Major Changes to Arizona Family Law

Child Support and Spousal Maintenance Guidelines

Family law in Arizona is experiencing a transformation in 2025, with big changes to both the child support calculator and 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.

Revamped Arizona Child Support Calculator

The Arizona Child Support Guidelines have seen important revisions for 2025, impacting how basic support obligations are calculated and how various factors are considered. Key changes include:

• Increased Basic Support Obligations: With new data on the cost of living in Arizona and inflation, the basic support obligation has been increased across all income levels. This means that for a given combined parental income and number of children, the baseline support amount is now higher. For example, the basic child support obligation for a combined income of $10,000 per month for one child increased from $1,181 to $1,274.
• Higher Income Cap: The maximum combined adjusted gross income considered within the guidelines has been significantly raised from $20,000 to $30,000 per month. For incomes exceeding this new $30,000 threshold, the court now has the discretion to determine if a higher child support award is in the child’s best interests, without requiring the party seeking the increase to prove special circumstances.
• Refined Income Definition: To reduce confusion, “Income” is now specifically defined as “Child Support Income,” differentiating it from tax definitions. For example, while recurring gifts may not be taxable, they could still count as income for calculating child support.
• Updated Parenting Time Definition: The definition of “Parenting Time” has been expanded and is now based on “segments of time that are assigned to each parent.” While a parent may not have parenting time for 24 hours straight, they may still be considered to have had parenting time for “a day” depending on the blocks of parenting time they exercised over a period of time. Also, there was language added about how parents may reasonably reduce overtime work to spend more time with their children.
• Allocation of Tax Benefits: Due to changes in federal tax law, tax benefits associated with children are to be allocated proportionally to parental income, though specific directions on which benefits to divide are less defined.

Overall, these adjustments reflect an effort to provide adequate support for children across various income brackets in today’s economic climate.

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.