How Washington calculates spousal maintenance
Washington uses the term "spousal maintenance" rather than alimony, and like a handful of other states, it hands the decision entirely to judicial discretion. RCW 26.09.090 lists six non-exhaustive factors: the financial resources of the spouse seeking maintenance, including whatever separate or community property they were apportioned and their ability to meet their needs on their own; the time it would take to get the education or training needed for employment matching their skills, interests, and the lifestyle they're used to; the standard of living the couple established during the marriage; how long the marriage lasted; the age, physical and emotional condition, and financial obligations of the spouse seeking maintenance; and whether the other spouse can meet their own needs while also paying maintenance. There's no calculation built into any of that — it's a weighing exercise, plain and simple.
Because there's nothing to calculate under the statute itself, the tool above runs the same general guideline math used across most no-formula states and labels it clearly as non-statutory. Treat the number as a starting point for a conversation with an attorney, not as what a Washington judge will actually order.
Duration works the same way — no table, no formula, just discretion. Maintenance can run for a limited period or indefinitely, entirely at the court's call. Some practitioners use rough rules of thumb when sizing up a case: roughly 25% of the marriage length, or something closer to a year of maintenance per three or four years married. Neither number shows up anywhere in RCW 26.09.090, so treat them strictly as informal shorthand rather than anything resembling law.
One development worth knowing about: a Washington Supreme Court ruling from August 2024 clarified that proving financial need isn't a strict legal prerequisite to getting maintenance. A spouse doesn't have to show they can't cover their basic needs just to qualify for an award — need still gets weighed as one factor among the six, but it's not a gatekeeping requirement the way it functions in some other states. That's a case-law clarification of how the existing statute is read, not a change to the statute's text.
On fault, Washington doesn't leave much room for argument. It's a pure no-fault dissolution state, and both property division under RCW 26.09.080 and maintenance decisions under RCW 26.09.090 must be made "without regard to marital misconduct." An affair, on its own, simply doesn't move the needle on whether maintenance is awarded or how much. The one place misconduct can sneak back in is property division: if marital money was spent bankrolling an affair — hotel rooms, gifts, trips — a court can treat that as dissipated marital assets and adjust the property split accordingly. That's a property remedy, though, not a maintenance factor, and it doesn't change the analysis under RCW 26.09.090 itself.
No amendment to the statutory text of RCW 26.09.090 has been identified for 2023 through 2026. The 2024 Supreme Court decision on financial need is the significant recent development, and it's judicial interpretation, not legislative change.
Last reviewed: July 2026. Statute citations: RCW 26.09.090 (maintenance factors); RCW 26.09.080 (property division, without regard to marital misconduct).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Washington have a spousal maintenance formula?
No. RCW 26.09.090 lists six factors for a judge to weigh — financial resources, time needed for education or training, standard of living, marriage length, age and health, and the payor's ability to pay — with no calculation formula. Any dollar figure, including this tool's estimate, is a non-statutory planning number.
How long does spousal maintenance last in Washington?
There's no statutory duration formula. Some practitioners informally estimate roughly 25% of the marriage length, or about 1 year of maintenance per 3 to 4 years married, but neither figure appears in RCW 26.09.090 — treat both as informal practice, not law. Courts have full discretion to set a limited or indefinite term.
Do you have to prove financial need to get maintenance in Washington?
Not strictly. A 2024 Washington Supreme Court ruling clarified that financial need is not a mandatory legal prerequisite for maintenance under RCW 26.09.090 — a requesting spouse doesn't have to prove they can't meet basic needs to qualify, though need remains one of the factors weighed in practice.
Does adultery affect alimony in Washington?
No. Washington is a pure no-fault state, and both property division and maintenance must be decided without regard to marital misconduct. The narrow exception is if marital funds were spent financing an affair — that can be considered in property division as economic waste, but not in the maintenance calculation itself.
Is there a minimum marriage length to qualify for maintenance in Washington?
No fixed minimum. RCW 26.09.090 doesn't set a marriage-length threshold for eligibility — marriage length is simply one of the six factors a judge weighs alongside the others.