Arkansas Alimony / Spousal Support Estimator

Arkansas has no alimony formula or calculator — judges use broad discretion under Arkansas Code § 9-12-312 to determine awards. Courts primarily evaluate the requesting spouse's financial need against the paying spouse's ability to pay. Judges subtract the requesting spouse's monthly income from reasonable expenses to establish need, then assess what the paying spouse can afford after covering their own obligations.

Arkansas courts award three types of spousal support: temporary (pendente lite) support during divorce proceedings, rehabilitative alimony for a fixed period while the recipient gains job skills or education, and permanent alimony for indefinite duration. Rehabilitative alimony is the most common type awarded. Courts may also order alimony in solido — a lump-sum payment that cannot be modified once set.

Rehabilitative alimony in Arkansas typically lasts six months to five years, depending on the recipient's plan for achieving self-sufficiency. Permanent alimony has no set end date but is rare, generally reserved for long-term marriages where age or health limits employment prospects. All alimony automatically terminates upon the recipient's remarriage or full-time cohabitation with an intimate partner under Ark. Code § 9-12-312.

Arkansas judges consider case-law-developed factors including: the marital standard of living, length of the marriage, each spouse's earning capacity and employment history, age and physical health, the property division in the divorce, child support obligations, and whether one spouse supported the other's career advancement. The court's overarching test under § 9-12-312 is whether the award is 'reasonable from the circumstances of the parties and the nature of the case.'

Either the paying or receiving spouse may petition the court to modify alimony at any time by demonstrating a significant and material change in circumstances under Arkansas law. Common qualifying changes include involuntary job loss, permanent disability, or a substantial change in either party's income. If a rehabilitative alimony recipient fails to follow their court-approved rehabilitation plan, the paying spouse can also petition for review or termination.

Marital fault, including adultery, is not a statutory factor in Arkansas alimony decisions. The Arkansas Supreme Court confirmed in Wright v. Wright, 302 Ark. 157 (1990), that adultery is irrelevant unless it meaningfully relates to the recipient's financial need or the payer's ability to pay. In practice, courts focus on economic circumstances rather than punishing misconduct, though extreme financial waste tied to an affair could influence the award.

For all divorce agreements executed after December 31, 2018, alimony is neither tax-deductible for the payer nor taxable income for the recipient under the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Pre-2019 divorce agreements are grandfathered under the old rules, where the payer could deduct payments and the recipient reported them as income. Arkansas follows federal tax treatment and has no separate state-level alimony tax provision.

Arkansas permits spouses to waive or limit alimony rights through a valid prenuptial agreement. The agreement must be entered into voluntarily with full financial disclosure from both parties to be enforceable. Courts may refuse to enforce an alimony waiver if they find the agreement unconscionable or improperly executed. A prenuptial agreement cannot, however, waive or limit child support obligations in Arkansas.