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The party receiving child support may opt to let his/her spouse pay directly to them or have the Department of Child Support collect it through a wage assignment.

The duration of the obligation is usually based on the length of marriage and is rarely granted in short-term marriages. Spousal maintenance will NOT be granted if the parties have never been married.

The law only requires that a minimum of 90 days expire after the filing and service of a petition for divorce. In King County, cases may be pending for approximately one year if the parties cannot agree and a trial is necessary.

No. Over and above basic child support, the law requires each party to pay his/her proportionate share of day care and uninsured health care expenses. Sometimes judges will require the parties to pay proportionate shares of extracurricular activities like select soccer and other youth sports with substantial fees and costs.

The amount of spousal maintenance is based on several factors including (but not limited to) the financial resources of the party seeking maintenance, including the property to be awarded; the ability of the party seeking maintenance to be self-sufficient without assistance, including the receipt of child support; the time and education needed by the party seeking maintenance to become self-sufficient; the standard of living established during the marriage; the duration of the marriage; the age, physical and emotional condition and financial obligations of the spouse seeking maintenance; and the ability of the spouse from whom maintenance is sought to meet his own needs and obligations while paying maintenance.