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Arizona Alimony Laws

Arizona spousal support or alimony can be awarded to either spouse in an Arizona Divorce. The party requesting alimony must:

• lack sufficient property to provide for his or her reasonable needs;

• be unable to support him or herself through appropriate employment;

• be the custodian of a child whose age and condition is such that the custodian should not be required to seek employment outside the home;

• lack an earning ability in the labor market to adequately support him or herself

• have contributed to the educational opportunities of the other spouse; or

• have had a marriage of long duration and be of an age which may preclude the possibility of gaining employment adequate to support him or herself.

If an Arizona Court determines that a party is entitled to spousal support or alimony, it will consider the followingfactors in structuring an award:

• the time necessary for the party to acquire an education and training for suitable employment;

• the party's future earning capacity;

• the party's standard of living during the marriage;

• the duration of the marriage;

• the ability of the party paying maintenance to meet his or her needs while providing the maintenance to the other part;

• the financial resources of the party seeking maintenance;

• any destruction, concealment, fraudulent disposition, or excessive expenditures of jointly-held property;

• the comparative financial resources of the parties including their comparative earning capacities;

• the respective ages of the parties;

• the physical and emotional condition of the parties;

• the usual occupations of the parties during the marriage; and

• the vocational skills of the party seeking maintenance.

An ArizonaCourt cannot consider marital misconduct in awarding maintenance.

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