Texas Spousal Support and Alimony Laws

The words people use for post-divorce support do not all mean the same thing in Texas. Knowing the difference matters because each route has its own rules, its own limits, and its own enforcement tools.

Spousal maintenance. Texas law uses this term for support that a court orders one spouse to pay the other after the marriage ends. Maintenance is governed by Chapter 8 of the Texas Family Code, and it comes with caps on amount, duration, and the situations in which it can be ordered.^[1]

Contractual alimony. This is a private agreement between spouses for ongoing payments after divorce. It is not court-ordered under Chapter 8 and is not bound by the statutory caps that apply to spousal maintenance. Contractual alimony is enforced as a contract, which changes both the negotiation and the remedies if a payment is missed.

Temporary Spousal Support). Either spouse can request temporary support to be paid while the divorce is pending. This is a different request from post-divorce maintenance and uses different standards, as it is typically used to maintain the financial status quo of the parties and children while the divorce is litigated. We address temporary support early in the case when it matters.

Who Qualifies for Spousal Maintenance in Texas

Court-ordered spousal maintenance is not available to every spouse who wants it. Texas allows a court to order maintenance only when the spouse seeking it meets one of the statutory eligibility tests and the requesting spouse is also unable to meet their minimum reasonable financial needs.^[2]

A spouse may qualify if any of the following apply:

• Family violence. The other spouse was convicted of or received deferred adjudication for a family violence offense against the requesting spouse or the spouse’s child during the marriage, and the offense occurred within two years before the divorce was filed or while it was pending.
• Disability. The spouse seeking maintenance cannot earn sufficient income to provide for minimum reasonable needs because of an incapacitating physical or mental disability.
• Long marriage. The spouses were married for ten years or longer, and the spouse seeking maintenance lacks the ability to earn sufficient income to provide for minimum reasonable needs.
• Custodian of a disabled child. The spouse seeking maintenance is the custodian of a child of the marriage who requires substantial care and personal supervision because of a physical or mental disability that prevents the spouse from earning sufficient income.

These tests describe the door into spousal maintenance. Meeting one of them is required to even ask a court for support. It does not by itself guarantee an order.

The Presumption Against Maintenance

Even when a spouse meets the eligibility test, Texas law presumes that court-ordered maintenance is not warranted.^[3] That presumption is rebuttable, but it has to be overcome.

The spouse seeking maintenance must show diligence during separation and while the case was pending. That means earning sufficient income to provide for minimum reasonable needs, or developing the necessary skills to do so. Without that showing, the presumption stands and maintenance is denied.

What this means in practice: a spouse pursuing maintenance needs a record of effort. Job search documentation, school or training enrollment, and a clear story about why earning capacity remains limited all matter to the case.

How Much Maintenance a Court Can Order

Texas caps the amount of spousal maintenance a court can order. The award cannot exceed the lesser of two figures: $5,000 per month, or 20 percent of the obligor spouse’s average monthly gross income.^[4]

Gross income for this calculation is broader than the net resources figure used for child support. It includes wages, self-employment income, rental income, retirement benefits, and most other forms of income. Specific items such as supplemental security income are excluded.

The cap is a ceiling, not a floor. Courts often award less than the maximum, especially when the requesting spouse has some earning capacity. Texas law also requires the order to be for the shortest reasonable period and amount needed to meet minimum reasonable needs.

How Long Maintenance Lasts

Texas also limits how long court-ordered maintenance can run. The maximum duration depends on the basis for the award and the length of the marriage.^[5]

• Family violence basis: up to 5 years, regardless of marriage length
• Marriage of 10 to 20 years: up to 5 years
• Marriage of 20 to 30 years: up to 7 years
• Marriage of 30 years or more: up to 10 years
• Disability or disabled-child custody: can continue as long as the qualifying condition continues, subject to periodic review

Statutes set the maximum duration, not the typical one. Courts must order maintenance for the shortest reasonable period that allows the receiving spouse to meet minimum reasonable needs. A 25-year marriage does not automatically trigger seven years of maintenance, and many cases land well short of the cap.

Contractual Alimony as an Alternative

Contractual alimony is a private agreement built into the divorce decree or a separate written contract. It is not bound by the Chapter 8 caps on amount or duration, and the parties can craft terms a court could not order on its own.

Contractual alimony often makes sense when one spouse wants ongoing payments and the other is willing to agree as part of an overall settlement. It is also useful for marriages under ten years, where statutory eligibility may not be clear. And it gives parties flexibility in amount, duration, or termination triggers that a court could not order on its own.

The tradeoff is enforcement. Contractual alimony is enforced as a contract, not under the Chapter 8 enforcement tools that apply to court-ordered maintenance. The drafting needs to anticipate what happens if a payment is missed, what events end the obligation, and how disputes get resolved. That work cannot be skipped.

Modification, Termination, and Enforcement

Court-ordered spousal maintenance can be reduced or ended if circumstances change. A modification requires a showing of a material and substantial change in the financial circumstances of either party since the order was entered.^[6]

Maintenance also ends automatically in three situations: the death of either spouse, the remarriage of the receiving spouse, or cohabitation. Cohabitation here means living with a romantic partner in a permanent place of abode on a continuing basis.^[7]

Enforcement of spousal maintenance can include income withholding from the obligor’s paycheck, contempt of court that may carry jail time, and judgments for arrearages.^[8] Contractual alimony is enforced under contract remedies, which is a different process.

When Spousal Support Cases Get Complex

Some Texas spousal support cases require more than the standard playbook. Our team routinely handles the matters most likely to make a maintenance or alimony question harder.

• High-asset divorces, where the statutory maintenance cap is a small piece of the picture and the real negotiation happens around property division and contractual alimony
• Long marriages with career sacrifice, where one spouse left the workforce or scaled back for the family and now faces a long road back to earning capacity
• Disability cases, where the indefinite-duration rules can apply and the medical and vocational evidence becomes central
• Cases involving family violence, where the eligibility pathway is different and the timing rules matter
• Self-employed and variable-income obligors, where the gross-income figure is not on a paystub and has to be built from tax returns, bank records, and business documentation

Each of these changes how the case is prepared, what experts may be needed, and where the case is likely to land.

Why Clients Choose Michael Ireland & Associates

Family law is what Michael Ireland does. His credentials are stacked, layered, and earned through years of focused practice in this one area of law.

• Board-Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, a credential held by a small percentage of Texas family law attorneys.
• Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), an invitation-only fellowship that requires extensive trial experience and peer and judicial evaluations.
• Adjunct faculty at St. Mary’s University School of Law, teaching family law to second and third-year law students in San Antonio.
• Past Chair of the San Antonio Bar Association Family Law Section, a leadership role within the local family law bar.

What that means for you: when you sit across from us, you are working with a Board-Certified Family Law Specialist. Michael Ireland & Associates has handled spousal support matters involving high-asset divorces, long marriages, disability claims, and the kinds of cases other lawyers refer to when they need depth.

You also get a firm that picks up the phone, returns calls quickly, and treats your case as something that matters. Our team serves clients throughout Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Medina, Kerr, Bandera, Travis, and Victoria Counties from offices in San Antonio, New Braunfels, and Victoria.

What to Expect From Your Consultation

The initial consultation is where you get a clear picture of what your spousal support case will involve. Bring whatever documents you have: two years of tax returns, recent paystubs, retirement and investment statements, a list of monthly expenses, and any existing prenuptial or postnuptial agreement.

During the consultation we will walk through the facts, identify the legal issues that matter, and outline what your case will likely require. You will leave with a clearer understanding of the process and the options in front of you.

Schedule a Consultation

What you settle for in your divorce on spousal support follows you for years. The statutory rules are tightly drawn, the presumption runs against an award, and the right strategy depends on whether maintenance, contractual alimony, or a property-heavy settlement fits your situation best. The Michael Ireland & Associates team explains how Texas law applies to your specific facts and what a sound process for your situation would involve.

To start the conversation, contact us online.

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