# Spousal Maintenance (Alimony) in Washington State

> For educational purposes only — not legal advice.

## What spousal maintenance is

Spousal maintenance — what many people call **alimony** or spousal support — is money one spouse is ordered to pay the other for financial support when a marriage or registered domestic partnership ends. Washington law uses the word **maintenance** (WashingtonLawHelp.org, *Divorce guide*).

Maintenance is **not automatic** and **not calculated by a formula**. A judge decides whether to award it, in what amount, and for how long, by weighing the factors in the statute (RCW 26.09.090). Either spouse — and either domestic partner — may be ordered to pay or may receive maintenance; there is no gender-based rule (RCW 26.09.090(1)).

Maintenance is separate from **child support**, which is money for raising children under 18 and is calculated under the Washington State Child Support Schedule in Chapter 26.19 RCW. A person can receive maintenance, child support, both, or neither.

## When maintenance can be awarded

A court may grant a maintenance order in any of these proceedings (RCW 26.09.090(1)):

- Dissolution of marriage or domestic partnership (divorce);
- Legal separation;
- Declaration of invalidity (annulment) — the court has the same authority to award maintenance in an annulment case (RCW 26.09.040(3)); and
- A later maintenance proceeding where a divorce was granted by a court that lacked personal jurisdiction over the absent spouse.

Maintenance can also be **temporary**: while a divorce is pending, either party can ask the judge for temporary maintenance with a motion and affidavit stating the facts and amounts requested (RCW 26.09.060(1)). Temporary orders end when the final decree is entered (RCW 26.09.060(10)(c)).

## The six factors a judge considers

When deciding maintenance, the court must consider all relevant factors, including but not limited to these six, from RCW 26.09.090(1), translated into plain English:

1. **The requesting spouse's financial resources** — the money and property the person asking for maintenance will have after the divorce, including any property awarded in the property division, and the ability to meet their own needs independently. The court also looks at whether child support received for a child living with that spouse already covers part of that spouse's needs (RCW 26.09.090(1)(a)).
2. **Time needed for education or training** — how long it would take the requesting spouse to get education or training to find work appropriate to their skills, interests, standard of living, and circumstances (RCW 26.09.090(1)(b)).
3. **The standard of living during the marriage** (RCW 26.09.090(1)(c)).
4. **The length of the marriage or domestic partnership** (RCW 26.09.090(1)(d)).
5. **The age, physical and emotional condition, and financial obligations** of the spouse requesting maintenance (RCW 26.09.090(1)(e)).
6. **The paying spouse's ability to pay** — whether the other spouse can meet their own needs and obligations while also paying maintenance (RCW 26.09.090(1)(f)).

Two things the court is told not to consider: misconduct (fault) is irrelevant — the order is made "without regard to misconduct" (RCW 26.09.090(1)) — and there is no presumption that maintenance must be awarded. The court "may" grant it, in "such amounts and for such periods of time as the court deems just" (RCW 26.09.090(1)).

## Who is likely to receive maintenance — practical picture

Because there is no formula, results vary case by case. WashingtonLawHelp.org's *Divorce guide* describes the practical pattern:

- Maintenance is **more likely** when the marriage was long, when the requesting spouse has a disability or stayed home to care for children while the other spouse worked, and when that spouse would have trouble finding a good job now.
- Being unemployed for a **long time** (especially after staying home with children) supports an award more than a temporary layoff.
- Maintenance is possible **even if the requesting spouse is working**, if the judge decides the paying spouse can afford it and the requesting spouse should be able to keep the standard of living established during the marriage.
- The judge weighs how long you were married, both spouses' financial situations after property and debt division, the time needed for education or training, the marital standard of living, and the age and health of the requesting spouse.

The factors from the statute (RCW 26.09.090(1)(a)–(f)) are the same checklist the judge works from.

## Amount and duration

Washington has **no guideline or formula** for maintenance amounts — unlike child support. The judge sets an amount and a duration that seem just based on the factors above (RCW 26.09.090(1)). In practice:

- **Shorter marriages** with a spouse who needs retraining may produce maintenance for a limited period — long enough to get education or training (the "time necessary" factor, RCW 26.09.090(1)(b)).
- **Long marriages**, especially where one spouse stayed home for years or has health problems, can produce maintenance of longer duration or without a fixed end date — but courts generally expect maintenance to be limited or at least periodically re-examined; outcomes depend heavily on the facts.
- The standard of living during the marriage matters, but the paying spouse's own needs and obligations are also weighed (RCW 26.09.090(1)(c), (f)).

## When maintenance ends

Unless the spouses agree in writing or the decree says otherwise, the obligation to pay future maintenance **ends automatically** when (RCW 26.09.170(2)):

- Either party dies; or
- The person receiving maintenance remarries or registers a new domestic partnership.

WashingtonLawHelp.org's *Divorce guide* states the same rule in plain terms: "Spousal support payments generally end when you remarry or die." An agreement or decree can provide otherwise, so read the final order carefully.

## Agreeing on maintenance: separation contracts

You and your spouse can agree about maintenance in a written **separation contract**, which may cover maintenance, property, parenting, and child support (RCW 26.09.070(1)). When a divorce case is filed, the contract binds the court unless the court finds it was **unfair at the time it was signed** (RCW 26.09.070(3)). A separation contract can also state that its maintenance terms may not be modified later; without that language, maintenance terms in the decree can be modified like any maintenance order (RCW 26.09.070(7)). If you are considering giving up a right to maintenance by agreement, get legal advice first.

## Modifying (changing) maintenance later

A maintenance award can be changed after the divorce, but only in limited ways (RCW 26.09.170(1)):

- A modification can apply **only to payments that come due after** the request for modification is filed — not to past-due installments (RCW 26.09.170(1)(a)).
- Generally, modification requires a **substantial change of circumstances** since the original order (RCW 26.09.170(1)(b)) — for example, a major change in either spouse's income, health, or needs.
- If the maintenance obligation was made **non-modifiable by agreement** (see previous section), the court will honor that (RCW 26.09.070(7)).
- By contrast, **property division** orders are essentially final and generally cannot be modified at all (RCW 26.09.170(1)).

## Enforcing a maintenance award

If your former spouse stops paying, your remedies depend on how the order is set up:

- **Through the state Support Registry:** If the court order says maintenance payments go through the state Support Registry and you have a child support case open with the Division of Child Support (DCS), DCS can collect maintenance for you, including some back payments (WashingtonLawHelp.org, *Enforce your divorce decree: Money and property issues*).
- **Maintenance only, no child support case:** DCS will not open a case. You can file a **motion for contempt**. If the judge finds your ex-spouse had the ability to pay and did not, the judge can order payment or impose fines; a spouse who proves inability to pay despite good-faith effort generally is not held in contempt (WashingtonLawHelp.org, *Enforce your divorce decree*).
- Money awards in a divorce order are enforceable like other civil judgments — typically for 10 years, with renewal available (WashingtonLawHelp.org, *Enforce your divorce decree*).

## Practical tips

- **Ask early.** If you will need support while the case is pending, move for temporary maintenance when you file or respond — use the *Motion for Temporary Family Law Order and Restraining Order* (FL Divorce 223) and file a *Financial Declaration* (FL All Family 131) so the court has your income and expense information (courts.wa.gov, "Court Forms: Divorce (Dissolution)").
- **Put it in the final order.** Whether you settle or go to trial, make sure the *Final Divorce Order* (FL Divorce 241) states the amount, start date, duration, how payments are made, and what events end maintenance.
- **Document ability to pay.** The paying spouse's ability to pay (RCW 26.09.090(1)(f)) matters; complete financial disclosures truthfully on both sides.
- **Fees can shift.** If the financial situations are lopsided, the court may order one party to help pay the other's attorney fees and costs (RCW 26.09.140).
- **Get advice.** Maintenance outcomes depend heavily on the specific facts. WashingtonLawHelp.org (maintained by Northwest Justice Project) has free guides; the CLEAR legal-aid referral line is 1-888-201-1014 (courts.wa.gov forms page).

## Sources

- RCW 26.09.040(3), 26.09.060, 26.09.070, 26.09.090, 26.09.140, 26.09.170 — app.leg.wa.gov (Title 26, Chapter 26.09 RCW)
- WashingtonLawHelp.org (Northwest Justice Project): *Divorce guide* (reviewed 05/07/2026), spousal support section; *Enforce your divorce decree: Money and property issues* (reviewed 03/19/2026) — washingtonlawhelp.org
- Washington State Courts: *Court Forms: Divorce (Dissolution)* — courts.wa.gov/forms/?fa=forms.contribute&formID=13