Types Of Alimony In Texas
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Court-ordered spousal maintenance generally lasts up to five years but can be extended in cases involving a disabled spouse or family violence.
To calculate alimony, the court will divide the paying spouse's annual gross income by 12 to determine their monthly gross income. Then, it will multiply that number by 0.2. If that amount is less than $5,000, that is the monthly amount of alimony you will receive.
Texas allows judge-ordered spousal maintenance and contractual alimony. Texas spousal assistance requires financial hardship and one of the qualifying conditions, such as a long-term marriage with reduced earning capability, a physical or mental handicap, or domestic violence.
In Texas, some things can disqualify you from spousal support. These include: Cohabitation: If you live with someone else in a marriage-like relationship, you may be disqualified for spousal support. Remarriage: If you remarry before your spousal support obligation ends, you may be disqualified for further payments.
Unlike most other states, Texas law limits the amount of spousal maintenance that judges may award. Monthly payments may not exceed $5,000 or 20% of the supporting spouse's average monthly gross income, whichever is less. Monthly gross income includes income from all sources except: Social Security retirement benefits.
The guideline states that the paying spouse's support be presumptively 40% of his or her net monthly income, reduced by one-half of the receiving spouse's net monthly income. If child support is an issue, spousal support is calculated after child support is calculated.
Here's how to qualify for alimony in Texas, a couple has to have been married for at least 10 years, and the spouse requesting alimony cannot reasonably meet their needs financial (about $18,0000 per year).
Texas law sets forth general guidelines for calculating spousal maintenance, including limitations on the amount and duration of payments. The court-ordered monthly amount of spousal maintenance can be at most $5,000 or 20% of the paying spouse's average monthly gross income, and whichever is lower of those two.
