After custody, spousal maintenance is the thing people ask about most. If you might receive it, you want to know how long it will last. If you might pay it, you want to know when it stops.
There is no single number. But Arizona does have rules, and they make the answer a lot less random than most people think. Here is how it works.
What Spousal Maintenance Means in Arizona
Spousal maintenance is what most people call alimony. One spouse pays the other for a set time after a divorce or legal separation. Arizona covers it in A.R.S. § 25-319. These cases fall under spousal support law, and the rules are fairly specific.
A judge answers two questions. First, does the spouse asking for support qualify at all? Second, if so, how much and for how long? People mix these up a lot. Also, Arizona is a no-fault state. Cheating or who caused the breakup does not change the maintenance decision. The court looks at money, work history, and need. It is one piece of any Arizona divorce, and it often gets decided alongside everything else.
Who Can Get Spousal Maintenance
Before length even comes up, the spouse asking has to meet at least one of these:
- They do not have enough property, including what they get in the divorce, to meet their reasonable needs.
- They cannot support themselves through a job.
- They have a child whose age or condition means they should stay home with that child.
- They helped pay for or build the other spouse’s education or career, or they cut back their own career for it.
- The marriage was long and they are at an age where finding good work is hard.
If none of these fit, there is no maintenance. This is true no matter how long the marriage lasted.
How Long Does It Usually Last?
Length of marriage is the biggest factor. The clock starts on the wedding date and runs until the divorce case begins. The guidelines use a set date for the end point, so the exact day can matter.
Many awards land between 30% and 50% of the length of the marriage. A 10-year marriage often means about 3 to 5 years of support. Arizona adopted official spousal maintenance guidelines in 2023 and revised them on September 1, 2025. The duration ranges in the guidelines are tight. Judges have much more room to adjust the dollar amount than the time period.
A spousal maintenance calculator can give a rough feel for the numbers. Any result is an estimate, not a court ruling.
Rough Examples by Marriage Length
This table uses the 30% to 50% rule of thumb. Think of it as a ballpark.
| Length of Marriage | Rough Maintenance Range |
|---|---|
| 3 years | About 1 to 1.5 years |
| 5 years | About 1.5 to 2.5 years |
| 10 years | About 3 to 5 years |
| 15 years | About 4.5 to 7.5 years |
| 20 years | About 6 to 10 years |
| 30 years | About 9 to 15 years |
Marriages under 5 years often end up with a few months to about 2 years of support, when support is awarded at all. For marriages of 16 years or more, the 2025 update allows up to 12 years, or 50% of the marriage length if that number is bigger.
What Moves the Number Within the Range
Two people married the same number of years can end up with different results. Judges look at things like:
- The age of the spouse asking for support
- Their health or any disability
- Their education and work history
- How long they need to train for a better job
- The lifestyle during the marriage
- Each spouse’s income and assets
- What each spouse gave up for the other’s career
- Care of the children
Picture two couples, each married 12 years. In the first, both spouses worked and earn about the same. In the second, one spouse stayed home for ten of those years. The second couple will probably see a longer award.
The Rule of 65
The Rule of 65 is simple math. Take the age of the spouse asking for support and add the number of years of marriage. If you get 65 or more, the rule can apply. A 55-year-old spouse after a 15-year marriage adds up to 70, so that spouse would be in the range.
When it applies, the judge can go past the normal duration ranges and decide the case more on its own facts. The idea is that an older spouse who has been out of work for years has a harder road to becoming self-supporting. It does not guarantee a long award. It just opens the door to one.
Can Spousal Maintenance Be Permanent?
Not in the usual sense. Arizona does not have a formal lifetime category. The 2025 update raised the top end for long marriages, and the Rule of 65 can stretch things further. But most orders still have an end date.
That said, a long award for an older spouse with health problems can run close to retirement age. If lifetime support is a real worry for you, bring it up with a lawyer early. The facts of your case matter more than any rule of thumb.
When Maintenance Ends
Support does not always run the full term. These are the usual ways it stops:
- The end date in the court order arrives.
- The spouse receiving support remarries. This ends it automatically.
- Either spouse dies, unless the decree says payments continue from the estate.
- A judge changes the order after a big, lasting change in life.
- Both spouses agree in writing to end it.
Living with a new partner is different from remarrying. It does not end support on its own. The paying spouse has to ask the court and show that the receiving spouse’s money situation has really changed.
Death is worth planning for. If you are the one receiving support, ask whether the decree should require life insurance. And after any divorce, review your will and estate plan so they match your new life.
Settling the Length Yourselves
Plenty of couples never let a judge pick the number. They agree on the length of support themselves, often through mediation or a separation agreement. The judge still has to approve the deal, but the couple controls the terms.
Support and property are tied together, so deals often trade one for the other. One spouse might take a shorter support period in return for more of the house or retirement accounts. How the division of assets turns out can change how much support a spouse needs, so the two topics are usually settled as a package.
Changing the Length Later
If an order is modifiable, either spouse can ask the court to change it. You have to show a change that is both big and lasting. Job loss, a serious illness, retirement, or finishing a degree can all count. A short-term setback usually does not.
There is one catch. Spouses can agree in their settlement that maintenance cannot be changed. If they do, the court generally cannot change it later. Timing matters too. A court can only change an order while it is still running. So if your end date is coming up and you want more time, do not wait until it has passed.
Before You Plan Your Budget
A few things can make this less stressful:
- Gather pay stubs, tax returns, and bank statements early.
- Write down your real monthly bills, not guesses.
- Note any school or training that would raise your income, and how long it takes.
- Think about when you plan to retire.
- Avoid common financial mistakes during the divorce, like moving money around without a plan.
Knowing Your Timeline Makes the Rest Easier
Most of the worry around spousal maintenance comes from not knowing how long it will go on. Once you know the main pieces, the picture gets clearer. Marriage length sets the range. Age, health, and work history shape where you land in it. And the Rule of 65 and the 2025 changes matter most for longer marriages.
Still, no article can give you your exact end date. The guidelines have changed more than once recently, and every marriage has its own money story. If you want to see what a realistic timeline looks like for you, you can contact us and we will go through your numbers with you.
