Sometimes called alimony, spousal maintenance in Arizona divorce is a payment made by one spouse to the other to support any rehabilitative steps the receiving spouse might need to take for maintaining the lifestyle established during the marriage. The payment can be a lump sum, but more frequently it's a monthly payment made for a limited period of time. Spousal maintenance can be ordered in a divorce or separation, but it is by no means automatic that a court will order spousal maintenance payments at all.
Contact the Law Offices of Janice M. Palmer, P.C., to learn how an experienced divorce lawyer can protect your interests on either side of a spousal maintenance issue. Based in Chandler, our law firm is especially convenient for clients in the East Valley of Greater Phoenix, and we also work with people in such northern Arizona communities as Sedona, Cottonwood and Camp Verde.
Mesa and Tempe Spousal Maintenance Attorney: Call 480-269-8926
Although every case is different, you can generally expect that the longer the marriage lasted, the more likely the Court will be to grant spousal maintenance to the financially weaker spouse. However, the length of marriage is not the only criterion that a Court can consider to determine a spousal maintenance award, as the Court can consider the presence of small children and the contribution of one spouse to the earning capacity of the other spouse in deciding whether spousal maintenance is appropriate.
Courts have a great deal of discretion in fashioning support for a spouse who might need some help toward financial independence. While the question as to whether spousal maintenance will be awarded at all generally depends on a practical look at the receiving spouse's ability to support him or herself, the judge may consider the following when determining the amount and duration of a spousal maintenance award:
- Length of the marriage
- Marital standard of living
- Financially weaker spouse's capacity for employment in light of age, education and health
- Capacity of the financially stronger spouse to pay spousal maintenance
- Differential financial resources and earning capacity of the two spouses
- Financially weaker spouse's contribution to the other spouse's earning power
- Financially weaker spouse's sacrifice of income or career opportunities for the other spouse's benefit
- Both spouses' ability to cover their children's future educational expenses
- Financial resources, including property settlement, of the financially weaker spouse
- Additional training or education for the financially weaker spouse to find or resume employment
- Excessive or abnormal expenditures, destruction, concealment or fraudulent disposition of community, joint tenancy and other property held in common
- Health insurance considerations, including reductions in the cost of insurance to an employed spouse after divorce
- Actual damages resulting from acts of family violence for which either spouse was convicted
As if working through this list of factors were not complicated enough, spousal maintenance rights can also be affected by property division considerations, and it might make sense in some cases to pay more spousal maintenance but take more property, or the other way around. Tax attributes can also steer the parties' strategic thinking in spousal maintenance (alimony) negotiations. At times, it is necessary to balance all aspects of a divorce proceeding — property settlement, spousal maintenance, tax considerations and debts — to achieve a satisfying result.
Practical Advice Focused on Protecting Your Interests
With more than 25 years of experience concentrated on divorce and family law in Maricopa County, Janice Palmer can give you a good idea of what to expect in terms of a spousal maintenance award in your case. She can help you find a way to negotiate a fair result, and she can fight for you in court if the other side's demand or resistance is unreasonable under the law or the facts of your situation.
For more information about the best ways to protect your interests on spousal maintenance or alimony issues, contact a Chandler alimony attorney at the Law Offices of Janice M. Palmer.
