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EspañolLaws current as of August 1, 2024
Can I get alimony?
Alimony, also called maintenance, is financial support paid by, or to, your spouse. A judge can give you maintenance as part of a case for annulment, legal separation, or divorce. The judge can order temporary maintenance while the court case is going on, as well as ordering maintenance to begin once the case ends.1
A judge will decide how much maintenance you will get and for how long you will get maintenance after considering the following factors:
- your financial resources, including the property you got in the divorce, your ability to independently meet your needs, and how much child support you may be getting;
- how much time you need to get the education or training you need to get a job that meets your skills, interests, lifestyle, and other circumstances;
- the way you and your spouse lived while married (“standard of living”);
- how long you were married;
- your age, physical and emotional condition, and financial obligations; and
- your spouse’s ability to meet his/her own needs and financial obligations while paying you maintenance.2
1 R.C.W. §§ 26.09.060; 26.09.090
2 R.C.W. § 26.09.090
