Spousal maintenance—often referred to as alimony—is one of the most nuanced aspects of an Arizona divorce. Spousal maintenance is court-ordered financial support a person must pay to their spouse or former spouse. Its purpose is to ensure that both spouses are able to meet their reasonable living expenses after divorce or legal separation.
Family courts have considerable discretion when it comes to awarding spousal maintenance, so this is one issue in divorce or legal separation where an experienced lawyer can make a significant impact on the outcome of your case.
Eligibility vs. entitlement
Arizona courts use a two-step analysis to determine spousal maintenance. The first step is to evaluate the requesting spouse's eligibility. Eligibility to receive spousal maintenance is determined by A.R.S. § 25-319(A) which states that a spouse is eligible if they meet at least one of the following criteria:
- Lacks sufficient property, including property apportioned to the spouse, to provide for that spouse's reasonable needs.
- Lacks earning ability in the labor market that is adequate to be self-sufficient.
- Is the parent of a child whose age or condition is such that the parent should not be required to seek employment outside the home.
- Has made a significant financial or other contribution to the education, training, vocational skills, career or earning ability of the other spouse or has significantly reduced that spouse's income or career opportunities for the benefit of the other spouse.
- Had a marriage of long duration and is of an age that may preclude the possibility of gaining employment adequate to be self-sufficient.
Again, the person requesting spousal maintenance only needs to prove they meet at least one of those statutory conditions to be deemed eligible for spousal maintenance. But eligibility does not automatically mean that spousal maintenance will be awarded.
The second step in the analysis is to consider the factors under 25-319(B). These factors guide the family court in determining whether spousal maintenance should be awarded:
- The standard of living established during the marriage.
- The duration of the marriage.
- The age, employment history, earning ability and physical and emotional condition of the spouse seeking maintenance.
- The ability of the spouse from whom maintenance is sought to meet that spouse's needs while meeting those of the spouse seeking maintenance.
- The comparative financial resources of the spouses, including their comparative earning abilities in the labor market.
- The contribution of the spouse seeking maintenance to the earning ability of the other spouse.
- The extent to which the spouse seeking maintenance has reduced that spouse's income or career opportunities for the benefit of the other spouse.
- The ability of both parties after the dissolution to contribute to the future educational costs of their mutual children.
- 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.
- 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.
- Excessive or abnormal expenditures, destruction, concealment or fraudulent disposition of community, joint tenancy and other property held in common.
- 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.
- All actual damages and judgments from conduct that resulted in criminal conviction of either spouse in which the other spouse or a child was the victim.
Arizona Spousal Maintenance Calculator
If the court decides that spousal maintenance should be awarded, there is a statewide calculator used to determine a presumptive range and duration based on the individual circumstances of the case. The amount and duration of spousal maintenance are determined primarily by the parties' relative incomes and the length of the marriage.
Sometimes both the amount and duration ranges can vary greatly and courts can choose any number within those ranges. In contested cases where spouses disagree about spousal maintenance, it becomes really important to have the best divorce lawyer on your side. The inputs to be used on the calculator are often contested and family courts do have discretion to deviate from the maintenance amount on the calculator.
The Rule of 65
Generally speaking, Arizona courts do not award permanent ("lifetime") or indefinite spousal maintenance.
In most cases, family courts are required to use a duration within the range provided on the Arizona Spousal Maintenance Calculator. There are two notable exceptions to this. The first is called the Rule of 65 and exists when the age of the spouse requesting maintenance and the duration of the marriage combine to exceed 65. There is some nuance to this, however. The spouse seeking maintenance must be at least 42 years old at the time the divorce is filed and the marriage must have lasted for at least 16 years.
Here are a couple of examples illustrating these rules:
Example A
John Doe was 51 years old when he filed for divorce. He and Jane Doe had been married for 15 years when the petition was filed. In this case, the Rule of 65 would not apply even though John's age combined with the duration of the marriage (51+15) exceeds 65 because the duration of the marriage was less than 16 years.
Example B
Jane Doe was 45 years old when she filed for divorce. She and John Doe were married for 21 years when the petition was filed. In this case, the Rule of 65 would apply and the family court would have discretion to determine the duration of spousal maintenance outside of the range provided by the calculator.
Disability of the spouse seeking maintenance
The second scenario that enables the judge to deviate from the calculator's prescribed duration range is disability of the spouse seeking maintenance. If the disability is indefinite, the court is still required to use the standard duration range and the disabled spouse can return to court to modify (extend) spousal maintenance before its term expires. If the disability is proven to be permanent, the court is allowed to determine the duration of maintenance outside of the calculator's recommendations.
Why spousal maintenance is often complex
While there is a spousal maintenance calculator, basically all of its inputs can be contested. This can include:
- Disputes over income or earning capacity
- Competing interpretations of lifestyle or need
- Incomplete or obstructed disclosure
These issues are especially prevalent in higher net worth cases. These cases may require vocational evaluations, forensic accounting, or other expert witness services.
In all cases, family courts have tremendous discretion that can lead to extreme variability in spousal maintenance determinations. While the Arizona Spousal Maintenance Guidelines were adopted to promote greater consistency in these outcomes, there is still a level of unpredictability based on the assigned judge's temperament and the specific facts of each case.
Conclusion
Spousal maintenance can have a lasting impact on both spouse's financial futures. Its potential consequences can even include incarceration when someone fails to comply with an order to pay spousal maintenance. So understanding how courts determine maintenance provides a critical foundation for making informed and strategic choices throughout the divorce or legal separation process.
If your case involves spousal maintenance, we recommend scheduling a free initial consultation with one of our experienced divorce attorneys. Even if you believe you and your spouse will amicably reach resolution, it can be beneficial to fully understand each party's rights and how Arizona law would apply to the issues in your case.
