Spousal Support
State laws will vary on the types of spousal support and/ or spousal maintenance allowed during and after divorce. If you are considering a divorce in the state of Texas, it is important to discuss all aspects of your divorce with a Texas Divorce Attorney who can answer all of your divorce questions.
In the state of Texas, alimony or spousal support options differ from many other states. During the divorce process, most Texas courts will require the spouse with the greater income to provide some type of temporary spousal support to the other spouse.
Texas courts have routinely decided against alimony payments, but have enacted laws which will provide a minimum amount of spousal support for a set time to allow a spouse to get the proper training to be able to re-enter the workforce and support themselves. If you are seeking temporary support you must be able to prove what financial resources are available and if your spouse can meet those financial needs. Prior to assigning temporary support payments divorce courts will evaluate the needs of the spouse and the financial ability of the other spouse to pay.
Texas courts will evaluate the following criteria to establish spousal support:
- The amount of individual and community property and the financial ability for one spouse to support the other financially.
- Effort by the spouse to seek employment counseling.
- Any misconduct of the spouse needing spousal support.
- The skill levels and the education background of each spouse.
- The duration of the marriage.
- The responsibility of the spouse to care for children.
- The health condition of the spouses.
- The age, work history and wage earning potential of each spouse.
- How much one spouse contributed to the education of the other spouse or their employment opportunities.
- Contribution of one spouse as a homemaker.
In Texas, after the divorce is finalized, one spouse may be eligible to spousal support for a specific time period in order to support themselves and pay for their most general expenses. To receive spousal support after the divorce you must meet the following criterion:
- The marriage must have lasted at least 10 years or longer and the requesting spouse must lack the financial resources to support themselves due to a physical or mental health condition that does not allow them to seek sufficient employment.
- The requesting spouse is the primary caretaker of a child who needs care, the marriage lasted at least ten years, and the spouse lacks sufficient means to remain at home to care for the child.
- The paying spouse committed a violent crime against the family with in two years before the date of the divorce.
- The requesting spouse does not have enough property to support themselves sufficiently and does not have the educational skills to enter the labor market to work and provide for their personal needs.
In most cases, spousal support can be set at the lessor of 20% of the paying spouse’s gross income or $2,500 per month for up to three years duration. This amount is not guaranteed, but would be the maximum amount allowed. It is important to talk to a Texas Divorce Attorney if you think you may qualify for any type of spousal maintenance. It is also important to understand what actions, like getting a job, may reduce or eliminate spousal maintenance.