What This Statute Says
Self-employed parents present unique challenges in setting child support. Personal and business expenses can blur, and gross receipts often look different from actual disposable income. This section gives Arizona courts a tool to bring in an independent tax practitioner to review the parent's books.
A. On request of either parent or on the court's own motion, before the court enters an order for child support pursuant to section 25-320, the court may order both parents to meet with a federally authorized tax practitioner if at least one of the parents is self-employed. The federally authorized tax practitioner shall review the accuracy of the self-employed parent's records and submit a written report to the court to help it determine the child support obligation.
A.R.S. § 25-320.2When This Statute Comes Into Play
This rule comes into play when:
- A divorcing parent is self-employed, owns a closely held business, or works as an independent contractor.
- The other parent suspects the self-employed parent has minimized reported income to lower a child support obligation.
- A court needs reliable income data before issuing an initial or modified support order.
What This Means for Arizona Families
Self-employment is common among Arizona families, and it complicates almost every aspect of divorce. The tax practitioner review in this section is not punitive; it produces a neutral analysis that often benefits both parents by reducing the temperature of the income dispute.
If you or your spouse is self-employed and a child support order is being set or modified, ask the family law attorney whether to invoke this section. Our FAQ on how divorce affects your Arizona estate plan covers the parallel estate planning concerns, including business interests held in trust. An Arizona family law attorney working with an estate planning attorney can coordinate the support order with updates to any buy-sell agreement or business succession plan affected by the divorce. Accurate income data also matters for spousal maintenance, attorney fees under 25-324, and many other downstream issues, so the tax practitioner review often pays for itself.