Affordable Flat-Fee Family Law

Professional, very courteous, front office is wonderful and answers all questions. Mr. Gavin Curtis and Team has treated me with the upmost respect.

– Cindy M.

I would highly recommend Gavin Curtis for your attorney needs. Mr. Curtis was a professional and available every step of the way. He made me feel comfortable and confident that my case was being handled with dignity. Please do not hesitate to use Curtis Law for your legal needs.

– Shayna W.

Curtis stepped in when I procrastinated in finding an attorney for my divorce. He has been very responsive and given me great advice while I am going through a difficult time. Definitely recommend him for someone needing an attorney.

– John L.

Before I became a family law attorney, I was an attorney’s client. I needed help modifying custody orders I had with my ex-spouse. I paid an initial retainer, thinking this would get us through most of the case. Boy was I wrong. The bill ended up 4 times the original retainer. I needed the representation, but the ever-increasing legal bill made me feel trapped. I could barely sleep at night. I wished that I could have seen the total cost at the beginning so I could be certain about at least one aspect of the representation.

Ask most family law attorney how much the entire case will cost from start to trial, and they will likely tell you, “It depends.” A typical divorce with children can top $30,000 at many law firms.

Our up-front, flat-fee pricing takes the guesswork and uncertainty away.

You will be presented with a roadmap for the cost of the entire case from start to finish. Our prices even include filing fees and service costs. I can’t predict the outcome of your case, but with flat-fee pricing, you can sleep easier at night knowing there will not be any surprise bills coming your way.

I am a proud father of seven beautiful children. No success could compare to the happiness that my family gives me. Like many of my clients, I have been divorced and remarried. My personal experience led me to choose family law out of law school. Divorce is a humbling experience and is not easy to relate to for those who have not experienced it. Out of difficult circumstances, we often find the true greatness within ourselves. I have found great personal growth from my own experiences, and I like to encourage my clients in the same way.

I grew up in San Jose California and attended San Jose State University. I graduated with honors in political science with a minor in Chinese. After college, I worked in the optical industry for several years before attending Phoenix School of Law. I was awarded a merit scholarship all three years and received two CALI awards for the highest grades in two different classes. I went on the absolutely crush the bar exam on my first attempt.

When I am not helping my clients, I enjoy spending quality time with my wife and children. I attend all my children’s various events and like to encourage their talents. We enjoy going out to movies as a family and as a couple. I have my own nerdy obsession with music. I collect physical media – both vinyl records and compact disks, even in this age of streaming. I have music playing through most of my workday and I attend many live concerts a year.

In a divorce without children, the major issues include division of property and debts as well as future maintenance of the spouses.

As your attorney I will help you understand Arizona community property law as it relates to your individual case. We will determine what property, if any, is separate property and what property will be divided equally by the court.

In a typical divorce, we may be discussing retirement accounts, real estate, and perhaps credit card debts. Sometimes the marital estate can be much more complicated, and include businesses that need to be evaluated, or complicated securities, crypto-currency, or other alternative assets such as timeshare points. (Or in one case I had, 50 head of cattle in central America).

Regardless of your situation, you can rely on my ten years of family law experience to help you sort this out and reach a satisfactory outcome. My rate of settlement in divorce cases without children is very high. I am as proud of that record as any of my wins after a trial.

Like a divorce without children, we will be seeking a settlement of all the marital property of the marriage, including affirming separate property, assigning marital debts, and dividing marital property.

One issue that commonly arises at the very beginning of a divorce without children is who will live in the marital home and who will relocate. This can sometimes lead to an early court hearing on a motion for temporary orders. The first few months after a separation of a married couple with children can be awkward. I have helped many clients navigate this strange time in their lives.

Custody of the children is commonly the most contentious issue in a divorce with children. It is difficult for all parents who are used to seeing their children daily to think about going days at a time not seeing them. In Arizona, equal custody is generally preferred, but there are always circumstances when this is not appropriate. I can analyze your situation and let you know what a court is most likely to order in your case.

I recognize that nobody enjoys going through a divorce with children. I will work with you to get a positive outcome to your case as quickly as possible so you can become unmarried and move on.

If you have children, and have never been married, and you need court intervention to establish a parenting plan, then establishing custody is what you need. The most common scenario when this action is required is an unmarried cohabitating couple that breaks up. Prior to the breakup, if the couple is happy and cohabitating, they are often co-parenting just like a married couple, and wouldn’t typically need the court to establish any parenting rules for them. After a breakup, however, it is common for one of the arguments to be over parenting time and decision-making. Sometimes one parent will even use the child as a weapon against the other parent and withhold contact to get back at them. When this happens, you need an experienced family law attorney to represent you.

If you are the father, it should also be noted that until you have a court order giving you parenting time, you cannot enforce your parental rights through law enforcement. Even when you do have custody orders, law enforcement is reluctant to get involved. Self-help is never recommended in this situation. Get experienced counsel to help you though the proper channels.

If you already have custody orders (sometimes called a parenting plan) and you want some or all of it changed, then you need to file a petition to modify. Of all the filings in family court, a custody modification is the most likely to be dismissed. This is because there are rules that must be followed. First, at least one year must have passed since the entry of your last orders (with some exceptions). Secondarily, if your current orders have a mediation clause, you must attempt mediation before you litigate. And thirdly, there must have been a substantial change in circumstances since the entry of the last orders. This must be something weightier than just not liking the orders.

You should get experienced counsel before you attempt any kind of modification. Set up a free phone consultation and I can tell you if your situation meets the legal threshold to file for modification. Custody modifications are less likely to settle out of court than a divorce or an establishment of custody. It is critical that you have some legal advice before starting down this path.

A relocation with a minor child is a variation on a modification of custody wherein one of the parents is attempting to move out of state or more than 100 miles away within the state with the minor child. This can be due to military reassignment, a job offer, or to be closer to supportive family. Relocations for the moving parent are notoriously difficult to win. I have done it, but it takes the right set of facts. Contact me for a consultation. I will be frank with you if I don’t believe you have a viable case for relocation. I have also defended against many relocation attempts.

If the other party is not following the court orders, then filing an enforcement of orders may be appropriate. I have handled many different enforcement actions including child support enforcement, failing to pay money under a divorce decree, failing to reimburse for medical or other expenses, and failing to follow custody orders.

As with any situation with an attorney, it is important to do a cost-benefit analysis of the fees you will pay versus the outcome you are hoping for. In enforcement actions, the prevailing party is likely to have their attorney’s fees awarded to them from the other party. But this is also not guaranteed, nor is it always easy to collect from the already-breaching party.

Before attempting to enforce orders, it is critical to speak with an experienced family law attorney. Set up a phone or in-person consultation and I can advise you on the pros and cons of filing.

In certain circumstances, a non-parent (typically a grandparent) can seek a court order for visitation of a minor child. Before even speaking to an attorney, any would-be third-party litigant should be aware that if the parents are both living and married to each other, this is not possible. If the parents are not married, or one of the parents is deceased, then I can talk to you about your situation to see if third-party visitation is something the court would consider.

Third party litigants seeking visitation usually include grandparents, other extended family members, former stepparents, or former significant others of one of the parents.

Sometimes a parent has a good reason to block a third party from having contact with their child. I have also represented parents who are seeking to prevent third-party visitation. This area of the law touches on fundamental constitutional rights of a parent in how they raise their child. It is important to have competent counsel who understand the constantly changing case law regarding third party visitation.

In some cases, child support is the only issue between the parties. I can help you with establishing new support orders or modifying existing orders. Sometimes back child support or child support arrears are in issue as well. Like enforcement cases, there is usually a cost-benefit analysis to do before you hire an attorney to help you with this kind of case. I can do an analysis of your current financial situation and tell you how much child support is likely to go up or down before we file a case.

In Arizona, Orders of protection are used when the plaintiff and the defendant are related to each other, while injunctions against harassment are for other people who are unrelated to each other. I can help with either situation.

Orders of protection are intended to be used to protect the plaintiff from abuse. They are easy to obtain but can be difficult to defend or to challenge in court.

If you have been served with an order of protection, there is a good chance that you have been forced out of your home without notice. There is also a good chance that you have lost access to your children. I have successfully challenged many protective orders, ending in what is called a “quashed” order. You don’t have to take the order lying down. You have rights.

I have also successfully kept orders in place for abuse victims when the orders have been challenged. While most litigants who seek to obtain an initial order are successful in obtaining one, you will have the burden of proving your allegations by a preponderance of the evidence if the defendant challenges the order.

Whether you are needing to challenge an order, or defend your order against challenge in court, it helps to have an experienced attorney at your side who can present your case and your evidence persuasively to the judge. Call my office to schedule a free consultation.

You may need my help with temporary orders during a case where I am already representing you, or you may only need me to represent you for temporary orders alone. Temporary orders are as they sound, orders that will be in place during the case until further order of the court or agreement of the parties. It is like a mini trial within your case. Like your final trial, it requires the gathering of evidence, filing a pre-trial statement, witness preparation and the like.

The family court has the authority to make temporary orders on several topics, including legal decision-making, parenting time, child support, use or possession of marital property, control of a business, or the sale of marital property.

Typically, there is very little time to prepare for a temporary order hearing between the time you get the order to appear and the hearing itself. If you need representation at a temporary orders hearing, do not wait until the week of the hearing. Contact my office today for a consultation.

Litigation is stressful and can be expensive. If the parties are lucky enough to reach an agreement with each other over all the major issues in their divorce, they can get an uncontested divorce. Allow me to guide you through the entire process, draft and file all your documents according to law, and ensure that you never see the inside of a courtroom. The only thing you and your spouse need to do is meet with me, either in my office or over zoom, and review and sign documents as needed. The rest is totally taken off your plate.

If you think your spouse would agree to do an uncontested divorce, then set up a time to meet with me and we can talk about each of the major items that you will need to reach an agreement on. You can review that list with your spouse and if they agree, then all three of us can work out the details together.

If you do not require full representation or cannot afford full representation, but you want to ensure that your documents filed with the court are well-drafted and contain all the required elements, we offer document drafting services. Your documents will be drafted by experienced paralegals under the supervision of an attorney. All documents will be reviewed by an attorney before going out of the office. Some examples of documents we can draft in this way are:

Use the form below to tell us about your legal inquiry, and we’ll call you back to schedule an appointment. Please be as detailed as possible. Include what industry you need service for along with any specific document requests. To help us best serve your inquiry, we recommend that you first describe the issue you’re having before telling us what you want to achieve. You may also email or call us to make an appointment. Our general response time is one business day.