Ladies choose wisely: You may have to pay your husband.
Aug 14th, 2008 by Adrienne Keith
Washington’s law about spousal maintenance (which people sometimes call “alimony”) is written without respect to gender. Sometimes men will pay spousal maintenance to their ex-wives and sometimes women will pay spousal maintenance to their ex-husbands.
So, high-earning ladies, if you’re thinking about getting married: Choose wisely. In life after divorce, it could be that you earnings help your low-earning spouse “transition” out of the marriage.
Unfortunately, there’s no formula about how much to pay or for how long. It depends on an individual’s financial resources and financial obligations, what amount of time–if any–is required for that person to get education or training to get a job, what the standard of living was like during the marriage, how long you were married and the age and health of the other person.
A big of good news: Your ability to pay is also a factor, because you have your own needs and obligations.