How Do I Get Spousal Support After My Texas Divorce?

 Posted on April 11, 2024 in Divorce

Spousal support, often referred to as spousal maintenance in Texas, is payments made to one spouse from the other to support them after a dissolution of marriage. The state of Texas has certain rules surrounding spousal maintenance payments, and it is important to work with a skilled Texas spousal support attorney to understand your rights.

Who Is Eligible for Spousal Support in Texas?

There are two main ways that you may be eligible to receive spousal support in Texas, and either spouse can request spousal support during a divorce. If you have a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement that outlines spousal support in the case of a divorce, the court will generally honor it. Alternatively, you may be able to request that the court order spousal maintenance payments.

To be eligible to receive court-ordered spousal support payments, the  Texas Family Code states that the spouse requesting payments must show evidence that he or she will not be able to meet his or her needs after the divorce, even after receiving community property divisions and possessing separate property.

Additionally, the spouse requesting payments must prove one of the following items:

• The marriage being dissolved has lasted a minimum of ten years, and he or she cannot secure employment to provide for his or her minimum reasonable needs
• The requesting spouse is caring for a special needs child shared by both spouses, and he or she cannot earn sufficient income due to those responsibilities
• He or she cannot earn sufficient income due to a disability sustained during the marriage
• The spouse requested to pay committed an act of family violence or domestic abuse within two years of the divorce filing or during the divorce case

Factors in a Spousal Support Decision

The court will weigh many factors into a spousal support decision, and it is important to be aware of what might be used to calculate potential spousal support payments. Texas Family Code outlines these factors:

• Duration of the marriage
• Occurrence of marital misconduct, such as adultery or family violence
• Whether or not one spouse acted as a homemaker
• Education and employability of both spouses
• Contributions of both spouses to the marriage, including property or assets
• Age, medical conditions, and emotional ability of the spouse pursuing maintenance

It is important to note that no matter the calculations of your Texas spousal support, there is a cap of the lower of either $5,000 a month or 20 percent of the paying spouse’s income.

Contact a Travis County, TX Spousal Support Attorney

Receiving the support you need from your spouse after divorce is not always guaranteed, and a skilled Austin, TX spousal support lawyer can aggressively advocate for your right to receive the maintenance payments you deserve.

Contact Powers and Kerr, PLLC at 512-610-6199 to speak with one of our board-certified family law attorneys. Let us use our more than 40 years of experience to help you with your spousal support case.