What This Statute Says
Arizona requires income assignment for every child support order and allows it for spousal maintenance. The assignment routes the payments through the obligor's employer or other payor, which dramatically reduces the chance of nonpayment and the need for collection actions.
A. Pursuant to the requirements of section 25-504, in any proceeding in which the court orders a person to pay support as defined in section 25-500 the court shall, and in any proceeding in which the court orders a person to pay spousal maintenance the court may, assign to the person or agency entitled to receive the support or spousal maintenance that portion of that person's earnings, income, entitlements or other monies without regard to source as necessary to pay the amount ordered by the court.
A.R.S. § 25-323When This Statute Comes Into Play
This rule applies in essentially every dissolution case where support is ordered:
- A child support order is entered or modified.
- A spousal maintenance order is entered and the recipient requests assignment.
- An obligor's employment changes and the assignment needs to follow.
What This Means for Arizona Families
The income assignment requirement is one of Arizona's most successful family law innovations. By routing support through the payor's payroll, the state dramatically reduces both arrears and the conflict that comes with chasing missed payments.
If you are pursuing or facing an Arizona dissolution, the support order will almost certainly include income assignment. Our FAQ on how divorce affects your Arizona estate plan covers the parallel estate planning concerns. An Arizona family law attorney working with an estate planning attorney can coordinate the support order with updates to the revocable living trust, life insurance, and beneficiary designations that often need to secure the support obligation if the obligor dies. Life insurance is frequently named to back-stop child support past the obligor's death, and that requires its own coordinated planning beyond the income assignment itself.