USA – ARKANSAS Trends and Developments Contributed by: Aaron Bundy and Hannah Lange, Bundy Law
either does not have a need for support or has a lower need than that which has been presented to the court. The main factors for a judge to consider when they are deciding whether or not to award ali - mony are the need of one spouse and the other spouse’s ability to pay. The purpose of alimony is to provide a bridge for the frequent economic imbalance in the earning power and standard of living of the divorced parties. Reasons for cessation or modification of spousal support obligations Rehabilitative alimony means fixed payments for a specific period of time, designed to give the support recipient a reasonable amount of time to adjust to post-marriage life and their new finan - cial situation, to find employment, or to reach retirement age and draw upon income associ - ated with retirement. Rehabilitative alimony is a transitional concept intended to permit the recipient to get back on their feet after a divorce. Permanent alimony is an award of spousal sup - port that does not have a defined end date. It is continuous unless and until: • the support recipient remarries or cohabitates with a new romantic partner; • either party dies; or • alimony is recalculated based on a change in the financial circumstances of either party. There must be a legitimate, significant change in circumstances to modify alimony. An alimony payor may not voluntarily reduce their income to avoid paying alimony or to have it recalculated. Likewise, an alimony recipient may not volun - tarily reduce their income to create a claim for more support from the paying party. Examples of significant changes include retirement, loss of
employment, injuries leading to medical expens - es, and other major health events. Importance of conduct among factors determining spousal support payments Trial courts may consider many factors when awarding either rehabilitative or permanent ali - mony, such as the value of the jointly owned property, how the property is going to be split between the spouses, the standard of living that each party became accustomed to during the marriage, each party’s earning capacity and earning potential, any other current or antici - pated income of either party, the award of child support in the case, and any medical support needs of either party that would impact monthly expenses or the ability to pay support. A spouse may not be punished for improp - er behaviour through an award of alimony. A spouse’s conduct (or fault) can impact the amount of alimony awarded only in the limited circumstance where the behaviour is directly related to one spouse’s need for support or the other spouse’s ability to pay support. Otherwise, fault is not a factor in deciding whether to award alimony. Overall impact of conduct on maintenance claims Although conduct may be the underlying reason for a divorce, it is not a direct factor in deter - mining either child support or spousal support. While a parent’s conduct may indirectly influence child support by affecting custody arrangements and thus the calculation, the focus remains on each parent’s financial resources and the child’s needs. Similarly, alimony – intended to address dis - parities in income and standard of living post- divorce – is determined by the needs of one
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