Alimony in Arizona: How It’s Calculated and Enforced

Alimony in Arizona: How It’s Calculated and Enforced

A divorce can be financially challenging if you have been relying on your spouse for upkeep. But, Arizona laws allow you to request alimony or spousal maintenance. But, you need to prove you are eligible to receive alimony. Alimony payments can be during the divorce proceedings, after the divorce decree, or both.

There are also set guidelines on when you can receive alimony, how much, and the duration of payments. If you are considering divorce or are currently going through divorce proceedings, you may be wondering whether you qualify for alimony and if your spouse will agree to pay. You may also be the primary earner wondering whether you will have to pay alimony to your spouse.

Whether you are expecting to pay or receive alimony, you need to understand your rights and obligations under Arizona alimony laws. This article will help you understand how Arizona family courts calculate and enforce alimony payments.

What is Alimony?

Alimony also known as spousal maintenance in Arizona refers to the court-ordered payments that one spouse makes to the other during or after divorce. In requiring spousal maintenance or support, the law intends to help the receiving spouse maintain a reasonable standard of living.

Arizona law requires a spouse requesting alimony to prove that they need financial assistance and that the other spouse can afford to pay. The court may award alimony if you can show that you are the lower-earning spouse because you remained at home taking care of the children as your partner progressed in their career and developed their earning capacity.

In this and similar situations where you failed to develop your earning capacity due to other marriage duties or roles, the court may award you alimony to help you survive through and beyond the divorce process.

Types of Alimony

The Arizona Family Law Court may award alimony as either temporary, rehabilitative, permanent, or reimbursement.

  1. Temporary alimony. This is alimony that the court awards the lower-earning spouse during the divorce process. The aim is to support them throughout the process, especially in litigation. To qualify for temporary alimony, you must show why you need financial assistance. In most cases, temporary alimony doesn’t extend beyond the divorce proceedings.
  2. Rehabilitative alimony. This is a short-term alimony that the court awards for a specific period post-divorce. The goal of rehabilitative alimony is to help the receiving spouse transition from depending on marital finances to supporting themselves. The alimony order can last for a period of between one and three years. The court expects the receiving spouse to work towards bridging the income gap, including applying for jobs and getting back into the workforce.
  3. Permanent/long-term alimony.  Recent law changes require alimony to be only for a period of time; hence ending permanent alimony in Arizona. A paying spouse can request for modification or termination of alimony depending on changing circumstances.
  4. Reimbursement alimony. Reimbursement or compensatory alimony is a rare form of spouse support. It seeks to compensate a spouse for the sacrifices they have made to help the other maintain or advance their career. Essentially, the receiving spouse will not benefit from their ‘investment’ in divorce hence the request for a reimbursement.

How Arizona Courts Calculate Alimony

After the court determines that a spouse is eligible to receive alimony, they embark on determining how much they will receive and the duration of payments. The court considers several factors when determining eligibility and calculating alimony payments, including:

  1. i) Duration of the marriage. This is a big determinant of reasonable alimony payments. Typically, a low-earning spouse will have sacrificed a lot of earning opportunities, including jobs in a long-term marriage.
  2. ii) Standard of living during the marriage. This also helps to determine the reasonableness of the requested amount. Even though alimony will not necessarily help the receiving spouse keep their lifestyle exactly as it was, it should help them live comfortably until they can bridge the gap.
  • iii) Age, employment history, and the earning ability of both spouses
  1. iv) The physical and emotional condition of both spouses
  2. v) Contributions to the marriage like homemaking and childcare
  3. vi) Financial resources and needs of both spouses
  • vii) The time necessary for the receiving spouse to acquire sufficient education or training to find employment
  • Excessive or abnormal expenditures, destruction, concealment, or fraudulent disposition of property

While there is no strict mathematical formula to calculate alimony in Arizona, the court uses these and other factors to determine if the requested alimony amount is fair to both spouses.

The alimony figure must be reasonable. For instance, it cannot be more than 50% of the paying spouse’s pre-divorce income. In most cases, the alimony amount is between 15% and 30%. After these and other considerations, the law gives the judge discretion to determine the exact alimony amount a spouse can receive.

Can You Modify or Terminate an Alimony?

Yes, any of the spouses can request modification or the termination of the spousal support order post-divorce. But, the spouse requesting these changes must demonstrate why they want to modify or stop alimony. Some of the considerations under which the court can grant an alimony medication or termination include:

  1. i) Significant changes in financial circumstances like a job loss or retirement
  2. ii) Remarriage or cohabitation of the receiving spouse
  • iii) Death of either spouse automatically terminates alimony
  1. iv) Completion of the specified duration, especially for temporary or short-term alimony orders

How Arizona Enforce Alimony Orders

If an individual reports that an ex-spouse isn’t paying alimony as agreed and court-ordered, there are several legal avenues that the court can use to enforce the alimony order, including:

  1. Issue income withholding orders requiring the employer to withhold the ex-spouse’s salary or wages as alimony payments.
  2. Issue a contempt of court warrant
  3. Order wage garnishment
  4. Property liens
  5. Seize their property
  6. Apply for the suspension of their driver’s license and other professional licenses until they pay

Besides these measures, the court can also fine the ex-spouse for non-compliance. The ex-spouse also risks imprisonment.

Contact a Tucson Alimony Attorney

Divorce can leave you broke and confused. The Arizona alimony process is also complex and can be inflexible in the determination and award of spousal support. But, a skilled alimony attorney can help you get a fair spousal maintenance order, whether you are the paying or the receiving spouse.

If you are in Tucson, AZ, contact our well-qualified and experienced family law attorney at Liberty Audette and Associates. You can rely on us for reliable legal representation for all your family law issues, including divorce and alimony proceedings. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.

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