2025 Arizona Family Law Updates

Major Arizona Family Law Changes

Family law in Arizona is experiencing a transformation in 2025, with big changes to spousal maintenance guidelines. These updates are intended to provide greater consistency and adaptability to changing economic realities for those going through a legal separation or divorce.

Major Changes to the Arizona Spousal Maintenance Guidelines Go Into Effect September 1, 2025

The Arizona Spousal Maintenance Guidelines are undergoing substantial revisions, which will become effective on September 1, 2025. These guidelines provide clarity on the purpose of spousal maintenance and help parties predict what alimony award might be appropriate given their unique financial circumstances.

Key aspects of these updated spousal maintenance guidelines include:

• Focus on Self-Sufficiency: The guiding principle is that spousal maintenance awards are intended for a duration and in an amount “necessary to enable the receiving spouse to become self-sufficient”.
• The Spousal Maintenance Calculator: The new calculator, available on the Supreme Court’s website, will be a helpful tool for determining the amount and duration range of awards. Utilizing data from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, the receiving spouse’s share of combined expenditures is calculated proportionally to their share of the combined Spousal Maintenance Income.
• Comprehensive Income Determination: Just as “income” for calculating child support saw changes, “Actual income” for calculating spousal maintenance shall now include a broad range of pre-deduction income sources. Overtime income that was regularly earned by the marital community will generally be included. The guidelines also detail factors for “Attributed Income,” which a court may assign based on a party’s earning capacity.
• Structured Duration Ranges: The guidelines provide specific ranges for the duration of a spousal maintenance award based on the length of the marriage. Some exceptions may apply, like the “Rule of 65,” which may allow for a more discretionary duration determination in long-term marriages where the requesting spouse’s age plus the marriage length totals 65 years or more. Permanent disability or other “extraordinary circumstances” can also lead to case-by-case duration determinations.
• Deviations and Accountability: Courts can deviate from the calculated amount range if it’s found to be unjust, but such deviations require specific written findings. Deviations can also occur by agreement of the parties. Starting August 1, 2027, to ensure accountability and accuracy, presiding judges will report their spousal maintenance orders and deviations. This data will then be reviewed and may help tailor the guidelines further in the future. 

The hope and goal of the changes to the child support and spousal maintenance guidelines is that families, and especially children, will have the financial assistance they need to successfully navigate through the legal separation or divorce process.