Spousal Support & Maintenance FAQs

Texas Family Law Attorney Milissa Barrick answers questions her clients frequently ask about divorce, child custody, visitation, property and spousal maintenance.

1. When is temporary spousal support awarded?
2. How do I qualify for spousal maintenance?

1. When is temporary spousal support awarded?

   When one spouse earns substantially less than the other or is unemployed, the court may award temporary spousal support. The spouse seeking spousal support must convince the court of the need and the other spouse’s ability to pay while the divorce is pending.

2. How do I qualify for spousal maintenance?

   The spouse requesting maintenance must meet one of the following requirements:

   • establish that within two years of the date of the divorce petition, the other (paying) spouse was convicted of domestic violence

   • married for 10 or more years and inadequate award of property through divorce settlement to provide for minimal needs because of lacking the earning ability to work in the labor market to cover minimal needs

     In the latter instance, maintenance may not go beyond 20 percent of the paying spouse’s gross income or $2,500 (whichever is less) and has a three-year maximum term of payment.

     If the following requirements are met, maintenance may be indefinite:

     • married for 10 or more years and inadequate award of property through divorce settlement to provide for minimal needs because of: - being the conservator of a child who requires personal supervision and considerable care, which requires the spouse to stay home with the child; - being incapable of self-support through appropriate employment based on physical or mental disability