Dallas-Fort Worth Spousal Support and Alimony Attorneys
During the marriage, each spouse must support the other. Even though a divorce is pending, under certain circumstances, you may be entitled to temporary alimony for the duration of the divorce. For example, Texas courts have occasionally ordered the higher-income spouse to provide support payments to the lower-income spouse.
Although Texas law does not provide what is commonly referred to as “alimony,” lawmakers have voted to provide “spousal maintenance” or post-divorce support. The two (2) concepts are significantly different; however, spousal maintenance is designed to provide minimum payments for a limited time to help the non-working spouse prepare for and enter the workforce to earn a living.
The two (2) circumstances that would qualify for a court to order the payment of spousal maintenance in a divorce would include a spouse being convicted of family violence or if the marriage was for a period of ten (10) years or more. Only under these circumstances will spousal maintenance be considered if the spouse seeking it can show that he/she does not have sufficient resources to live within reasonable parameters. Assuming this criterion is met, spousal maintenance is limited to $2,500 per month for a maximum of three (3) years. However, you should know, you are not guaranteed this amount.
Please contact one of our Dallas spousal support attorneys and we encourage you to contact the family law experts at K&M for a free, 24/7 consultation to discuss whether you qualify for spousal support and recommend the best approach to secure it. The experienced family lawyers at K&M represent individuals in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex area, including Highland Park, Richardson, Plano, Allen, McKinney, Fort Worth, Frisco, and Dallas, Tarrant, Denton and Collin counties.
