Spousal Maintenance (Alimony) in Washington State: How Does It Work?

This video explains spousal maintenance ("alimony") in Washington State. It also explains undifferentiated family support, which is a mixture of spousal maintenance and child support. You can read the enhanced article on the same subject athttps://www.genesislawfirm.com/spousa....

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Maintenance Norms – Summary 1:12
Detailed Explanation of Norms 3:01
Impact of Child Support 6:53
Without Regard to Misconduct 7:58
Temporary Maintenance 9:16
Temporary Undifferentiated Support 10:06
Do I want Undifferentiated Support? 10:55
Proof of Income 12:29
Substantial Assets 13:07
Returning to School 13:33
Returning to Work 14:53
Review Hearing 16:12
Intentionally Decreased Income 16:56
Attacking the Theory 17:31
Affidavits of Support 18:35
Unmarried Couples 20:38
Legal Separation 21:31
Trading Maintenance for Assets 21:42
Modifying Maintenance 22:22
Auto Termination of Maintenance 23:16
Insurance to Secure Maintenance 23:46

VAGUE LAW. Family law jurists (meaning, "judges and commissioners") can award virtually however much or little maintenance they see as fair. This makes maintenance less predictable than most other areas of the law.

MAINTENANCE NORMS.
Although maintenance awards can vary a great deal even in factually identical cases, the following is a rough summary of principles many jurists follow:

Short Marriage (about 0-5 or perhaps 0-3 years of marriage):
For short marriages, courts often award maintenance of enough to help meet the lesser-earning spouse’s basic everyday needs for a few months while he or she gets back on his or her feet financially. Usually the payments end there or taper off suddenly. Payments almost never extend beyond entry of the divorce decree.

Mid-Length Marriage (5-25 or perhaps 3-20 years of marriage):
For mid-length marriages, courts tend to award the lesser-earning spouse maintenance for 20-33% of the length of the marriage. The initial monthly amount might be enough to equalize the parties’ economic positions, or it might be enough to meet basic needs, or something in-between. The monthly amount usually tapers off.

Long-Term Marriage (25+ or 20+ years of marriage):
For long marriages, courts often award maintenance of enough to equalize the parties’ economic positions for many years if not for life. For those who want more than this quick summary, the video and article provide much more detail.

That’s it! Hopefully this was helpful. Our firm believes in making quality legal information available for free online. For more free videos and articles, click the resources tab in the upper right corner of any page of our website, https://www.genesislawfirm.com. From all of us at Genesis, best of luck with your family law matter!

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