One of the concepts in family law that we are asked quite a bit about here at the Law Office of Bryan Fagan is alimony. This is a subject that we hear about a lot in our society, but many of us don’t know very much about. I think that we can all agree on divorce being hard for all parties involved. Even if you know that you need to get a divorce, it is still not easy to go through the case. The emotional, financial, stress, and other related to divorce cause many people to delay getting a divorce. Sometimes people wait for many years to get divorced to avoid the unpleasant realizations That come with getting divorced.
However, sometimes what is best for us is to bite the bullet and move on with the next step in our lives, even if it is far from pleasant. This is what I mean when we talk about doing what is best for your family and yourself both now and in the long run. You should not hesitate to get divorced if you believe that it is genuinely in your interests and the best interests of your child. That doesn’t mean that you should speed through a divorce in file for divorce before you are ready. I suggest that you should learn about any areas of control about the divorce and then move forward when you have the proper decision-making capabilities at hand.
One of the reasons you may be hesitant to get a divorce is that you have little control over your post-divorce financial future. Suppose that you are a stay-at-home parent and spouse whose husband has worked for most of your marriage. As a result, you may have zero work experience and may have graduated from high school many years ago. Well, you have contributed in your ways to the marriage from a financial standpoint; it is your spouse who is earned almost every dollar that has ever been saved or spent by her family. As a result, the idea of getting divorced puts you in a difficult spot.
On the one hand, you may understand that getting a divorce is in your best interests. Your marriage may have been failing for some time, but you remained in it for financial reasons. The idea that you cannot afford the necessities of life such as health insurance and food is enough to cause anyone to give a second thought to whether or not a divorce is a good idea, at least right now. How will you pay your bills? Will you be expected to work in a minimum wage that will type job till after your divorce is over with? Is there a path towards you going back to school, working to gain experience while also surviving to buy more than just the skin of your teeth?
The answer to your question is that, yes, you can have payments of money from your ex-spouse to you after your divorce is over with. These types of income are known as spousal maintenance and contractual alimony. We will be discussing these payments in today’s blog post and going over how they can help you and your family both during the divorce and afterward.
Unfortunately, sometimes there are problems in ensuring that spousal maintenance and contractual alimony go through without a hitch. Like with anything else, there are potential problems that can arise regarding millions in contractual alimony. As such, we will talk about what it means to enforce contractual alimony or spousal maintenance awards that you received in a divorce case. Hopefully, you never have to go through a situation where responsible maintenance or contractual alimony is withheld. However, it is a distinct possibility that this could occur, and we need to discuss what you can do if this situation happens to you. paragraph a background on alimony in Texas
Spousal support is generally speaking a new phenomenon in Texas. In 1995 the Texas Legislature passed a spousal maintenance statute into law to allow your spouse to pay you money in support after the divorce ends. Before this, a judge could not order post-divorce partial support, although it could be agreed to mutually between you and your spouse. The primary purpose of spousal maintenance is not to be a permanent feature of your life. Instead, spousal maintenance generally speaking lasts for only three years at the most. Additionally, at most, $2500 or 20% of your expenses net monthly income could be paid to you in spousal support.
This tells you that spousal maintenance is intended to act as a band-aid rather than as a permanent cure to any financial difficulties you may have associated with your divorce. So, while you may not be stuck in a marriage due to financial problems, it is true that you cannot expect spousal maintenance to be something that lasts an extended period for you. As a result, you should begin to make plans even during your divorce to handle post-divorce finances—supporting yourself after a divorce is not easy. Whether you need time to go back to school to complete degree karma, re-enter the workforce to gain experience, or want to reach a higher level of play, they’re getting a certification. These are all worthy goals to have for the period after you are divorce comes to an end.
Bear in mind that spousal maintenance is frequently ordered in situations where you, as a divorced spouse, cannot support yourself after a divorce. This could be due to several factors. For instance, you could get a degree, earn a certification, or re-enter the workforce; spousal maintenance can offer you the opportunity to do so on that, completely losing track of your finances.
Enforcement of a particular maintenance award in Texas
In an enforcement case, a successful party can utilize various mechanisms to enforce a court order. Contempt is one such method. Being held in contempt of court means that you will have willfully violated a court order in are subject to significant penalties. These penalties include fines and even jail time. Your spouse has failed to pay child support could be in line with me to pay you past due special maintenance and possibly your attorney’s fees.
Inforcing contractual alimony is a different story than enforcing spousal maintenance awards. Spousal maintenance awards are based on court orders from a judge. Contractual alimony is an agreed to and negotiated provision set forth between you and your spouse in mediation or informal settlement negotiations. Therefore, courts in Texas have not utilized contempt to enforce contractual alimony. This is because hatred is not available under contract law, and contractual alimony is implemented based on contractual principles. The provisions contained in the Texas family code regarding enforcement actions do not apply when it comes to contractual alimony. Instead, we would like to contempt as a means by which a court can punish your spouse for failing to pay you.
How will the court determine whether or not alimony is necessary in your case?
There are four factors that I think your family law court is most likely to look to when it comes to determining whether or not spousal maintenance is necessary. First, your age and physical condition will be looked at closely. If you are getting divorced as an older person, this would likely be a factor in your favor. The thought is that you would be less likely to transition into different lines of work. Generally speaking, while you may have transferable skills as an older person, those skills may be limited in their application across other lines of work.
The other consideration that we need to pay is that your physical condition and health are essential. If you are in poor health or are disabled, then these are factors that a court would likely look to when determining spousal maintenance. Specifically, whether you are disabled or care for a child who has a disability, then these are factors that are listed in the Texas family code as to how Special maintenance may be awarded.
Next, a court would look to see what income sources you have available to you at the time of your divorce. If you have a career in place or Have the ability to jump back into a career if you have been off from work, then your chances of being awarded spousal maintenance decreased dramatically. On the other hand, If you do not have this kind of opportunity available to you, you are likely to be considered more highly for a spousal maintenance award.
Another relevant consideration is the financial status of your spouse. This is a prerequisite almost in terms of being able to be awarded spousal maintenance. The simple truth is that you could be the most deserving spouse in the world when it comes to being awarded spousal maintenance. However, if your spouse cannot afford to pay spousal maintenance, the award cannot be made. Your spouse must have the ability for you to be paid spousal maintenance. This means they will need to submit a detailed budget to the court, showing their income, bills, and other financial responsibilities.
What about modifying alimony payments in the future?
Your life will inevitably change to one degree or another after your divorce. It is almost impossible to stay neutral one way or another when it comes to your life after your divorce case ends. As such, you should be prepared to seek a modification of your court order if circumstances warrant such a modification. However, it is essential to note that these types of modification cases are highly fact-specific and do require, in my opinion, the assistance of an experienced family law attorney. Having an attorney would allow you to present your information to a judge in an easy-to-understand manner that would best allow you to win the case.
Bear in mind that the most critical modification case that can be sought regarding special maintenance is if your living situation at home changes. In Texas, you are ineligible to receive exceptional care once you remarry or choose two reside with a partner. You are effectively telling the court that you no longer wish to receive spousal maintenance by getting married. However, being in a relationship where you live with your partner can be a bit more difficult for you are exposed to prove. Imagine a circumstance where you are exposed to attempting to prove that you live with someone you say you do not. They would have to have video evidence, utility bills, testimony from a witness. It can be an uphill battle for them to prove this.
Enforcing a particular maintenance order means that you must be able to show a judge that on specific occasions, the spousal maintenance that you were ordered to recede was not paid to you by your spouse. Just as we saw with a modification case, you need an attorney to represent you if you wish to bring an enforcement case. We also know that enforcement cases require you to plead specific information in your petition or motion for enforcement. Without having an attorney, you may make a mistake in your documents and find out about them when it is too late.
What can you do to help ensure that you are not left out in the cold when it comes to spousal maintenance?
To close out today’s blog post, I wanted to share some tips with you on what you can do to help yourself receive spousal maintenance. Specifically, I am interested in helping you not be left to dry if your ex-spouse stops paying you spousal maintenance. The reality is that if you are ordered to receive spousal maintenance or child support, for that matter, the odds are good that payment will be missed at some point. Believe it or not, I think the most likely reasons why spousal maintenance and child support or miss is not due to bad behavior by your ex-spouse but instead through neglect or simple mistakes.
Much of the time, you would be able to correct these mistakes by communicating with your expells and having the spousal maintenance payment made up for in the next month. That won’t help you if you depend on these payments to pay your bills and feed your family. My advice would be to do everything you can to prevent yourself from being overly reliant upon spousal maintenance for your day-to-day needs. You can do things to help insulate yourself as best as possible when it comes to your daily essentials in light of potential spousal maintenance issues.
The best thing that you can do to help ensure that you receive your spousal maintenance awards each month is to word your final decree of divorce in a clear, concise, and straightforward manner. The last thing you want is to have a judge say that the wording in your law was too ambiguous to be enforced. All the work you put forth during your divorce would have been for nothing. You need an enforceable order to be able to proceed with an enforcement lawsuit.
Next, you should begin to think about a post-divorce career as soon as possible. Preferably during the divorce. There are exceptions to this piece of advice, such as situations that involve disabled people and disabled children. In the circumstances like that, I will grant you that you become a little bit more dependent upon spousal maintenance to subsist. However, I would also tell you that there are ample opportunities to augment your income from home through remote careers and from stellar work opportunities. There are almost always chances for you to earn income these days through nontraditional measures involving the Internet.
Otherwise, you can work towards completing a degree, starting an associate’s degree, or completing a work certificate to enter or re-enter the workforce. Technical schools, community colleges, and places like this provide ample opportunity for people in your position to earn a degree or certificate that would allow you to make more money in your post-divorce life. Again, no one is telling you to disregard the spousal maintenance completely. However, if you can put yourself in a position where the care becomes icing on the cake rather than the whole cake itself, you are in a much better place.
Questions about the material contained in today’s blog post? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan
If you have any questions about the material contained in today’s blog posts, please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. Our licensed family law attorneys offer free of charge consultations six days a week in person, over the phone, and via video. These consultations are an excellent way for you to learn more about the world of Texas family law and how your family circumstances may be impacted by the filing of a divorce or child custody case.
Bryan Fagan, a native of Atascocita, Texas, is a dedicated family law attorney inspired by John Grisham’s “The Pelican Brief.” He is the first lawyer in his family, which includes two adopted brothers. Bryan’s commitment to family is personal and professional; he cared for his grandmother with Alzheimer’s while completing his degree and attended the South Texas College of Law at night.
Married with three children, Bryan’s personal experiences enrich his understanding of family dynamics, which is central to his legal practice. He specializes in family law, offering innovative and efficient legal services. A certified member of the College of the State Bar of Texas, Bryan is part of an elite group of legal professionals committed to ongoing education and high-level expertise.
His legal practice covers divorce, custody disputes, property disputes, adoption, paternity, and mediation. Bryan is also experienced in drafting marital property agreements. He leads a team dedicated to complex family law cases and protecting families from false CPS allegations.
Based in Houston, Bryan is active in the Houston Family Law Sector of the Houston Bar Association and various family law groups in Texas. His deep understanding of family values and his professional dedication make him a compassionate advocate for families navigating Texas family law.
