Alimony & Spousal Maintenance

Frisco, Texas Alimony Attorneys Serving Collin and Denton Counties

It is sometimes said that "two can live as cheaply as one." But when two people stop living together during or after a divorce, expenses go up. One spouse may need support from the other in order to afford to live separately. This is commonly called alimony, and is known in Texas as "spousal maintenance."

If you are facing the prospect of divorce, the issue of spousal maintenance may be on your mind. Many people become "stay-at-home" spouses in order to support their spouse's career and care for their children. They may set aside their own careers for the good of the family, assuming that the family would always remain together. When that turns out not to be the case, stay-at-home spouses may find it difficult to provide for themselves after a long time out of the workforce.

If you were the primary breadwinner in your marriage, you may be concerned about your spouse's ability to support him- or herself after divorce, and wonder if you will have to pay spousal maintenance. If you do, you may worry about how that will affect your ability to cover your own expenses.

The family law attorneys of May and May will answer your questions about Texas spousal maintenance and address your concerns so that you can move forward into a financially stable future after divorce.

How Alimony Works in Texas

Texas law provides for one spouse to pay spousal maintenance to the other in certain situations. The spouse seeking maintenance must lack sufficient property when the marriage is dissolved to provide for his or her minimum reasonable needs and:

• The other spouse was found to have committed an act of family violence within the two years before the divorce was filed, or since it was filed, or
• The spouse seeking maintenance cannot earn enough to support him- or herself because of an incapacitating mental or physical disability, or
• The spouse seeking maintenance has been married to the other spouse for ten years or longer and is unable to earn enough to provide for his or her own minimum reasonable needs, or
• The spouse requesting maintenance is the caretaker of a child of the marriage who has a physical or mental disability preventing the spouse from earning enough to provide for his or her own minimum reasonable needs.

Texas courts will take many factors into account in determining the need for spousal maintenance, including the age and health of the parties, the length of the marriage, the education and employment skills of each spouse, marital misconduct, how much property each spouse brought to the marriage, and whether one spouse contributed to the education, training, or increased earning power of the other.

In Texas, it is generally presumed that spousal maintenance is not warranted unless the spouse requesting it has been reasonably diligent in trying to earn enough to provide for his or her own needs, or obtain the training to do so. The duration of an alimony award in Texas depends on numerous factors, including but not limited to, the duration of the marriage.

There are many factors a court must take into account when determining whether to award alimony, how much alimony to award, and for how long. An experienced Texas family law attorney will help you determine if you or your spouse qualify for spousal maintenance and provide guidance on how Texas courts evaluate spousal maintenance evidence.

Experienced North Texas Spousal Maintenance Attorneys

The attorneys of May and May represent divorcing or divorced spouses in Texas spousal maintenance matters, including:

• Initial spousal maintenance awards
• Modification or termination of spousal maintenance
• Enforcement of spousal maintenance

Attorney Marc May is Board Certified in family law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and has over 30 years of practice experience in family law matters, including alimony.

May and May serves clients in Collin County, Denton County, and the surrounding areas of North Texas. We invite you to explore our website and to contact our law firm to learn more about how we can help you.