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Spousal Maintenance in Washington

What is spousal maintenance? 

Spousal maintenance refers to court-ordered payment from one spouse to another spouse during the marriage or after the marriage.  Spousal maintenance is also referred to as “spousal support” or “alimony.” 

The purpose of spousal maintenance is to help the lower-earning spouse maintain his or her standard of living after the parties have separated. 

You can find the spousal maintenance statute in RCW 26.09.090.

Do I have a legal right to spousal maintenance?

No.

Contrary to popular belief, you do not have a legal right to spousal maintenance in Washington.  This is true even if you never worked during the marriage—but, in most cases, the court would likely award you some maintenance if you were the primary stay-at-home parent.

How do I file a request for spousal maintenance?

If you are the spouse initiating divorce, you will indicate on your divorce petition that you are requesting spousal maintenance.  Merely checking the box, however, doesn't mean you will start getting support right away.  You will then have to file a request for temporary orders (i.e. orders that will be in place while your litigation is pending until the divorce concludes and the court issues final orders). 

To file a successful request for spousal support / maintenance, you will want to include the following:

  • Financial declaration
  • Pay stubs from your employer (if applicable)
  • Tax returns
  • Educational background

Before deciding whether to award support, the judge will review each party's finances.  If you don't provide enough financial information, the court will not have an accurate picture about your earnings or earning potential in the future.  Even worse, if you don't provide enough documents, the court may assume that you are being purposefully evasive because you are trying to hide how much money you make (or can make).  And this will make you look bad in the judge's eyes.

How does the court determine whether to award spousal maintenance?

Under RCW 26.09.090, the court must consider “all relevant factors” before deciding whether to order spousal support.  At a minimum, the court must consider the following six (6 factors:

  • The financial resources of the spouse seeking spousal maintenance
  • The time necessary for the requesting spouse to acquire enough training or education to find appropriate to meet his or her own financial needs
  • The standard of living of both spouses during the marriage
  • The age, emotional or physical condition, and financial obligations of the spouse seeking maintenance
  • Whether the non-requesting spouse will be able to meet his or her own financial needs if the court orders maintenance

Put simply, the court must consider need and ability to pay before ordering maintenance.  That is, the court asks two questions:

  • Does the requesting spouse need maintenance
  • Does the non-requesting spouse have the ability to pay maintenance?

If the answer to both questions is “yes,” the court will almost always award some maintenance. 

If the answer to both questions is “no,” the court will almost never award maintenance. 

If the answers are “yes” and “no” (or “no” and “yes,”) the court considers which factors weighs more heavily in the particular case. 

Exception:  Misconduct

In Washington, the court cannot consider marital misconduct in determining whether to award maintenance.  

For example, none of the following would be relevant:  your husband cheated on you repeatedly when you were married, your wife stole money from you, or your husband was emotionally or physically abusive.  

How long will I receive spousal maintenance?

There is no minimum or maximum time for spousal maintenance, and there is no formula to figure out what the court will do.  But here are some guidelines:

If are physically or medically disabled, you will likely receive spousal support for a longer period than if you are healthy.

If you have a high level of education (i.e. a bachelor's degree or higher), then you will likely receive maintenance for a shorter period than if you do not have a college degree.

If you were married for more than 20 years, you are more likely to receive spousal support than if you were married for a shorter period (assuming other factors support maintenance). 

In some cases, the court will award spousal support on a temporary basis—that is, until the court enters final divorce orders.  Sometimes., maintenance will not begin until the case is over.  Other times, maintenance will start at the beginning of the divorce and continue well after the divorce ends.

Can my spouse and I agree to limit spousal maintenance?

Yes.

By agreement, you and your spouse can put a provision in your divorce decree that limits spousal maintenance for a set period or until a certain event occurs.

Example:  Husband agrees to pay Wife $1,000 per month until March 1, 2026.

Example:  Wife agrees to pay Husband $1,000 per month until Husband gets a new job.  

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