation services, check out our website:
https://www.rileyplc.com/mediation

Collaborative Divorce: What It Actually IsPeople often use “collaborative divorce” to mean a softer, friendlier divorce,...
06/01/2026

Collaborative Divorce: What It Actually Is

People often use “collaborative divorce” to mean a softer, friendlier divorce, but that's not quite right.

Collaborative divorce is not just a tone. It is a structure. Both spouses, both attorneys, and any neutral professionals sign a participation agreement. If someone files in court, the collaborative process ends, and the collaborative attorneys must withdraw.

That may sound like a bug, but it's actually a feature.

The process removes the incentive to posture for litigation and keeps everyone focused on solving the case outside of court. Divorce is difficult enough. The right process can either make it worse — or give the parties a better chance to move through it with structure, clarity, and dignity.

To learn more about our mediation services, check out our website:
https://www.rileyplc.com/mediation

Beyond a child’s immediate needs, the court also considers the child's adjustment to their home, school, and community a...
05/29/2026

Beyond a child’s immediate needs, the court also considers the child's adjustment to their home, school, and community as part of their best interests. Disrupting a child's established routine and support systems is often avoided unless there's a compelling reason. The goal is to minimize instability and provide an environment where the child can continue to grow and develop without unnecessary upheaval.

Learn more at our website:
https://www.rileyplc.com/custody

The mental and physical health of all individuals involved, the parents and the children, play a significant role in "Be...
05/28/2026

The mental and physical health of all individuals involved, the parents and the children, play a significant role in "Best Interests" determinations. Courts evaluate each parent's ability to provide a safe home, meet the child's needs, and address any special requirements a child might have. It's about ensuring a stable and supportive environment for the child to thrive.

Learn more at our website:
https://www.rileyplc.com/custody

One crucial factor courts consider when determining a child's best interests is the child's relationship with each paren...
05/27/2026

One crucial factor courts consider when determining a child's best interests is the child's relationship with each parent and any siblings. Maintaining continuity and strong bonds with both parents, if possible and safe, is often seen as beneficial. Courts also look at each parent's willingness to encourage a relationship between the child and the other parent. It's about stability and nurturing those vital family connections.

Learn more at our website:
https://www.rileyplc.com/custody

When families navigate divorce or separation, the phrase "Best Interests of the Child" is paramount in Arizona courts. B...
05/26/2026

When families navigate divorce or separation, the phrase "Best Interests of the Child" is paramount in Arizona courts. But what exactly does that mean? It's not about what a parent wants, but what truly fosters a child's health, safety, and welfare. Arizona law provides a list of factors the court considers to make decisions about legal decision-making (custody) and parenting time. This week, we'll dive deeper into some of these key considerations.

Learn more at our website:
https://www.rileyplc.com/custody

The Arizona Court of Appeals issued a striking opinion last week in In re Dependency of M.K., an child placement case in...
05/26/2026

The Arizona Court of Appeals issued a striking opinion last week in In re Dependency of M.K., an child placement case involving the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).

The substantive ICWA issues are important, but what stands out most is the Court of Appeals’ unusually direct criticism of the trial judge's conduct. According to the opinion, the judge made “a number of gratuitous, unprofessional statements” during the proceedings. The judge sarcastically suggested the tribe could have used “carrier pigeons” or “smoke signals” to communicate with the court, causing the Court of Appeals to take a forceful stand, writing:

“Such comments are racially charged and extremely inappropriate.”

The opinion is a reminder that ICWA cases are not routine dependency proceedings. Congress enacted ICWA because of the historical removal of Indian children from their families and tribes. Courts handling these matters must approach them with care, professionalism, and an understanding of the unique historical and cultural context underlying the statute.

Racially charged commentary from the bench has no place in judicial proceedings and undermines public confidence in the courts.

This is a follow-up to yesterday's post about Koelsch claims.What happens if the Koelsch claim doesn't occur until long ...
05/22/2026

This is a follow-up to yesterday's post about Koelsch claims.

What happens if the Koelsch claim doesn't occur until long after the divorce, and the divorce decree doesn't address that issue?

The Arizona Court of Appeals answered that question in DeLinnt v. DeLinnt.

The Court recognized that Koelsch issues frequently arise long after entry of the decree and held that a former spouse’s right to pursue a future Koelsch claim is generally preserved unless it was expressly waived. In other words, silence is typically not enough to extinguish the claim.

This is an extremely important principle in pension litigation because many decrees divide the pension but do not specifically address what happens if the employee later delays retirement.

Too often, practitioners assume that if a decree is silent, the Koelsch claim is gone. DeLint says otherwise.

One of the most important Arizona pension division cases is still one of the most misunderstood: Koelsch v. Koelsch (198...
05/21/2026

One of the most important Arizona pension division cases is still one of the most misunderstood: Koelsch v. Koelsch (1986).

The Arizona Supreme Court recognized a simple but critically important principle:

An employee has the absolute right to decide when to retire. But that right does not include the ability to indefinitely delay a former spouse’s receipt of pension benefits.

A “Koelsch Claim” occurs when:
1. Pension benefits were accrued during marriage,
2. The employee-spouse is eligible to retire
3. The employee continues to work beyond retirement age, and
3. That decision to delay retirement is preventing the former spouse from receiving his or her share of the pension.

When those elements are present, the employee may be required to make out-of-pocket payments to compensate the former spouse for the delayed pension payments. Despite how important this doctrine is in Arizona family law, Koelsch claims remain dramatically underanalyzed and underlitigated in pension cases.

https://www.rileyplc.com

Our firm is regularly appointed as a neutral QDRO preparer to divide pensions. These assets are complicated and often in...
05/20/2026

Our firm is regularly appointed as a neutral QDRO preparer to divide pensions. These assets are complicated and often include ancillary benefits such as disability pay, Social Security replacement benefits, or survivor annuities. In our experience, divorce decrees rarely address all of these different components with sufficient specificity.

So what should a QDRO preparer do when the decree is silent?

The employee-spouse often argues that silence constitutes a waiver, which, not surprisingly, generally inures to the employee’s benefit. We have never found that argument particularly persuasive and have generally treated silence as meaning the issue remains unresolved rather than waived.

The Arizona Court of Appeals weighed in on this issue last week in Nelson v. Nelson.

In Nelson, the decree ordered the parties to retain a QDRO professional to divide the wife’s pension and recommend whether the husband should receive survivor benefits. Before the QDRO was completed, the wife retired and waived the survivor annuity. The husband brought the issue to the court’s attention, and the wife argued that because the decree did not explicitly award survivor benefits to the husband, she was free to waive them.

The Court of Appeals disagreed and found that she violated the decree.

The decision stops short of holding that true silence can never constitute a waiver. But it strongly suggests that where a decree contemplates later implementation by a QDRO professional, silence regarding survivor benefits may be treated as an unresolved issue rather than an intentional waiver.

This case is also a reminder that survivor benefits are too important to leave unaddressed in a decree. As the Court of Appeals continues to confront these recurring disputes, practitioners should be drafting retirement provisions with much greater precision.

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