Copy And Paste In Legal Washington Alimony Forms For Free

You can work with your spouse to come to a separation agreement outside of court. If you agree that no post-separation support payments should be awarded, you can avoid a potential alimony order from the court.

However, alimony is far from a guarantee in the State of Washington. The court will review your case based on its merits. Understanding spousal maintenance and what it might look like after divorce is essential. There are a variety of factors in terms of whether alimony will be required.

The courts tend to award maintenance as a short- to medium-term bridge, and there is no provision in the law for permanent alimony. However, when a spouse is not likely to become self-supporting (due to disability or lack of marketable skills), judges may award maintenance indefinitely.

Washington law requires courts to consider the requesting spouse's need for maintenance and the other spouse's ability to pay. Maintenance should be no more than the would-be-recipient needs, nor should it exceed the would-be-payor's ability to pay. Each party's 'need' and 'ability' is relative to the other spouse.

A last point to consider is that while you cannot quit your job to avoid spousal support, there is no obligation to labor 80 hours per week to support your ex-spouse's lavish, unemployed lifestyle. The California Supreme Court in Marriage of Simpson (1992) 4 Cal.

It can last for a short time or continue indefinitely depending on the circumstances. Spousal support most often comes into play when there's a significant gap in earning potential between spouses. It also figures into cases of substantial financial need.