Houston Spousal Support Attorney

A board certified family law attorney helping Houston spouses seek or challenge spousal maintenance.

Spousal support is not automatic in a Texas divorce. In fact, Texas law starts from the presumption that spousal maintenance is not warranted, and it is up to the spouse asking for it to prove they qualify. That makes these cases very fact-driven, and which side of the argument you are on matters enormously. As a Texas spousal support attorney, I help clients in Harris County and surrounding areas present the facts that support their position.

I am board certified in family law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, a credential held by roughly 800 of the more than 110,000 attorneys licensed in Texas. Spousal maintenance is one of the more technical areas of Texas family law, and the statutory detail is exactly where these cases turn.

How Texas Spousal Maintenance Works

Spousal maintenance, also called spousal support or alimony, is support that one former spouse pays to the other for a period after divorce. Its purpose is narrow: to give the receiving spouse time to find work or get the education or training they need to become self-supporting.

Under Texas Family Code Chapter 8, a court orders maintenance for the shortest time the receiving spouse needs to become self-supporting. Depending on the length of the marriage, that can be up to five, seven, or ten years. As a general guide, a marriage of up to 20 years can support up to five years of maintenance, while a marriage of 30 years or more can support up to ten. The amount is capped by statute at the lesser of $5,000 per month or 20% of the paying spouse’s average monthly gross income, whichever is less.

Maintenance may be appropriate when the receiving spouse will not have enough property after the divorce to meet their minimum reasonable needs, and at least one of the following is also true:

• The paying spouse was convicted of family violence within two years before the divorce was filed, or while it was pending
• The requesting spouse cannot earn enough income because of a disability
• The requesting spouse cannot earn enough after a marriage of 10 years or longer
• The requesting spouse is the custodial parent of a child with a disability that prevents them from working

When deciding the amount and duration, a Texas judge weighs nearly a dozen factors, including:

• Each spouse’s earning ability and financial resources
• Education and job skills, and the time needed to acquire them
• The length of the marriage
• The age and health of the spouse seeking support
• One spouse’s ability to pay support along with child support
• How much one spouse contributed to the other’s education or earning power
• A spouse’s contribution as a homemaker
• Marital misconduct by either spouse
• Whether either spouse hid or wasted community property

How I Can Help With Spousal Maintenance

Unless the two spouses agree on whether maintenance will be paid, how much, and for how long, a judge decides during the divorce. I help clients negotiate workable agreements on spousal maintenance alongside the other issues in their divorce, such as custody and the division of community property. In a contested case, I analyze every relevant statutory factor and build the strongest case for or against an award.

Talk With a Houston Spousal Support Lawyer

For help seeking or challenging spousal maintenance in your Texas divorce, you can schedule a consultation with the Law Office of Maria Lowry. As an alimony lawyer in Houston, I help clients on both sides of a Texas divorce spousal support dispute, and a consultation is a paid, one-on-one working session in which you will get a clear read on where you stand and what your options are.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is spousal support different from alimony in Texas?

People use the words interchangeably, and they refer to the same thing in everyday speech. In Texas, the statutory term is “spousal maintenance,” which is court-ordered support under Chapter 8 and subject to the statutory caps. Spouses can also privately agree to “contractual alimony,” which is enforced as a contract and is not bound by those statutory limits.

How much spousal maintenance can a Texas court order?

The statutory cap is the lesser of $5,000 per month or 20% of the paying spouse’s average monthly gross income. That is a ceiling, not an automatic amount. Courts award only what the receiving spouse actually needs to meet minimum reasonable needs, so many awards come in below the cap.

How long does spousal maintenance last in Texas?

Duration is tied to the length of the marriage: generally up to five years for marriages of 10 to 20 years, up to seven years for 20 to 30 years, and up to ten years for 30 years or more. Family violence and disability situations follow their own rules. These are maximums, and a court can order a shorter period.

Can spousal maintenance be changed after the divorce?

Yes. A maintenance order can be modified when there is a material and substantial change in circumstances, such as a significant change in either spouse’s income or situation. As a Texas spousal support attorney, I handle both requests to modify and challenges to a proposed modification.