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Alimony Laws in Arizona
When people file for divorce in Arizona, either spouse can ask the court for spousal support or maintenance. However, the court will not automatically order you or your spouse to pay alimony simply because it is requested. Instead, there are multiple factors that judges consider when determining whether or not to award spousal maintenance.
For example, a judge may order spousal maintenance when the lower-earning spouse needs help to get on his or her feet by completing training or education.
Judges might also order spousal maintenance in cases where the parties had a long-term marriage (i.e. greater than 20 years), or where the lower-earning spouse is unlikely to become independent through work. For instance, if an older spouse has always been a homemaker and is going through a gray divorce (i.e. divorce later in life), the court might order the breadwinner spouse to pay spousal maintenance.
If you have questions about spousal maintenance in your divorce case, you should talk to an experienced spousal support lawyer at Colburn Hintze Maletta.
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Alimony Laws in Arizona
Factors Considered for Spousal Maintenance Orders
Arizona judges are given broad discretion to decide whether a spouse is entitled to maintenance, and if so, the appropriate amount and duration that it should be ordered. Although spousal maintenance may be very common in some circumstances, it is never a guarantee, which is why it is important to ensure your case is handled properly.
ARS 25-319, the statute that governs the award of spousal maintenance in Arizona, divides the issue into two primary sub-issues.
First, the court must determine whether or not a spouse is entitled to support. Second, if the court determines that a spouse is entitled to support, the Court must determine the amount and duration of the support award.
The following are the statutory factors that the court must consider when deciding whether a person is entitled to receive support:
- Whether the spouse lacks sufficient property, including property awarded to that spouse during the divorce, to support their reasonable needs;
- Whether the spouse is capable of generating income in the labor market to be self-sufficient without assistance from the other spouse;
- This factor includes whether the spouse is the primary care provider for a child who is of an age or condition that prevents that spouse from working full-time (or at all);
- Whether a spouse has contributed to the career, training, and earning ability of the other spouse;
- Whether a spouse has made significant sacrifices as to their own career and earning ability to the benefit of the other spouse.
- Whether parties had a marriage of long duration and one spouse is of an age that precludes them from seeking reasonable employment.
If a spouse is not entitled to support, the analysis stops there and the court will deny the request. However, when a spouse is entitled to support, the Court then considers the following factors to determine the amount and duration:
- The parties’ standard of living during the marriage;
- The duration of the marriage;
- The spouses’ ages;
- The spouses’ employment histories and earning abilities;
- The spouses’ physical and mental health;
- The relative incomes and financial resources of the spouses;
- The contributions of each spouse to the education or earning ability of the other spouse;
- The career and earning sacrifices of each spouse to the benefit of the other spouse;
- Each parties ability to contribute to their children’s future education cost (including college);
- Whether one spouse wasted assets during the marriage (i.e. excessive spending, hiding, transferring, or concealing joint property);
- How long it will take for the spouse seeking maintenance to acquire sufficient education to find appropriate employment;
- The impact of health insurance costs on the spouses after divorce;
- Actual damages and judgments between the spouses resulting from a criminal conviction where a spouse or child was the victim.
Under ARS 25-530, Arizona courts do not include military disability benefits that a spouse receives from the Department of Veterans Affairs for service-related disabilities when calculating a party’s income for the purpose of spousal maintenance
Courts also generally do not take any marital misconduct (i.e. cheating, domestic violence) allegations into account in determining whether spousal maintenance should be ordered.
Unlike some states, Arizona courts do not have spousal maintenance guidelines (i.e. a formula or calculator) to determine the appropriate amount and duration of support.
Marriage Length and Spousal Maintenance
There is no minimum marriage length in Arizona for an award of spousal maintenance. However, the length of a marriage is a factor that courts consider when determining whether to grant spousal maintenance requests.
It is unlikely that a spouse will be granted spousal maintenance when the marriage lasted for a short time.
If a judge does order spousal maintenance after a short marriage, the payments may only last for a few months, are will likely be transitory in nature.
The length of a marriage can also affect the duration of support and the amounts that might be ordered.
Most spousal maintenance awards only last for a few years, but they can be ordered for longer when there is a significant income disparity, and the lower-earning spouse is unlikely to be able to support himself or herself independently through training or education.
Rarely, a judge might order a spouse to pay spousal maintenance until the recipient spouse dies, the payor dies, or the recipient spouse remarries. This is called an “indefinite” or “lifetime” award and, while possible, is increasingly rare.
Child Support vs. Spousal Support
In divorces with children, courts might order a spouse to pay child support and spousal maintenance. Spousal maintenance is calculated separately from child support and is meant for a different purpose.
Spousal support is designed to help the lower-earning or resourced spouse gain financial independence. Child support is designed to help pay for the child’s needs and is in the child’s best interests. Child support is far less discretionary as the state expects both parents to financially contribute to their children’s upbringing.
If the court orders you to pay child support and alimony, you must follow both orders.
Failure to pay either type of court-ordered support could place you at risk of criminal and civil penalties. Neither type of support is dischargeable in bankruptcy, meaning back amounts will not disappear and must be fully repaid.
Income Disparity and Spousal Maintenance
Just because one spouse makes more money than the other does not mean that the court will order spousal maintenance. Instead, the judge will exercise his or her discretion to determine whether an order is warranted.
If you have divorced in the past and did not ask for spousal maintenance, you will generally not be able to reopen the case to ask for spousal maintenance in the future. The lone exception occurs if the court that granted your divorce could not secure personal jurisdiction over your ex-spouse.
Spousal Maintenance Modifications
In some situations, the spouse’s financial circumstances might change after a court issues an order for spousal maintenance, thereby warranting a modification. In order for this to occur, the party seeking the modification must prove that a “substantial and continuing” change in circumstances has occurred. If your financial circumstances have changed to such an extent that you are no longer able to afford to make your spousal maintenance payments, you can petition the court to modify the amount under ARS 25-327.
A court order to modify your spousal maintenance payments will not cover any arrearages (past due support) that you owe.
However, once a decision is made by the Court, most modifications are retroactively effective to the first month following the service of the Petition. If you are struggling to pay spousal support, you should talk to an attorney at Colburn Hintze Maletta as soon as possible to file a modification request before you fall behind on your payments.
Terminating Spousal Maintenance
Situations in which spousal maintenance will end are covered in ARS 25-327. If you are ordered to pay spousal support, you will typically no longer have to pay if your former spouse dies or remarries. The only exception to this is if you expressly agree otherwise in a formal written agreement.
If your former spouse remarries, you should let the court know so that your payments can end. You will not be allowed to end your payments when you, as the payor spouse, remarry, however. If the payor dies, the obligation to pay spousal maintenance will also end. Unless otherwise agreed, the deceased person’s estate will generally not have to continue making payments.
Relocations and Spousal Maintenance
All states are supposed to give full faith and credit to the courts’ decisions in other states. This means that if you move to a new state, your spousal maintenance order will follow you. An Arizona spousal maintenance order is enforceable no matter where you might live.
If your spouse moves to a new state, you can ask the court to send your order to the new state to ensure that the payments will be taken from his or her paychecks and sent to you.
This process is commonly referred to as registering a foreign (out-of-state) order.
Spousal Support Enforcement
If your spouse does not make his or her court-ordered spousal maintenance payments, he or she can face criminal and civil liability. Under ARS 25-511.01, failing to pay court-ordered spousal support is a class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $2,500 fine.
Civil penalties may also be ordered when a spouse fails to pay spousal maintenance. If you are the recipient spouse and have not received the payments that were ordered, you can file a petition asking the court to enforce the order under ARS 25-508.
Once you file your petition, the court will schedule a hearing. You can ask the Support Payment Clearinghouse for copies of the payment records to show that the payor failed to make the payments as ordered. If spousal maintenance was called for in your separation agreement, you would need to provide the court with other records showing that your ex-spouse failed to pay.
If the court grants your petition, it will issue a money judgment. The payor spouse will be responsible for paying the judgment together with interest. You can enforce a money judgment in any of the following ways:
- Attachments
- Bank levies
- Liens
- Receiverships
- Wage garnishments
- Writs of execution
If you need help enforcing a spousal maintenance order or are struggling to make your court-ordered payments, you should talk to an experienced attorney at Colburn Hintze Maletta as soon as possible.
Talk to an Experienced Spousal Support Lawyer at Colburn Hintze Maletta
If you want to ask for spousal maintenance or believe it might be ordered in your divorce, you should talk to an experienced family law lawyer at Colburn Hintze Maletta as soon as possible.
Similarly, if you are struggling to make spousal support payments or have not received the payments you are owed, an attorney can help.
Contact us today to schedule a consultation at (602) 825-2500.
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Best divorce lawyers in Arizona, hands down. Timothy Hintz handled my divorce, and as a father, I have my son and our house. I would give them more stars, but the option is not there. His paralegal Jennifer Bone is extremely competent, and the whole team is very friendly. Took a big weight off, having them behind me.
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Before I hired Darin I went through a total of 3 different attorneys in two different states fighting a jurisdiction battle, when my daughter was taken to a different state. It was a very difficult decision to switch attorneys at one of the most difficult, time sensitive and important times in my case, but I’m very glad I did. Upon receiving my file from previous attorneys Darin came very familiar with my case quickly. Like other people have explained he took the time to lay everything out and explain how the process was going to proceed and what to expect and continued to do this as new issues arrived. He is also very quick at responding to emails and phone calls. My case was getting close to trial as told by my previous attorneys, I did not want to go to trial as I know this is very costly (most attorneys will convince you that you need to.) Darin knew my situation, fought for what was right and got the results I wanted while avoiding a costly trial. He is extremely knowledgeable in the Child Support Guidelines as well. Because of Darin I got my daughter back. I would highly recommend him and would hire again for any future issues. Thanks Darin!
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“I was found NOT GUILTY. Dave won the trial for me.”
Dave stayed with me while he pushed back and forth with Covid-19 and the delays with court. Once cited, the state basically decides that you’re guilty through the automatic suspension of your drivers license. Dave immediately took care of that problem and I never lost the privilege of driving. Dave took notes like crazy and was upfront about our uphill battle. I was also well aware that the plea deal that was given to us, was unacceptable and through Dave’s knowledge and experience I had put my trust in him to guide me to make the right decision on how to proceed. With Dave’s guidance I had decided that we needed to fight for something better than what the prosecutor was offering and Dave was 100 percent behind me on that decision. We knew the risks, be we also knew we had very little to lose based on the prosecutions stance. We decided to go to trial… Watching the prosecution and then watching Dave was night and day!! It was clear to the jury that the prosecution didn’t have their facts straight and were not addressing the facts that they could not address…There was a lot at stake for my personal life and my work life. I was found NOT GUILTY. Dave won the trial for me.
Gregory - AVVO Review
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I had an incident and was given the catch-all charge. There wasn’t really anything I could do by myself to get out of it. Tim was absolutely amazing and worked diligently to ensure that I would have the best possible outcome from my case. Which he successfully achieved! As of right now, I am on the path to having my case fully dismissed. A couple of things that really helped me through this process was that Tim did an amazing job at answering my questions. He was available almost anytime and would respond promptly when he got my emails. He was also very approachable and comforting to be around while we had in person meetings and especially when I was at the court house. I would trust him and the company he works for with any other cases in the future, and as of right now, they will be my first choice if I need a lawyer in the future.
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I have nothing but good things to say about my experience working with David Maletta. I was in a very high-stress situation facing a pending DUI charge. He doesn’t know this, but I actually interviewed 5 potential lawyers, and he was the most optimistic of all of them. He took over and handled everything, and now I don’t have to live with a DUI. Thank you so much for everything! Highly recommend them to anyone looking for legal help.
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I had the opportunity to work with Darin during a very troublesome time in my life. As a family attorney, I found him to be very professional, very empathetic, and very responsive to all the issues I faced. I would recommend him to anyone without a second thought. Thank you, Darin!
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David Maletta is the absolute best trial attorney in the state of Arizona. He is a kind, emphatic, and extremely patient person. As an attorney, he is prepared, aggressive, and extremely skilled. He is not afraid to go to trial and fight for his clients, like other attorneys that just plead their clients to the original charges. When he is in trial, he flips a switch and goes from a nice guy to a killing machine. He fights for his clients like no one I have ever seen. Watching him do a cross-examination is exhilarating because he is so good it’s scary.
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We retained David Maletta to represent our son after being cited for what can only be described as a momentary lapse of reason. David was extremely knowledgeable, was able to clearly communicate very complicated concepts, and was relentless in his pursuit of my son’s innocence. He had strong relationships with the prosecuting attorney and respect of the judge, which ultimately resulted in my son learning a really hard lesson with limited consequences (traffic school and writing an essay to the judge on the physics of driving 130MPH and what happens if that goes badly). I have already sent all of my friends with teenage and 20 year old kids his contact information for when they inevitably get that call. David completely exceeded all of our expectations and we could not recommend him any stronger. Thank you for everything.
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I recently consulted with Darin after my wife filed for divorce. He was referred to me by a friend whom I very much trust. Darin was the antithesis of the first two attorneys I consulted (who were matter-of-fact and had very little empathy about the fact that I was struggling emotionally with what was transpiring). From the first few minutes of speaking with Darin, it was obvious that he was very knowledgeable and skilled with divorce and family matters. While that was most important to me, the thing that made the difference was his calming, logical, and empathetic approach. He took the time to listen and empathize with me. He took the time to understand what I wanted to achieve through this process and laid out my options. After the consultation, I knew he would be my attorney if I had to pull the trigger. I, ultimately, didn’t have to engage Darin’s services due to a reconciliation with my wife. I hope I never have to go through that process again. However, if I do, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt who I will be hiring to represent me…Darin R. Colburn. Darin, thank you for caring and being more than an attorney.
Frank - AVVO Review
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On one of the worst and most surreal nights of my life (do not EVER get a DUI people!) I was lucky enough to find my way to Tim Hintze. Being in Phoenix for the Thanksgiving holiday from out of town, and after spending the evening with family, I ended up spending the night in jail.
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I honestly just want to let it be known to any and everyone looking for an attorney on a case. Whether it be DUI, possession, or your every day to day traffic violations where you need representation attorney Tim Hintze is your man. You have to respect a man that listens to every request that you make on a case and he gets in there and gets it done. Tim has my respect as an attorney and being a well-rounded representer. From him being honest on the possibility and options for your case to him being easy to work and communicate with via over the phone or face to face Mr. Hintze is working it out.