Arizona Spousal Maintenance Guidelines

Spousal maintenance, also known as alimony or spousal support, is the payment that one spouse provides to the other in a divorce or legal separation. The Arizona Spousal Maintenance Guidelines determine who qualifies for maintenance, how much they receive, and how long payments last.

To learn more about how the spousal maintenance guidelines may apply to the specific facts of your case, you should consult with an experienced Arizona divorce lawyer at Mushkatel, Gobbato, & Kile, P.L.L.C. Your lawyer can also advise you about recent changes to the state’s guidelines may affect your situation.

What Are the Major Changes in 2025 to the AZ Spousal Maintenance Guidelines?

Arizona’s spousal maintenance rules changed significantly on September 1, 2025, when the Arizona Supreme Court adopted revised Spousal Maintenance Guidelines under Administrative Order No. 2025-101. The updates affect how the calculator works, how income is defined, and how long awards can last. Here’s what you need to know about the recent changes:

• Death of the mortgage principal calculation – Under the 2023 Guidelines, a family’s average monthly mortgage principal payment was factored into the support calculation. As of September 1, 2025, that factor has been removed from the calculation. Because the mortgage principal often adds a significant amount, its removal as a factor will likely produce lower support ranges.
• New high-income adjustments – The updated Guidelines change how things work for higher-earning households. For higher-income families, the support calculator applies an upward adjustment to reflect the higher cost of living they typically face. That adjustment now kicks in at a combined annual income of $175,000 (up from $100,000). It also increases the estimated household spending figure by 1 percent for every additional $2,500 in combined income, up to a maximum increase of 70 percent (down from 80 percent).
• Refined income definitions – Two income categories received notable clarifications in the 2025 Guidelines:
  • Overtime pay – Rather than focus on a person’s income at a single point in time, a court must now average overtime earnings over the three years before the filing of the divorce petition. The goal is to prevent temporary spikes or sudden drops in overtime from skewing calculations.
  • Retirement assets – The Guidelines clarify that courts generally shouldn’t include income from accounts with early withdrawal penalties in spousal support calculations. Once a spouse can access funds without penalty, the court may attribute interest income from those assets.

How Do Courts Now Determine Who Is Eligible for Spousal Maintenance in Arizona?

Before a court begins calculating payment amounts, it must determine whether the requesting spouse qualifies for maintenance at all. Under state law, judges can’t proceed with any calculations unless the requesting spouse meets at least one of the following five specific legal criteria:

• Lack of sufficient property – A spouse may qualify if the property they receive in the divorce settlement fails to cover their reasonable needs.
• Inability to be self-sufficient – A spouse who lacks the earning power, skills, or employment history to support themselves in the current labor market may meet this criterion.
• Caring for young children – If a child’s age or condition makes it inappropriate for a parent to work outside the home, that parent may qualify for maintenance.
• Significant career contributions – A spouse who sacrificed their own career to financially support the other’s education or professional advancement may qualify under this criterion.
• Long-term marriage rule – A spouse who was in a long-term marriage and is now at an age that makes it unlikely for them to gain adequate employment may also qualify.

What Factors Do Courts Now Consider When Awarding Spousal Maintenance in Arizona?

Once courts establish eligibility, they must determine an appropriate award amount by using the Guidelines calculator and considering several statutory factors. The following factors can carry significant weight in the court’s determination:

• Financial resources of each spouse – Courts compare both spouses’ separate assets, divide marital property from the divorce, and consider their earning ability in the labor market.
• Standard of living during the marriage – The lifestyle the couple maintained together during the marriage sets a benchmark for what the requesting spouse reasonably needs.
• Duration of the marriage – Longer marriages generally support larger or longer awards, as they tend to reflect greater financial interdependence.
• Each spouse’s age, health, and earning capacity – Each spouse’s physical condition, employment history, and ability to become self-sufficient all factor into the court’s analysis.

How Long Does Spousal Maintenance Last in Arizona?

Duration ranges under the Guidelines are tied directly to how long the marriage lasted. Courts can’t deviate from them. The following factors affect spousal maintenance duration in Arizona within the applicable range:

• Length of marriage – Different brackets set minimum and maximum durations proportional to the length of the marriage. Longer marriages have longer duration ranges.
• Extended durations for long-term marriages – For marriages of 16 years or more that don’t trigger the Rule of 65, the 2025 Guidelines increased the maximum duration to 12 years or 50 percent of the marriage length, whichever is greater.
• Rule of 65 – If a requesting spouse is at least 42 years old, the marriage lasted at least 16 years, and their age plus the marriage length in years equals or exceeds 65, the duration is left entirely to the court’s discretion.

When Can Spousal Maintenance Be Modified?

A spousal maintenance order isn’t necessarily permanent. Under Arizona alimony laws, either party can petition to modify spousal maintenance in Arizona. To obtain a modification, the party must demonstrate a substantial and continuing change in circumstances. Qualifying changes often relate to the following:

• Job loss or income change – A significant, lasting change in either party’s income or employment status can support a modification petition. The change may be a job loss, a major career change, or a substantial increase in the receiving spouse’s income that reduces their need for support.
• Health issues – A serious illness or disability affecting either party’s ability to work or pay can also qualify. If the receiving spouse develops a condition that prevents self-sufficiency, they may be able to seek an extension. If the paying spouse’s health limits their earning capacity, they may be able to seek a reduction or termination of spousal support.

How Can an Arizona Divorce Lawyer Help with Spousal Maintenance?

Spousal maintenance calculations involve complex legal standards, competing financial interests, and recent Guidelines updates. An attorney can make a difference in the outcome of your case by:

• Calculating fair maintenance awards – Your divorce lawyer can analyze both parties’ incomes, assets, and circumstances and advocate for an amount that reflects your situation accurately, whether you’re seeking support or being asked to pay it.
• Protecting your long-term financial interests – A spousal maintenance order can affect your finances for years. An attorney can help you identify amounts that might be unrealistic given your income and expenses and work toward terms that actually make sense.
• Representing you in court or negotiations – Whether your case goes to trial or settles out of court, a family law attorney can present your position clearly, handle all procedural requirements, and work to reach a resolution that holds up over time.

Contact an Arizona Divorce Lawyer Today

Whether you’re seeking spousal maintenance or facing a request from your spouse, the team at Mushkatel, Gobbato, & Kile, P.L.L.C., is here to help. Our divorce attorneys have over 50 years of combined experience, and we’re ready to walk you through your options and explain what the Guidelines mean for your case. Contact us today to get started with your initial, fully confidential consultation session.