questions & answers

Question: I am obligated to indefinately pay spousal support, which I do not have the money for. The job position I was in has ended, and I am no longer in that field of work. Can the court require me to continue paying spousal support that I do not have the finances to provide?

Answer: Modifying a spousal maintenance order is possible, unless the order itself prohibits the modification (A.R.S. 25-1231). The courts will determine a modification based on the financial records that show that a payer can no longer pay the original amount. The courts will decide the amount that that is deemed to be just. The court may and will look at the ability of the spouse to pay, the financial resources available to the spouses, and even the extent to which the paying spouses’ income has been reduced for the other spouse, as well as other factors that a judge decides are pertinent to the case (A.R.S. 25-319).