Alimony payments can provide critical financial support that helps you move forward after a divorce. But how do you know if you’re eligible for alimony after a divorce in Arizona, and how do you go about getting it?
Mushkatel, Gobbato, & Kile, P.L.L.C., brings more than 50 years of combined legal experience to Scottsdale residents navigating the divorce process. We provide clear, honest guidance and personalized support as you work toward a fair resolution. To learn more about how a Scottsdale alimony lawyer from our law firm can help you understand your rights and options, contact our office today.
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Understanding Alimony in Arizona
After an Arizona divorce, one spouse may face significant financial challenges and need support to meet reasonable needs. Arizona family law allows courts to award alimony, called spousal maintenance, when the spouse requesting support meets at least one statutory eligibility requirement.
Arizona courts don’t award alimony in every divorce case. Instead, they look at the specific facts of each case to determine whether the circumstances warrant one spouse making regular maintenance payments to the other to help them meet their reasonable needs.
When Spousal Maintenance May Be Awarded
Under Arizona law, a spouse seeking maintenance must meet at least one eligibility condition. A spouse may qualify if they:
- Lack sufficient property to meet reasonable needs
- Lack earning ability adequate for self-sufficiency
- Care for a child whose age or condition makes outside employment unreasonable
- Made significant contributions to the other spouse’s education or career
- Reduced their own income or career opportunities for the other spouse’s benefit
- Had a long marriage and is of an age that may make self-supporting employment unlikely.
Reduced earning capacity can also support an award of spousal maintenance. This situation often arises when a spouse has been out of the workforce for many years and needs time to update their skills, complete job training, or find suitable employment. This process may take longer after an extended absence.
When determining whether to award alimony, courts may also consider whether one spouse sacrificed opportunities while contributing to the other’s education, training, earning capacity, or career. For example, they may have stayed home to raise children or managed the household so the other spouse could advance professionally. In longer marriages, income differences, age, career sacrifices, and limited employment prospects may weigh more heavily in the court’s analysis.
How Arizona Courts Decide Spousal Maintenance
When you seek spousal maintenance in Scottsdale, your case is treated as a family law case in Maricopa County Superior Court. The judge will consider several statutory factors when deciding the amount and duration of spousal maintenance, including:
- Each spouse’s financial resources, property, income, and ability to meet reasonable needs
- Each spouse’s earning ability, employment history, education, and job prospects
- The standard of living established during the marriage
- The length of the marriage
- Each spouse’s age and physical and emotional health
- Contributions one spouse made to the other’s career or earning capacity
- Any reduction in income or career opportunities resulting from the marriage
Judges weigh these factors based on each case’s circumstances. Arizona courts also use the Arizona Spousal Maintenance Guidelines to determine the amount and duration of an award, unless the court finds in writing that applying the guidelines would be inappropriate or unjust.
The court may order temporary maintenance during divorce proceedings or maintenance for a set period designed to help the receiving spouse become self-sufficient. The amount and duration ultimately depend on both parties’ finances, needs, overall circumstances, and marital history.
How Alimony Is Calculated
Arizona no longer leaves spousal maintenance entirely to broad discretion. Courts first decide whether a spouse qualifies under Arizona law, then apply the Arizona Spousal Maintenance Guidelines to calculate a recommended amount and duration range. The judge reviews each spouse’s income, financial resources, expenses, earning ability, and other relevant facts. Because every divorce involves different finances and needs, maintenance awards can still vary from one case to another.
Modifying Spousal Maintenance
A court may approve a spousal maintenance modification in Arizona when a substantial and continuing change in circumstances affects either party’s needs or ability to pay. The parties may be able to modify their spousal maintenance order when:
- Either party loses their job or experiences a significant income reduction
- The receiving party becomes self-supporting or earns more
- Either party develops a health condition that affects their ability to work
- Retirement changes the paying party’s finances
- The parties agree to different terms
However, the terms of the maintenance order can affect whether a modification is available. A Scottsdale family law attorney from Mushkatel, Gobbato, & Kile, P.L.L.C., can review the order, the decree, and the financial evidence to help you understand your options.
Common Alimony Disputes in Divorce Cases
Spousal maintenance can become a major source of disagreement in the divorce process when spouses have different views of their finances, earning abilities, or future needs. Reviewing financial records and other evidence can help the court resolve disputes when the parties can’t agree on:
- Whether maintenance is appropriate at all based on the requesting spouse’s resources and earning capacity
- How much monthly spousal support should be paid
- How long should payments continue before the receiving spouse becomes financially independent
- Whether one spouse is truly self-supporting or still requires assistance
- Whether a significant difference in income, health, employment, or financial need justifies modifying the order
Keep in mind that a spouse may request temporary support while the case is pending, and the court may award final spousal maintenance in the divorce decree if statutory eligibility requirements are met, generally for a period of time and in an amount necessary to enable the receiving spouse to become self-sufficient.
How Our Scottsdale Alimony Lawyers Can Help You
If you’re preparing for the divorce legal process in Scottsdale, you may have a lot of questions about how alimony works. Are you eligible for spousal maintenance, or will you have to pay your ex-spouse every month?
Our experienced Scottsdale divorce attorneys at Mushkatel, Gobbato, & Kile, P.L.L.C., can help you understand your legal rights and options under Arizona law. We can gather income, expenses, and asset records, and review the financial facts of your situation. Your divorce lawyer will also help you understand your options, which may include alimony negotiations or contested litigation, draw on their legal knowledge and experience in these types of family court matters, and work with you to establish the strategy for your case.
We represent clients through every stage of their alimony case and advocate for their best interests, whether that means pursuing a fair maintenance award or defending against an unfair request that could jeopardize their financial stability. If you need help after your divorce with modifying or enforcing a spousal maintenance order, we can assist with that, too.
Contact a Scottsdale Alimony Lawyer
The financial questions that arise during and after divorce can feel overwhelming. Turn to the Scottsdale alimony lawyers at Mushkatel, Gobbato, & Kile, P.L.L.C., for clear guidance and personalized support. Our team brings more than 50 years of combined legal experience to clients facing some of the most challenging moments of their lives. Contact us today to discuss how we can help you move forward.
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