Navigating a divorce in North Texas often involves difficult questions about your financial future. If you live in Southlake or elsewhere in Tarrant County, you may wonder how you will bridge the gap between your current lifestyle and a self-sufficient future. In many states, alimony is a standard part of the process, but Texas law takes a much narrower approach.
In many states, “alimony” is relatively common. Texas, however, takes a much narrower approach. Courts here use the term spousal maintenance for court-ordered support, and it is limited by strict eligibility rules and statutory caps. Understanding who qualifies is the first step in planning for stability after the decree is signed.
Spousal Maintenance vs. Temporary Support vs. Contractual Alimony (Important Distinction)
Before we get into eligibility, it helps to clarify a common point of confusion:
- Spousal maintenance is a court-ordered obligation under Texas Family Code Chapter 8 and is available only in specific situations.
- Temporary spousal support (sometimes ordered while a divorce is pending) is different. Courts may order temporary support during the case to help a spouse maintain basic living needs until final orders are entered.
- Contractual alimony is support that spouses agree to in a settlement contract. Even if a spouse would not qualify for statutory spousal maintenance, the parties can negotiate support terms as part of a broader divorce agreement.
This article focuses on statutory spousal maintenance, the court-ordered remedy governed by Chapter 8.
The Foundation of Eligibility in Texas
Before a judge considers the specific circumstances of your marriage, you must meet a baseline requirement. Under Texas Family Code § 8.051, the spouse seeking support must first prove they lack “sufficient property,” including separate property and property awarded in the divorce, to provide for their “minimum reasonable needs.”
The law does not define “minimum reasonable needs” by your previous standard of living in neighborhoods like West Highland or Timarron. Instead, it focuses on the basic costs of housing, utilities, food, and healthcare. If the court determines you have enough assets from the community property division to cover these basics, your request for maintenance may be denied regardless of other factors, even if the marriage was long or the income disparity is significant.
Once you establish a financial need, you must then fit into one of four specific categories to qualify for a court order.
1. The Ten-Year Marriage Rule
The ten-year marriage rule is the most common path for maintenance in Texas. You may qualify if you have been married to your spouse for 10 years or longer and cannot earn enough income to meet your basic needs. Even so, the law does not grant this support automatically.
Texas Family Code § 8.053 creates a “rebuttable presumption” that maintenance is not warranted. To overcome this, you must show the court that you exercised “diligence” in trying to earn enough income or develop the skills necessary to support yourself while the divorce was pending.
2. Family Violence
The 10-year requirement is waived if the paying spouse was convicted of or received deferred adjudication for an offense constituting family violence.This offense must have occurred against you or your child within two years before the divorce was filed or while the divorce is still pending in court.
3. Physical or Mental Disability
If a spouse has an incapacitating physical or mental disability that prevents them from earning enough income to meet their minimum reasonable needs, the court may order maintenance. Unlike the 10-year rule, this provision can apply to shorter marriages, as specified in Texas Family Code § 8.051(2)(A).
4. Caring for a Disabled Child (Of Any Age)
You may also qualify if you are the custodian of a child from the marriage, who requires substantial care and personal supervision because of a physical or mental disability. If these caregiving duties prevent you from earning sufficient income to meet your basic needs, the court has the authority to award support.
This is a critical point: the eligibility is not limited to caring for a minor child. The question is the child’s disability-related needs and the caregiver’s inability to earn sufficient income because of those responsibilities.
How Courts Calculate the Amount and Duration
If you meet the eligibility requirements, the judge then looks at several factors to decide how much you receive and for how long. These factors include your education, employment history, age, and any marital misconduct like adultery or cruel treatment.
Texas law reflects a strong preference for maintenance to be temporary, not indefinite. Courts must generally limit maintenance to the “shortest reasonable period” that allows the recipient to earn sufficient income to meet minimum reasonable needs, unless an exception applies (such as a disability that makes self-support impracticable).
Texas law imposes strict caps on these awards under Texas Family Code § 8.055. The monthly payment cannot exceed the lesser of:
- $5,000 per month
- 20 percent of the paying spouse’s average monthly gross income
“Gross income” is defined broadly and can include wages, self-employment income, rental income, retirement benefits, and other income sources (with statutory nuances and exclusions depending on the facts).
The duration is also limited by the length of the marriage under Texas Family Code § 8.054:
- Up to 5 years: For marriages of 10 to 20 years, or if the basis is family violence and the marriage was less than 10 years.
- Up to 7 years: For marriages of 20 to 30 years.
- Up to 10 years: For marriages lasting 30 years or more.
When maintenance is based on a spouse’s disability (or caring for a disabled child), the duration can extend as long as the qualifying disability-related condition persists. Courts may also schedule periodic review to confirm the continuing need.
Factors the Court Evaluates
When deciding whether to grant maintenance and for how long, a judge in Tarrant, Denton, or Wise County will weigh the following based on Texas Family Code § 8.052:
- Each spouse’s ability to provide for their needs independently.
- The time needed to acquire education or training for employment.
- Whether a spouse contributed as a homemaker or toward the other’s education.
- Any waste of community assets by either spouse.
- The age and emotional condition of the spouse seeking support.
Again, Texas law requires that maintenance orders be limited to the shortest reasonable period that allows the recipient to become self-sufficient, which underscores the state’s preference for encouraging former spouses to return to the workforce.
Seek Guidance for Your Future
The rules surrounding spousal maintenance in Texas are not “standard.” Rather, Texas rules are complex and are strictly enforced. Whether you are seeking support to regain financial footing, or you are concerned about a potential obligation to pay, a well-informed strategy matters.
If you are preparing for a divorce and want to discuss your options for support: statutory maintenance, temporary support, or negotiated contractual terms, contact the Law Office of Dana L. White, PLLC at 817-512-1580 to schedule a consultation with our team.
