Back to Home Page

Revised:
10/25/11
Alimony
/ Spousal Support
Arizona spousal maintenance issues often constitute the most financially
significant issue in a divorce case. An award of spousal maintenance will have a
significant impact upon the future lifestyle of the spouse ordered to pay that
support, as well as the lifestyle of the spouse seeking that support
Arizona alimony awards are decided after the consideration
and evaluation of a multitude of statutory factors and should, at a minimum,
include a review and understanding of the following spousal maintenance factors:
- Whether the spouse seeking spousal maintenance has
sufficient property, including community property apportioned to that spouse,
to provide for his or her reasonable needs;
- Whether the spouse seeking spousal maintenance is able
to become self sufficient through appropriate employment or is the custodial
parent of a child whose age or condition is such that he or she should not be
required to seek employment;
- Whether either spouse has contributed to the
educational or career opportunities of the other spouse;
- Whether the spouses had a lengthy marriage or a spouse
is of an age that precludes the possibility of gaining employment adequate to
allow that spouse to be self sufficient;
- The standard of living established during the marriage;
- The age, employment history, earning ability, and
physical and emotional condition of the spouse seeking spousal maintenance;
- The ability of the spouse from whom spousal maintenance
is sought to meet his or her needs while meeting the financial needs of the
other spouse;
- The comparative financial resources of the spouses,
including their comparative earning abilities in the labor market;
- The extent to which the spouse seeking spousal
maintenance has reduced his or her income or career opportunities for the
benefit of the other spouse;
- The ability of both parties after the divorce to
contribute to the future educational costs of their mutual children;
- The time necessary to acquire sufficient education or
training to enable the spouse seeking spousal maintenance to obtain
appropriate employment sufficient to support that spouse;
- Whether a spouse has made excessive or abnormal
expenditures or has concealed, destroyed, or fraudulently disposed of marital
property;
- The cost of obtaining health insurance for the spouse
seeking spousal maintenance.
Understanding all of these spousal maintenance factors and
knowing how each of those spousal maintenance factors impact your case is
crucial to securing the best possible outcome in your case.
Visit our Spousal Maintenance FAQs page for more detailed
information.