Texas does not have true alimony in divorces. It has a watered-down version called “spousal maintenance”, which is available only in very limited circumstances.
Maintenance is an award of periodic payments from the future income of one spouse for the support of another.
There are a couple of ways to qualify to receive maintenance.
Your spouse has been convicted (or received deferred adjudication) for a criminal offense that is an act of family violence and the offense occurred within two (2) years of the date of the filing for the divorce or while the suit is pending.
-OR-
You lack sufficient property to provide for your minimum reasonable needs and can’t support yourself through employment because
You have an incapacitating physical or mental disability, OR
You are the custodian of a child of the marriage who requires substantial care and supervision because of a physical or mental disability, OR
You lack earning ability in the labor market.
So what does all this mean? Follow this series of articles on Spousal Maintenance to learn more at Hammerle Finley Law Firm.
