Intro to Alimony in Arizona

In this quick guide, I will cover the most important core aspects of alimony in Arizona so you can have a foundational understanding to help with your divorce.

Real quick, alimony in Arizona is referred to as spousal maintenance. In this guide I’ll use both terms and sometimes use the terms interchangeably to help you adjust to the term “spousal maintenance.”

Here are the core aspects of alimony in Arizona that I’ll cover:

1. What is alimony (spousal maintenance)?
2. How do you know if you’ll get alimony?
3. Is there a formula to determine the amount of alimony you’ll get?
4. Should you settle or go to trial over alimony?

What Is Alimony in Arizona (aka spousal maintenance)?

Alimony, or spousal maintenance, is a form of spousal support that is paid from one spouse to the other, typically in monthly payments over a duration lasting months or years. There are a variety of reasons why alimony is awarded in divorce cases; however, the most oft-cited, and perhaps primary, reason is that alimony is needed to help a lesser earning spouse financially rehabilitate him or herself to become self-sufficient.

For instance, the classic scenario is where one spouse has become a stay-at-home parent to raise the couple’s children while the other is the breadwinner and earns income for both of them. The stay-at-home parent reduced his/her income-earning potential, and will need some time after the divorce to enter or re-enter the workforce and become self-sufficient. This is why the Court will award alimony so the other parent is able to live and meet reasonable living expenses until he/she becomes self-sufficient.

A couple of more quick points. Alimony is not child support. Child support is calculated separately, which calculation does account for alimony ordered. Alimony used to be tax deductible by the payor and taxable income to the payee (with some really confusing tax rules for prepayment, etc.). As of the writing of this article, alimony is no longer tax deductible by the payor and is not taxable income to the payee, which is the same as child support.

How Do You Know If You’ll Get Alimony?

The entitlement and award of alimony in Arizona is based on a statute: A.R.S. 25-319. In subsection A of that statute, there are four criteria that you can meet to qualify for spousal maintenance. In a nutshell, you can qualify for spousal maintenance if:

1. You lack sufficient property to meet your reasonable needs.
2. You lack the ability to be self-sufficient through appropriate employment, or have a child whose age or condition is such that you shouldn’t be working.
3. You made significant contributions to your spouse’s education or earning ability.
4. You had a long marriage and are old enough that you might not be able to get a job that will allow you to be self-sufficient.

If you qualify for spousal maintenance (alimony) under one of the four criteria above, then the Court would turn to subsection B of the statute to determine how much spousal maintenance you should receive, and for how long. In summary, here are the factors the court has to consider when determining how much alimony to award.

1. The standard of living during the marriage.
2. Length of the marriage.
3. Age, employment history, and condition of the spouse seeking alimony.
4. The ability of the other spouse to pay alimony and still meet his/her needs (expenses).
5. Comparative earning ability between the spouses.
6. The contributions of the spouse seeking maintenance to the earning ability of the other.
7. The extent the spouse seeking maintenance reduced his/her earning ability for the benefit of the other.
8. The ability of both spouses to contribute to their mutual children’s educational needs after the divorce.
9. The financial resources of the spouse seeking alimony.
10. The time needed to gain education or training to become self-sufficient, and whether that education or training is available.
11. Excessive and abnormal expenditures, or fraud or concealment of property.
12. Cost of health insurance.
13. Damages and judgments from conduct by one spouse who was convicted of a crime against the other spouse.

It’s important to note that the Court can also consider other factors in addition to the above 13. The Court is required to consider these 13 factors, but may also consider any other relevant factor.

Is There a Formula to Determine How Much Alimony You’ll Get?

So, after reviewing the above 13 factors the Court has to consider, you may be wondering whether there is a formula (like child support) that will determine the amount of alimony, or spousal maintenance, that will be ordered. The answer is yes and no.

Many, many years ago, there was a formula that originated in Maricopa County to help calculate a range of spousal maintenance awards. However, the Arizona Supreme Court basically entered a ruling on a case that prohibited the use of the formula as the means to determine the spousal maintenance award. Technically, courts can still use the formula as a factor to consider, but from my experience the courts (and lawyers) are not using the formula any longer, and in any event, the formula is not dispositive (meaning the court wouldn’t have to follow the formula even if you used it).  

The formula can be useful to consider, but as you can see from the required factors above, the core questions the court has to consider when determining spousal maintenance are: the standard of living, how long the parties were married, how much does the one spouse need to get by, and how much can the other spouse afford to give while still getting by. Of course, there is more to it than that, but that generally summarizes the gist of what the court is considering.

Should You Settle or Go to Trial over Alimony in Arizona?

Generally speaking, whenever you can obtain a settlement that you can live with (even if you don’t love it), you should take the settlement over going to trial. Why? When you go trial, you are risking a lot. For one, you are risking the chance that the judge sees things your way. The saying there’s two sides to a story is a saying for a reason. Just because you have documents and an argument in your favor doesn’t necessarily mean the judge is going to see things the same as you and/or in your favor.

This risk seems particularly applicable to alimony because of its unstructured nature. There is no formula for alimony like there is for child support. So, the possible range of awards can vary greatly. For instance, it’s very possible that you could take the same set of circumstances, ask 10 different judges what alimony they would award, and get 10 different results with a 10-30% variance, or more.

The bottom line is this: more than just about any other issue in a divorce, alimony awards can have greater variances. Property division is typically 50/50. Child support is based on a formula. Even “custody” issues are more straightforward after some of the changes to Arizona law back in January 2013. But alimony in Arizona can vary by up to 50% or more sometimes. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. So, if you’re confronted with the issue of alimony (spousal maintenance) in your divorce, review the statute A.R.S. 25-319, and really consider where you stand so you can make an informed decision on whether you should settle or go to trial. Whether you settle or go to trial, you can take one of our online courses to help you with either scenario.