Arizona Spousal Maintenance - Recent Opinion on Attribution of Income
Last Thursday, the Arizona Court of Appeals rendered an opinion in Pullen v. Pullen, wherein it decided how and when trial courts should attribute income to a spouse for purposes of calculating Arizona spousal maintenance.
The Court of Appeals recognized that Arizona case law had previously only addressed this issue in the context of child support (e.g., Little v. Little). The Court held that the reasoning of the Little court, to apply the intermediate balancing test in lieu of the strict rule test or the good faith test, applied equally in the context of spousal maintenance.
The Court of Appeals went on to hold, however, that it is not possible to rely upon the holding in Little to determine what factors to balance in the context of spousal maintenance, because the Little court focused on the need of the child for child support. Rather, the Court of Appeals enumerated five (5) factors, and held that trial courts should balance these five factors in addition to other evidence in determining whether to attribute income for purposes of calculating spousal maintenance.
The five factors are:
- The reasons asserted by the party whose conduct is at issue;
- The impact upon the obligee of considering the actual earnings of the obligor;
- When the obligee’s conduct is at issue, the impact upon the obligor of considering the actual earnings of the obligee and thereby reducing the obligor’s financial contribution to the support order at issue;
- Whether the party complaining of a voluntary reduction in income acquiesced in the conduct of the other party; and
- The timing of the action in question in relation to the entering of a decree or the execution of a written agreement between the parties.
For any questions regarding Arizona spousal support, contact Nirenstein Garnice Soderquist PLC and an attorney will discuss this information with you in more detail.
