PHOENIX — State lawmakers are on the verge of making sharp cuts in how long some people getting divorced will have to pay their soon-to-be former spouses.
Legislation awaiting final House and Senate approval — so far on a party-line vote with Republicans in support and Democrats opposed — would add new conditions before a judge could determine that someone is entitled to maintenance. That includes both the share of property the person would get as well as that person’s earning ability.
But the key to Senate Bill 1049 is it would absolutely bar a court from awarding maintenance for more than four years. That limit would apply regardless of factors that judges now can consider — things like the length of the marriage and whether one spouse lacks earning ability because that person remained at home to enable the other spouse to go to school and advance career opportunities.
