Texas law significantly limits the circumstances in which the state’s courts can award spousal maintenance.
Moreover, when a resident of the Houston area does receive a spousal maintenance award following a divorce, the amount and duration of the award are limited.
As a result, Texans should not rely on their friends and family’s experience with it, especially if they had a divorce in another state that is more liberal about awarding spousal maintenance.
Even with the restrictions, a spouse who needs the economic support should consider asking for spousal maintenance. Spousal maintenance is often critical to ensuring that the spouse receiving the payments will survive the financial fallout from their divorce.
Spousal maintenance in Texas
What follows is a high-level review of Texas’ spousal maintenance rules:
- Domestic violence victims can receive spousal maintenance from their spouse if their spouse was convicted of or received a deferred adjudication on an offense related to their domestic violence within the previous two years.
- Spouses can agree to paying spousal support as part of their negotiations.
- In some cases, a non-citizen spouse may be able to receive support if their spouse signed an Affidavit of Support to bring the non-citizen to the United States.
- If a couple has been married for at least 10 years, a spouse without other means of providing for themselves may receive maintenance. To receive it, they must also show that they are legally disabled, they are caring for a disabled child, or they do not currently have the ability to earn enough to meet their needs.
- Texas law caps the length of maintenance awards at five years, except that the court can use a seven-year cap when a marriage lasts at least 20 years and a 10-year cap for couples married 30 years or more. There is nothing that prevents a court from ordering maintenance for a shorter length of time.
- Monthly spousal maintenance is capped at $5,000 or 20 percent of the paying spouse’s gross income, whichever is less. Again, a court may order less than the cap after considering the case.
Whether a person will be able to receive maintenance, and how much, depends on their individual circumstances. They should make sure they understand how their unique situations affect their legal options.