In the state of Texas we do not have anything called "alimony". Rather, we have what is called "Spousal Maintenance" or "Spousal Support." The firm of J.T. Borah represents clients located in Denton County who have spousal maintenance and support issues that they need to get resolved.

Texas courts may decide to order spousal support and maintenance under certain circumstances. For instance, the court may award support if the parties in the case have been married for ten years or more and they satisfy certain other conditions. Alternatively, the court may order support if the party from whom support is requested was convicted of, or received deferred adjudication for, a criminal offense that is also an act of family violence under Family Code Title 4, and which occurred within two years before the date the suit was filed or while it was pending. If the court decides the spouse requesting support qualifies for post-divorce spousal maintenance/support, the court will determine the nature, amount, duration, and manner of the periodic payments.

The court will consider factors such as:

1. Financial resources of the spouse seeking maintenance/support and whether or not that spouse has the ability to meet his/her financial commitments independently;
2. Education and job skills of the spouse, how long it will take to to get, availability and feasibility of the education and/or skill sets needed for appropriate employment,
3. How long the marriage lasted;
4. The emotional and physical well being, age, job history, and earning potential of the spouse seeking maintenance/support;
5. The payer's ability to meet periodic child support payments and the needs of the other parent;
6. Excessive or abnormal behavior by either spouse in the form of expenditures, destruction, concealing or fraudulently disposing of community property, property classified as joint tenancy, or other commonly held property;
7. Financial resources comparison of the two spouses, including benefits and separately held property;
8. One spouse helping financially so the other spouse can gain additional education or skills;
9. The property owned by either spouse prior to the marriage;
10. The domestic work down within the house viewed as a contribution;
11. Improper behavior of the spouse seeking financial support;
12. Efforts to seek out career counseling as provided for by Texas law by the spouse who seeks maintenance/support.

The law does not allow the spouse receiving support to receive it indefinitely if he or she could find a way to support him or herself. If the spouse requesting maintenance/support does not suffer from any impediment that diminishes the ability to meet his or her minimum needs, the court must limit the amount of time the spouse receives court-ordered support to the shortest reasonable period of time sufficient for that spouse to meet those minimum needs by either obtaining suitable employment, or developing appropriate skills that will allow him or her to provide for those minimum needs. The court may not order maintenance/support or a period exceeding three years after the date of the order.

If, however, the spouse requesting support is unable to become self-supporting because she or he suffers from an incapacitating physical or mental disability, the court may order maintenance/support for an indefinite period, as long as the disability continues.

The terms of a support order may be changed by filing a motion to modify. The amount awarded may be reduced or terminated. However, the statute does not provide for an increase of the amount of maintenance/support, only a reduction. An award of maintenance/support is limited to the lesser of $2,500 or 20 percent of the paying spouse's average monthly gross income.

Finally, although we do not have "alimony" in Texas, you can still have alimony that was ordered in another state enforced in Texas.

Contact our firm online or call us at (940) 566-4600 to set up a FREE consultation to learn more about your options concerning spousal maintenance/support.