Texas Family Courts look to the Texas Family Code in establishing spousal maintenance. Assuming there is no pre/post-nup agreement affecting spousal maintenance, Courts are limited in how much spousal maintenance can be ordered. Once the court determines a person is eligible for spousal maintenance (a hearing is required), spousal maintenance is capped at the lesser of:
(1) $5,000; or
(2) 20 percent of the spouse’s average monthly gross income.
For temporary orders, the court looks at the minimum reasonable needs of the spouse seeking maintenance (assuming they are eligible for it). You will have to submit a breakdown of your income & expenses called a financial information statement to determine the monthly need for spousal support.
For purposes of determing spousal maintenance, gross income includes the following:
(A) 100 percent of all wage and salary income and other compensation for personal services (including commissions, overtime pay, tips, and bonuses);
(B) interest, dividends, and royalty income;
(C) self-employment income;
(D) net rental income (defined as rent after deducting operating expenses and mortgage payments, but not including noncash items such as depreciation); and
(E) all other income actually being received, including severance pay, retirement benefits, pensions, trust income, annuities, capital gains, unemployment benefits, interest income from notes regardless of the source, gifts and prizes, maintenance, and alimony.
Gross income for the purposes of determing spousal maintenance does NOT include the following:
(A) return of principal or capital;
(B) accounts receivable;
(C) benefits paid in accordance with federal public assistance programs;
(D) benefits paid in accordance with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program;
(E) payments for foster care of a child;
(F) Department of Veterans Affairs service-connected disability compensation;
(G) supplemental security income (SSI), social security benefits, and disability benefits; or
(H) workers’ compensation benefits.
Courts look at a number of factors in determining the amount of spousal maintenance (and duration of it). Courts are actually required, by the Texas Family Code, to make a determination of the nature, amount, duration, and manner of payments and look to many factors, including those below, in making those decisions:
(1) each spouse’s ability to provide for that spouse’s minimum reasonable needs independently, considering that spouse’s financial resources on dissolution of the marriage;
(2) the education and employment skills of the spouses, the time necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the spouse seeking maintenance to earn sufficient income, and the availability and feasibility of that education or training;
(3) the duration of the marriage;
(4) the age, employment history, earning ability, and physical and emotional condition of the spouse seeking maintenance;
(5) the effect on each spouse’s ability to provide for that spouse’s minimum reasonable needs while providing periodic child support payments or maintenance, if applicable;
(6) acts by either spouse resulting in excessive or abnormal expenditures or destruction, concealment, or fraudulent disposition of community property, joint tenancy, or other property held in common;
(7) the contribution by one spouse to the education, training, or increased earning power of the other spouse;
(8) the property brought to the marriage by either spouse;
(9) the contribution of a spouse as homemaker;
(10) marital misconduct, including adultery and cruel treatment, by either spouse during the marriage; and
(11) any history or pattern of family violence.
Questions about spousal maintenance? Give us a call at 214-528-3344 to schedule a consultation.