Maintenance — what most people still call alimony — is the least predictable part of a Washington divorce, because there is no table to look it up in. Two couples with nearly identical finances can receive very different awards depending on the facts and the judge.
That unpredictability cuts both ways. It means outcomes depend heavily on how the case is presented: the real household budget, the actual earning capacity of both spouses, and an honest picture of what it will take for the lower-earning spouse to become self-supporting.
We represent both spouses seeking maintenance and spouses who believe an award would be unwarranted or excessive.
What the court considers
RCW 26.09.090 directs the court to weigh all relevant factors, including:
- The financial resources of the spouse seeking maintenance, including their share of the property division and their ability to meet their own needs
- The time necessary to acquire the education or training needed to find appropriate employment
- The standard of living established during the marriage
- The duration of the marriage
- The age, physical and emotional condition, and financial obligations of the spouse seeking maintenance
- The ability of the other spouse to pay while still meeting their own needs
What is not a factor: marital misconduct. Washington is a no-fault state, and maintenance is not designed as a reward or a punishment. It is an economic remedy.
How length of marriage shapes the outcome
Duration is not a formula, but it is a strong signal. Short marriages rarely produce maintenance at all, and where they do, the aim is usually to return each spouse to roughly their pre-marital footing. Mid-length marriages more often produce transitional maintenance — enough support, for enough time, for the lower-earning spouse to finish training or re-enter the workforce.
Long marriages are where the analysis shifts most. After a couple of decades, particularly where one spouse left the workforce to raise children, courts look toward putting the spouses in roughly comparable economic positions rather than simply covering a transition. Awards in those cases can be lengthy, and in some circumstances indefinite.
Temporary maintenance while the case is pending
Maintenance is not only a final-decree issue. Either spouse can request temporary maintenance shortly after filing, to stabilize the household while the case proceeds — often alongside temporary orders about the house, bills, and a residential schedule. These early orders deserve real attention, because the arrangement they create tends to influence expectations about the final result.
Maintenance and property division are connected
These are decided together, not in isolation. A spouse who receives a larger share of the property may need less maintenance, and a court may adjust the property division specifically to reduce or avoid an ongoing support obligation. That interaction creates room for creative settlements — trading an interest in the house or a retirement account against a maintenance obligation, for example — which is often better for both spouses than years of monthly payments and the friction that comes with them.
Changing or ending maintenance
Unless the decree says otherwise, maintenance can generally be modified when circumstances change substantially — a job loss, a serious illness, or retirement. It typically ends on the date set in the decree, on the death of either party, or on the remarriage of the receiving spouse. Decrees can also be drafted as non-modifiable, which provides certainty but removes flexibility if life changes; whether that is wise depends on which side of the payment you are on and how predictable your future income is.
A note on taxes
For agreements entered after 2018, federal law no longer allows the paying spouse to deduct maintenance, and the receiving spouse no longer reports it as income. This reversed decades of practice and changed the math of settlement substantially, so older advice — and older online calculators — can be seriously misleading.
Frequently asked questions
How is spousal maintenance calculated in Washington?
There is no formula. The court weighs the statutory factors — need, ability to pay, the standard of living during the marriage, its duration, and the time required to become self-supporting — and decides an amount and duration that is just.
How long does spousal maintenance last?
It varies with the length of the marriage and the circumstances. Short marriages often produce none; mid-length marriages commonly produce transitional support for a defined period; long marriages can produce lengthy or, in some circumstances, indefinite awards.
Does my spouse's affair affect maintenance?
Generally no. Washington is a pure no-fault state and maintenance is an economic remedy, not a penalty for misconduct. It can matter indirectly if community funds were spent on the affair.
Can maintenance be changed later?
Usually yes, on a showing of a substantial change in circumstances — unless the decree expressly makes it non-modifiable. It also normally ends on the death of either party or the remarriage of the recipient.
Is maintenance taxable?
For agreements after 2018, it is not deductible by the payer and not taxable to the recipient under federal law. This is a significant change from older rules and affects how settlements should be structured.
Ready to talk through your situation?
Reach a Schwab Law attorney in Spokane today.