Spousal Maintenance (Alimony) in an Arizona Divorce

Spousal maintenance — also called “alimony” or “spousal support” — is money paid by one spouse to the other for support during and/or after a divorce or legal separation. When spouses separate, one person may be unable to pay for regular living expenses, in which case a judge may require the higher earner — whether that is the husband or the wife — to assist the lower earner financially for at least some period of time. Spousal maintenance, as it is called in Arizona, is separate from child support, which is money paid specifically for the care of children.

Eligibility for Spousal Maintenance

Not every divorce involves spousal maintenance. If the spouses have similar incomes, if the marriage was of very short duration, or if the lower-earning spouse plans to remarry immediately after the divorce, there may be no spousal maintenance. In order to be eligible for spousal maintenance, Arizona requires that a spouse meet at least one of these criteria [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][Arizona Revised Statute 25-319]:

1. Lacks sufficient property, including property apportioned to the spouse, to provide for that spouse’s reasonable needs.

2. Is unable to be self-sufficient through appropriate employment or is the custodian of a child whose age or condition is such that the custodian should not be required to seek employment outside the home or lacks earning ability in the labor market adequate to be self-sufficient.

3. Contributed to the educational opportunities of the other spouse.

4. Had a marriage of long duration and is of an age that may preclude the possibility of gaining employment adequate to be self-sufficient.

Requesting Spousal Maintenance

The spouse who initially files the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage (Divorce) can include in the petition proposed spousal maintenance terms, including which spouse should receive support, how much should be paid per month, and for how long. The Respondent can then agree to the terms requested by the Petitioner or propose different terms. If the parties are unable to agree on spousal maintenance terms, the court will make a decision regarding support.

Spousal Maintenance Terms

Spousal maintenance can be awarded for the period of time when the divorce is being finalized or for any length of time after the divorce until either spouse dies or until the spouse receiving support remarries.

Arizona law specifies that “The maintenance order shall be in an amount and for a period of time as the court deems just, without regard to marital misconduct, and after considering all relevant factors” [ARS 25-319]. Some factors that the court will consider are:

1. The standard of living established during the marriage.

2. The duration of the marriage.

3. The age, employment history, earning ability and physical and emotional condition of the spouse seeking maintenance.

4. The ability of the spouse from whom maintenance is sought to meet that spouse’s needs while meeting those of the spouse seeking maintenance.

5. The comparative financial resources of the spouses, including their comparative earning abilities in the labor market.

6. The contribution of the spouse seeking maintenance to the earning ability of the other spouse.

7. The extent to which the spouse seeking maintenance has reduced that spouse’s income or career opportunities for the benefit of the other spouse.

8. The ability of both parties after the dissolution to contribute to the future educational costs of their mutual children.

9. The financial resources of the party seeking maintenance, including marital property apportioned to that spouse, and that spouse’s ability to meet that spouse’s own needs independently.

10. The time necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the party seeking maintenance to find appropriate employment and whether such education or training is readily available.

11. Excessive or abnormal expenditures, destruction, concealment or fraudulent disposition of community, joint tenancy and other property held in common.

12. The cost for the spouse who is seeking maintenance to obtain health insurance and the reduction in the cost of health insurance for the spouse from whom maintenance is sought if the spouse from whom maintenance is sought is able to convert family health insurance to employee health insurance after the marriage is dissolved.

13. All actual damages and judgments from conduct that results in criminal conviction of either spouse in which the other spouse or child was the victim.

Once spousal maintenance has been ordered by the court, it remains in effect until its term expires, the receiving spouse remarries, or either spouse dies. The Superior Court in the county that issued the divorce decree (Pima County, Maricopa County, etc.) maintains jurisdiction over the spousal maintenance order.

Rehabilitative Support

Sometimes couples will agree to (or courts will order) “rehabilitative” support, also called “bridge the gap” support. This is short-term spousal maintenance designed to help a spouse who has not been in the workforce or who has low income get retrained and back into the workforce. The goal of rehabilitative support is for the receiving spouse to become financially independent.

Unlike other temporary spousal maintenance orders, rehabilitative support generally does not last for a fixed number of months. It lasts until the receiving spouse is back to work. The agreement generally is that the support payments will stop when the recipient completes a retraining program and becomes employed. During the support period, the recipient is responsible for diligently pursuing the training or course of study and then searching for work. If the paying spouse believes that the recipient is not putting forth reasonable effort to complete studies or find work, he or she can ask the court to reduce the support amount or set a termination date.

Modifying Spousal Maintenance

Couples may enter into their own agreements either waiving maintenance entirely or providing that neither will seek any changes to maintenance in court. Unless they make such an agreement, or unless the final divorce order says otherwise, if either spouse has a substantial and continuing change of circumstances during the term of the spousal maintenance, he or she can petition the court to increase, decrease, or terminate spousal maintenance payments. This petition may be filed by either spouse with the Superior Court that issued the divorce or legal separation decree.

The Divorce Guy offers professional legal document preparation services. We have decades of experience preparing documents for divorces and spousal maintenance in Arizona. By using our service you can avoid the expense of a high priced attorney so that you can focus your financial resources on helping your family make necessary transitions after your divorce. There is no need to worry about deadlines and properly completing the forms. We know what to ask and provide this service to hundreds of clients each year. Contact our office in Tucson today so that we can walk you through the divorce legal document preparation services we offer.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Spousal Maintenance (Alimony) in an Arizona Divorce