Arizona Spousal Maintenance Calculator

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Arizona Spousal Maintenance Calculator

Based on Arizona Guidelines (A.R.S. § 25-319)

Estimated Calculation Range

Estimated Monthly Amount

Estimated Duration

Note: This is an estimate based on standard percentage models. Arizona courts have high discretion based on various factors.

Understanding Arizona Spousal Maintenance

In Arizona, spousal maintenance (formerly known as alimony) is not a right but is determined based on the specific financial circumstances of each spouse. Arizona recently updated its guidelines to provide more consistency across the state's family courts.

How the Arizona Guidelines Work

The calculation is primarily driven by three factors: the income of the paying spouse, the income of the receiving spouse, and the total length of the marriage. While judges can deviate from these numbers, they typically use a formula to establish a "presumptive range."

  • Eligibility: Before a calculation is made, the court must determine if the spouse seeking maintenance is eligible under A.R.S. § 25-319(A). This includes looking at whether they lack sufficient property to provide for their needs or are unable to be self-sufficient through employment.
  • Amount: Generally, the amount is calculated by taking a percentage (often between 15% to 25%) of the difference between the spouses' adjusted gross incomes.
  • Duration: The length of the award is usually a percentage of the length of the marriage. Shorter marriages result in shorter maintenance periods, while marriages over 20 years may result in significantly longer awards.

Example Calculation

Imagine a marriage of 15 years where Spouse A earns $8,000 per month and Spouse B earns $2,000 per month. The income difference is $6,000.

Monthly Amount: 20% of $6,000 = $1,200/month
Duration: 15 years × 30% = 4.5 years of maintenance.

Factors That Influence the Court's Decision

The court will look at several qualitative factors that this calculator cannot account for, including:

  1. The standard of living established during the marriage.
  2. The age, employment history, and physical/emotional condition of the spouse seeking maintenance.
  3. The ability of the payor spouse to meet their own needs while paying maintenance.
  4. The contribution of the seeking spouse to the earning ability of the other spouse (e.g., putting them through school).
function calculateAZAlimony() { var inc1 = document.getElementById('income1').value; var inc2 = document.getElementById('income2').value; var years = document.getElementById('marriageYears').value; if (inc1 === " || inc2 === " || years === ") { alert('Please fill in all fields.'); return; } var income1 = parseFloat(inc1); var income2 = parseFloat(inc2); var marriageYears = parseFloat(years); if (isNaN(income1) || isNaN(income2) || isNaN(marriageYears)) { alert('Please enter valid numbers.'); return; } // Logic: Alimony usually based on the difference var incomeDiff = Math.abs(income1 – income2); // Arizona Guideline Model (Simplified for Estimation) // Range typically 15-25% of difference var amountLow = incomeDiff * 0.15; var amountHigh = incomeDiff * 0.25; // Duration Model // 0-5 years: 0-25% of length // 6-10 years: 20-40% of length // 11-20 years: 30-50% of length // 20+ years: 30-50% or more var durLowRatio, durHighRatio; if (marriageYears <= 5) { durLowRatio = 0.15; durHighRatio = 0.25; } else if (marriageYears <= 10) { durLowRatio = 0.20; durHighRatio = 0.40; } else if (marriageYears <= 20) { durLowRatio = 0.30; durHighRatio = 0.50; } else { durLowRatio = 0.35; durHighRatio = 0.50; } var durLow = marriageYears * durLowRatio; var durHigh = marriageYears * durHighRatio; // Formatting currency var formatter = new Intl.NumberFormat('en-US', { style: 'currency', currency: 'USD', maximumFractionDigits: 0 }); document.getElementById('amountResult').innerHTML = formatter.format(amountLow) + " – " + formatter.format(amountHigh); document.getElementById('durationResult').innerHTML = durLow.toFixed(1) + " – " + durHigh.toFixed(1) + " Years"; document.getElementById('az-results').style.display = 'block'; }

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