Spousal Support (Alimony)

Spousal maintenance is a form of support paid from one spouse to assist the other spouse with providing for his or her reasonable needs during the pendency of a divorce or legal separation action as well as post-divorce/legal separation. Spousal support can be in the form of money payments or non-monetary benefits such as payment of rent/mortgage, payment of utilities, payment of debts, and the like.

The applicable statute is A.R.S. §25-319 which provides that for a party to be a candidate for an award of spousal support the court must find one of the following:

1. Lacks sufficient property to provide for that spouse’s reasonable needs
2. Unable to be self-sufficient through appropriate employment OR has a child of an age or with a condition such that the party should not be required to seek employment outside of the home OR lacks the earning ability to be self-sufficient
3. Contributed to the educational opportunities of the other spouse
4. Had a marriage of long duration AND is of an age that may preclude the possibility of gaining employment to be self-sufficient

Only if a party qualifies for an award of spousal maintenance will the Court then address the thirteen factors set forth in Section B of the statute to determine the amount and duration of spousal support.