TEMPORARY SUPPORT and
SPOUSAL MAINTENANCE

In Texas, temporary spousal support and spousal maintenance (sometimes incorrectly called Texas alimony) rules differ significantly from other states.

Temporary spousal support is routine in Texas and used to allow the spouses to live independently while a divorce is pending. When a judge is considering temporary support they will consider the income of both spouses and the monthly expenses of the spouses.

Spousal maintenance provides periodic payments from the main financial provider of a family to a former spouse after the marriage is dissolved. These payments are intended to equalize the situation where one spouse has dedicated a substantial period of time to being a stay at home parent or home caretaker in order to enable the other spouse to increase their earning power. Extended periods of absence from the workforce can be difficult to overcome and spousal maintenance is intended to offset the situation while the spouse reenters the workforce.

While spousal maintenance can be included in an agreed divorce, consideration of court ordered spousal maintenance payments in Texas are usually limited to circumstances where the spouse has been convicted of family violence in the last two years or when the marriage has been longer than ten years. Even under such circumstances, the spouse has to demonstrate that they are unable to live within reasonable means making such payments necessary. Property division between the spouses is also considered as factor when a judge is considering awarding spousal maintenance.

Spousal maintenance payments cannot extend beyond three years unless there are specific reasons preventing the spouse from becoming self-supporting (e.g physical/mental disabilities, care of disabled child, etc). In Texas, the maximum spousal maintenance payments are the smaller of $2500 per month or 20% of the spouses average monthly gross income.