Is Washington an Alimony State? Factors, Amount, and Duration

Yes, Washington has alimony, though state law calls it spousal maintenance. Courts can order one spouse to pay the other during or after a divorce or legal separation, but awards are not automatic and there is no formula. A judge weighs the factors in RCW 26.09.090 and decides whether maintenance is appropriate, how much to set, and how long it should last.¹

Either spouse can request it, regardless of gender or role during the marriage. The same rules apply to registered domestic partners. And because Washington is a no-fault state, the statute directs courts to set maintenance “without regard to misconduct.” Adultery, financial irresponsibility, or other marital fault does not raise or lower an award.¹ The question is financial: does one spouse genuinely need support, and can the other afford to provide it?

What Courts Weigh When Deciding

RCW 26.09.090 lists factors the judge must consider, and the statute uses “including but not limited to,” which leaves room for other circumstances that fit the case. The named factors are:

The requesting spouse’s financial resources, including income, separate property, and the share of community property awarded in the divorce, along with that person’s ability to meet their own needs independently.
The time needed to acquire education or training sufficient to find appropriate employment, considering work history and the job market.
The standard of living established during the marriage.
The length of the marriage, with longer marriages generally supporting larger or longer awards.
The age, physical and emotional condition, and financial obligations of the spouse seeking maintenance.
The ability of the paying spouse to meet their own needs while also paying maintenance.

Because Washington is a community property state, property division shapes the maintenance picture. A spouse who walks away with a larger share of assets may have less need; a spouse who keeps fewer assets may need more. The statute names the property award as one of the factors the court must weigh.¹

How Much, and for How Long

There is no equation. Unlike child support, which follows the statutory schedule in chapter 26.19 RCW, maintenance is set in “such amounts and for such periods of time as the court deems just.”¹ Two cases with similar incomes can produce different results depending on marriage length, health, and how property was split.

Family law practitioners in Washington use informal benchmarks to estimate likely outcomes. One common starting point is the income gap: for a long marriage, some practitioners estimate an award that roughly equalizes the parties’ monthly incomes. If one spouse earns $10,000 a month and the other earns $2,000, that approach would suggest about $4,000 a month, leaving each near $6,000. These are rough benchmarks, not rules, and the actual number depends on the full set of statutory factors.

Duration generally falls into one of three categories:

Temporary maintenance covers daily expenses while the divorce is pending. Either spouse can request it by motion under RCW 26.09.060, and it ends when the final decree is entered.²
Rehabilitative maintenance is a fixed-term award meant to give the lower-earning spouse time for education, training, or career reentry. Practitioners often estimate roughly 20 to 33 percent of the marriage’s length for mid-length marriages, so a 15-year marriage might produce three to five years of support. Judges are not bound by any such guideline.
Long-term maintenance is usually reserved for lengthy marriages, often 20 years or more, where age, health, or circumstances make full self-sufficiency unlikely. Payments may continue indefinitely, sometimes until the payer retires or either party dies.

When Maintenance Automatically Ends

Three events end the obligation by operation of law unless the decree specifically says otherwise:

Death of either party.
Remarriage of the recipient.
Registration of a new domestic partnership by the recipient.

All three triggers come from RCW 26.09.170(2).³ A decree can override these defaults. For example, the parties can agree that payments continue to the recipient’s estate after death.

Cohabitation is different. Moving in with a new partner, without marrying or registering a domestic partnership, does not automatically end maintenance. It can, however, support a modification request on the ground that sharing a household has reduced the recipient’s expenses and need.³

Changing an Existing Order

Either party can ask the court to modify maintenance, but only by showing a substantial change in circumstances that was not anticipated when the original order was entered.³ Involuntary job loss, a serious medical diagnosis, or a sizable jump in the recipient’s income are common examples.

A modification only affects future payments. It does not wipe out amounts that have already come due. You have to file a formal petition; a handshake arrangement between ex-spouses, even one in writing, does not replace the court order. Until a judge signs a new order, the original terms stay enforceable and missed payments pile up as a debt.

Enforcing a Maintenance Order

If the paying spouse falls behind, the recipient has options. The most direct is a wage assignment, which functions like an automatic paycheck deduction. Once served on the payer’s employer, the order requires the employer to start withholding and send payment promptly under RCW 26.18.110.⁴ A maintenance wage assignment takes priority over most other garnishments, though child support comes first if both are in play.

The recipient can also file for contempt of court. If the judge finds the payer could have paid and chose not to, penalties can include fines or jail. Filing for contempt may prompt the other side to seek a modification, so timing is worth thinking through before you file.

Tax Treatment

Federal rules changed in 2019. For any divorce or separation agreement finalized after December 31, 2018, the payer cannot deduct maintenance, and the recipient does not report it as income. For agreements finalized before 2019, the older rules may still apply: the payer deducts, the recipient reports it as taxable income. If a pre-2019 agreement was later modified and the modification expressly adopts the new rules, the current treatment applies going forward.⁵

Washington has no personal income tax, so maintenance has no state tax consequences for either party.

How It Interacts with Child Support

When both child support and maintenance are in the picture, the two calculations overlap. Under the state child support schedule, maintenance actually received counts as income to the recipient parent, and maintenance actually paid is deducted from the paying parent’s gross income before child support is calculated.⁶ For that reason, courts often set maintenance first and then run the child support numbers on the adjusted incomes.

1
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 26.09.090 – Maintenance Orders for Either Spouse or Either Domestic Partner – Factors
2
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 26.09.060 – Temporary Maintenance or Child Support
3
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 26.09.170 – Modification of Decree for Maintenance or Support, Property Disposition – Termination of Maintenance Obligation and Child Support – Grounds
4
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 26.18.110 – Wage Assignment Order or Income Withholding Order – Employer’s Answer, Duties, and Liability – Priorities
5
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 452, Alimony and Separate Maintenance
6
Washington State Legislature. Chapter 26.19 RCW – Child Support Schedule