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Spousal Support | Spousal Maintenance | Alimony

Tacoma Spousal Support Attorneys

Serving all of Pierce County

Our Tacoma spousal maintenance attorneys and spousal support lawyers are experienced and aggressive advocates for our Pierce County clients.  We know the spousal support laws of the state of Washington, and we will fight to protect your legal rights.

If you have questions about whether or not spousal support, which is also sometimes referred to as alimony, is appropriate in your case, we encourage you to call our offices for a free initial consultation.

Tacoma Spousal Maintenance Attorneys

Spousal maintenance is what is more commonly referred to as “Alimony” with a different name. The purposes of the payments are used to compensate one spouse for the sacrifices they may have made for the marital community, such as foregoing a career to raise children or to advance the career of the other party.  Spousal maintenance payments, when properly awarded, will help to equalize the ability of the parties to provide for their future support without being excessive or being punitive in effect.

What are the factors in awarding spousal maintenance?

An award of spousal maintenance is essentially based on the “need” of the receiving party and the “ability to pay” of the other party.  If both partners have had co-equal earning power, maintenance is generally not considered appropriate. Spousal maintenance is more likely to be awarded on a temporary basis during the divorce proceedings than after the divorce.

Both the length and amount of maintenance are discretionary with the court and are determined by RCW 26.09.090 according to the following factors:

The maintenance order shall be in such amounts and for such periods of time as the court deems just, without regard to misconduct, after considering all relevant factors including but not limited to:

     (a) The financial resources of the party seeking maintenance, including separate or community property apportioned to him or her, and his or her ability to meet his or her needs independently, including the extent to which a provision for support of a child living with the party includes a sum for that party;
     (b) The time necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the party seeking maintenance to find employment appropriate to his or her skill, interests, style of life, and other attendant circumstances;
     (c) The standard of living established during the marriage or domestic partnership;
     (d) The duration of the marriage or domestic partnership;
     (e) The age, physical and emotional condition, and financial obligations of the spouse or domestic partner seeking maintenance; and
     (f) The ability of the spouse or domestic partner from whom maintenance is sought to meet his or her needs and financial obligations while meeting those of the spouse or domestic partner seeking maintenance.

Is spousal maintenance tax deductible?

            Yes, generally spousal maintenance can be deducted as an expense paid by the responsible party. This also creates taxable income to the receiving party. The IRS will not recognize all transfers as tax deductible, so the agreement to pay the mortgage of the other party will not likely qualify as a tax deduction. There must also be a court order, separation agreement or property settlement agreement for the deduction to be authorized by the IRS. The payment of spousal maintenance may also change the allocation of child support between the parties.

How long may spousal maintenance be paid?

            If maintenance is proper, the court will apply all the factors to reach a fair and equitable conclusion about the amount of support and its duration. The individual results vary drastically based on the individual circumstances and the determination of the presiding judge. Most often, the duration may be given as a rule of thumb such as 1-year for every 5-years of marriage. These purely formulaic approaches would ignore the other important considerations and would subject any ruling based on such simple calculations to be overturned on appeal.

 According to a highly regarded 1982 article written by Judge Winsor, marriages can be broken up into short-term marriages of 1-7 years in length, medium-term marriages of 7-25 years in length and long term marriages of more than 25-years. For short-term marriages, Judge Winsor held the view that unless there were exceptional circumstances the award of spousal maintenance would be inappropriate and the goal of the court should be to return the parties to the position as they financially began.

For Medium-term marriages the proposal was to allow spousal maintenance based on an analysis of the above factors, with a rehabilitative goal. Although Judge Winsor does not preclude the possibility of lifetime awards of spousal maintenance, the application of a rehabilitative goal runs counter-intuitive to the award of lifetime maintenance.

With long-term marriages over 25-years Judge Winsor advocated the view that in those circumstances maintenance may be awarded on a lifetime basis if there was clear evidence that the party seeking maintenance will not be able to contribute significantly to their own livelihood. What can be taken from Judge Winsor’s article is that a purely formulaic approach is inappropriate, but differing standards may apply depending on the length of the marriage.

            In Washington State there is no definitive case law that would serve the purpose of providing a fixed number of years for spousal maintenance based on the length of marriage. Such determinations have been given to the discretion of the trial judge, under the assumption that they are best suited to weigh all the pertinent factors of the parties to reach a fair and equitable decision. Nor is there guidance from the court for the determination of what could be considered a short, medium, or long-term marriage in a fixed number of years.

Washington’s spousal maintenance provisions create a certain degree of uncertainty that makes it even more critical to prepare your issues properly for consideration. Contact one of our experienced Family Law attorneys to assist you in the best presentation of your case.