Customarily, the estranged wife will seek spousal maintenance, also referred to as Alimony or Spousal Support. Alimony is what the Court determines to be a fair payment to the secondary earner in the marriage.
When is Spousal Maintenance Awarded?
Spousal support is determined based on the individual circumstance surrounding your divorce. Generally, the Court considers four avenues an estranged spouse can claim spousal support:
- One, both parties agree on spousal maintenance payments for a specific duration of time.
- Two, if a spouse is a sponsored immigrant, they may enforce an Affidavit of Support executed by the breadwinner spouse. It is a request that the Court order the sponsor to provide the immigrant spouse 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines until the immigrant spouse is either naturalized or has earned forty credits of work history.
- Three, the bread-winning spouse has accepted deferred adjudication or was convicted for a family violence offense against the other spouse or spouse’s children within two years of filing for divorce or while the divorce is pending. In this case, the duration of the marriage is irrelevant.
- Four, the marriage has sustained at least ten years, and the spouse seeking spousal maintenance lacks sufficient property or income to maintain their reasonable needs AND falls into one of the following circumstances:
- __is the primary caretaker of a disabled child
- __lacks the earning ability to provide for their essential, reasonable needs
- __is disabled
What qualifies as a spouse lacking the earning ability to provide for themselves?
The Court examines relevant factors regarding the spouse’s ability to provide, including:
- the time needed to obtain training or education sufficient to earn adequate income
- the feasibility and availability of training &/or education
- the current education and employment skills
- financial resources available to each spouse upon the division of assets by the Court
Unless an Affidavit of Support is enforced, the spouse seeking support will need to demonstrate diligence to find gainful employment, training, &/or education. The Court will make the judgment based on the above factors and any additional factors the Court deems relevant.
Duration of Spousal Maintenance Payments
It is up to the Court’s discretion how long the spousal maintenance should remain effective if the spouse being granted support is caring for a disabled child or is unable to earn sufficient income to cover basic needs because of a disability. Aside from those two exceptions, the Court determines spousal maintenance duration as follows:
- If the petitioned marriage lasted 30+ years, the spousal maintenance may not remain in effect longer than ten years.
- If the petitioned marriage lasted for at least 20 years but less than 30, then spousal maintenance may not remain in effect for more than seven years.
- If a spouse was granted spousal maintenance because of deferred adjudication or conviction of the other spouse for a family violence offense, as stated in the previous section, OR the marriage lasted for at least ten years but less than twenty, the spousal maintenance award may not exceed five years in duration.
Additional Spousal Maintenance Specifics
Texas does not have a formula, per se, to determine to spousal maintenance granted. Usually, the Court will order the spouse responsible for spousal maintenance more than the lesser of 20% of their gross monthly income or $5K. Additionally, these spousal maintenance payments are taxable deductions for the person paying and taxable income for the person receiving.
AZ Law Firm Divorce Lawyer Austin Team
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