Mandatory Alimony in AZ

NothingIsEverEnough · 2023-09-07T03:30:26+00:00

Actually, I should have divorced my wife the first year she refused to work not the 16th. I’m the idiot

AudreyTooTwo · 2023-09-07T14:39:45+00:00

I have to pay spousal support to my wife
who ... refused to ... work for the last 15 years

Yes, this is a hard truth for some men to discover: If you get sick of financially supporting a boat anchor, divorce will not set you free. You continue to support. The responsible person is punished. The lazy are rewarded.

But it even gets "worse" (depending on your perspective). When I met my ex, she had a good job and earned almost as much as me. After marriage, her career bloomed and soon, she was making much more than me. For a few years, she out-earned me by a large margin. She can clearly work and provide for herself.

But when she grew tired of me, I think a lawyer told her to be a SAHM for three years, which is exactly what she did. I was happy to give her a year off to be with the kids. But like an idiot, I let her stretch one year into three. By the end, I was begging her to go back to work. Instead, she filed for divorce claiming to be a poor, helpless SAHM with zero income.

And naturally, some courts will arbitrarily only look back three years. Why three? Why not five years? Why not the entire marriage? I showed the court old tax returns that proved her income; the judge didn't care. So, yes, I was ordered to pay alimony to someone who can out-earn me (and did!).

jimsmythee · 2023-09-08T17:35:28+00:00

It sucks to have to pay! Did you at least get her a deeded income of minimum wage 40 hours? Or did the judge royally screw you over and put her income down as $0 for the alimony calculations?

But it's not mandatory. There is an alimony calculator, but a spouse seeking money needs to show the need, blah blah blah. And that "whether they qualify or not" is based on judicial discretion. Once it shows that the spouse is entitled to alimony, then it goes to the calculator.

I got divorced in AZ before the alimony calculator. Exwife had a very spotty work work history; she was a SAHM until the kids were in school. And then came up with "reasons" why she couldn't work. But about a year before divorce, she was forced to get a job by her parents to pay for her own DUI fines (monthly payment) because I refused to pay, and she was putting the monthly payment on her dad's credit card. She worked for 6 weeks before she got fired. But I saved a copy of that W2 from when I did the taxes.

Fast forward to divorce trial, I used that W2 against her in court, showing she can work, she was just refusing to work. And the judge gave her $0 alimony. So grateful for that!

captainchippsixx · 2023-09-07T20:01:16+00:00

Just for the i and cross the t and pull the plug on any bills you can. Cancel all the streaming services, cell phone. Whatever you can legally do as fast as you can do it.

RuRu_1999 · 2023-09-08T07:16:13+00:00

You were very patient to put up with her laziness for 15 years! Do you mind if I ask… why were you so tolerant of her laziness? Why didn’t you dump her when she initially refused to work?

Formal_Survey9266 · 2023-09-08T07:38:46+00:00

How long were you ordered to pay alimony for, and for how much?

Title	Mandatory Alimony in AZ
Author	confusedanddazed75
Upvotes	9
Comments	8
Date	September 7, 2023 2:54 AM UTC (2 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/Divorce_Men
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/Divorce_Men/comments/16c4edj/mandatory_alimony_in_az/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/Divorce_Men/mandatory-alimony-in-az.1231199 https://theredarchive.com/post/1231199

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