[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.phoenixlawteam.com\/blog\/understanding-alimony-arizona\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.phoenixlawteam.com\/blog\/understanding-alimony-arizona\/","headline":"Understanding Alimony in Arizona","name":"Understanding Alimony in Arizona","description":"Alimony, often called \u201cspousal support\u201d or \u201cspousal maintenance,\u201d is money that one spouse pays to the other spouse.\u00a0It may be paid during a divorce, after the divorce is final, or during both periods. Men and women are equally eligible to pay or to receive spousal maintenance payments in Arizona.\u00a0Maintenance is...","datePublished":"2013-04-10","dateModified":"2025-06-10","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.phoenixlawteam.com\/blog\/author\/phoenixlawteam\/#Person","name":"Mushkatel, Gobbato, & Kile, P.L.L.C.","url":"https:\/\/www.phoenixlawteam.com\/blog\/author\/phoenixlawteam\/","identifier":8,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e4dc39d74dcc876245d4603866817c2b3e4a9be1d45c3ef67992bd821d77cbb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e4dc39d74dcc876245d4603866817c2b3e4a9be1d45c3ef67992bd821d77cbb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Mushkatel, Gobbato, & Kile","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.phoenixlawteam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Mushkatel-robbins-becker-pllc-logo.png","url":"https:\/\/www.phoenixlawteam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Mushkatel-robbins-becker-pllc-logo.png","width":459,"height":157}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.phoenixlawteam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Mushkatel-Groupshot-3.gif","url":"https:\/\/www.phoenixlawteam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Mushkatel-Groupshot-3.gif","width":300,"height":184},"url":"https:\/\/www.phoenixlawteam.com\/blog\/understanding-alimony-arizona\/","about":["Family Law"],"wordCount":275,"keywords":["arizona spousal support","az spousal maintenance","phoenix alimony lawyers","phoenix filing divorce"],"articleBody":"Alimony, often called \u201cspousal support\u201d or \u201cspousal maintenance,\u201d is money that one spouse pays to the other spouse.\u00a0It may be paid during a divorce, after the divorce is final, or during both periods.Men and women are equally eligible to pay or to receive spousal maintenance payments in Arizona.\u00a0Maintenance is awarded and amounts are set depending on the specific financial situation of the parties, not depending on each person\u2019s sex.The purpose of alimony is to ensure that a lower-earning spouse can pay for necessities, like food and shelter.Temporary spousal maintenance, which lasts only for a specific period of time, is more common in Arizona than permanent or indefinite maintenance. Often, the purpose of alimony is \u201crehabilitative,\u201d which means that it is to provide a spouse with some support while he or she develops the skills or finds the job or other support needed to support him- or herself.Spousal maintenance is not awarded in every divorce case. First, the court must find that one spouse has a financial need and the other has the ability to pay.\u00a0\u201cFinancial need\u201d may be based on factors like one spouse\u2019s lack of property after the settlement to pay for basic needs; the support one spouse gave the other in terms of education opportunities, or an inability to support him- or herself via appropriate employment \u2013 for instance, if one spouse has a disabling medical condition.If you\u2019re considering filing for divorce in Arizona or have recently begun the divorce process, the dedicated\u00a0Phoenix divorce attorneys at Mushkatel, Gobbato, &amp; Kile, P.L.L.C.\u00a0can help.\u00a0Contact us\u00a0today to learn more."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.phoenixlawteam.com\/blog\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Understanding Alimony in Arizona","item":"https:\/\/www.phoenixlawteam.com\/blog\/understanding-alimony-arizona\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]