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Can you terminate alimony in Texas? Contrary to popular belief, family courts in Texas do not automatically order alimony as often portrayed in the media. However, alimony remains a common concern during divorce proceedings. If your spouse requests alimony, you may wonder if you are required to pay it.
For starters, a lawyer’s favorite response to almost any question is often, “It depends.” This question is no exception to that general rule. We see that people who go through divorce cases have questions about the topic of alimony generally and post-divorce spousal support more specifically. Just when you think a divorce will end your relationship with that person, they come back and ask you for money. That’s a bit on the frustrating side, I’d imagine. You want the divorce to be a clean break for you but then the person goes ahead and asks you for a parting gift. Is this going to be a relevant question for you and your family?
Again, it depends. Let’s start by defining our terms a bit more clearly. Alimony is not a “thing” in Texas, but “contractual alimony” is a concept that you need to be aware of. Contractual alimony is when you and your spouse agree in mediation to have you pay her a certain sum of money for a certain period. This is a form of post-divorce spousal support. It is more akin to creating a contract with your spouse rather than anything in the Texas Family Code. Unless the final decree of divorce specifies the payment method, a family court judge cannot enforce the section on contractual alimony in the future.
Spousal maintenance? Is that the same as spousal support
Let’s clarify our terminology before proceeding. The challenge with this topic, as previously discussed, lies in the confusion between spousal maintenance, contractual alimony, and spousal support. Many online sources and inexperienced family lawyers use these terms interchangeably, but they are distinct. It’s crucial to recognize the significant differences between them as you approach divorce proceedings.
Spousal support is a term that many people use interchangeably with the other forms of support in Texas. When we talk about spousal support, what we are talking about is interim spousal support. These are monetary payments that go from one spouse to the other during the divorce. People often refer to them as interim spousal support because you receive them on a temporary basis while you sort out your divorce.
On the other hand, both spousal maintenance and contractual alimony aim to provide ongoing support for your spouse after the divorce is finalized. Your ex-spouse would have needed to show a judge that without spousal maintenance she would have great difficulty and ultimately be unable to provide for her minimal, basic needs. Spousal maintenance aims to help your spouse transition to the next phase of their life.
Texas was the last state in the country to create a statute that allowed its judges to award spousal maintenance to potential winning parties. However, you and your spouse must have been married for at least 10 years before the divorce for the judge to consider awarding spousal maintenance. You may have a great reason as to why you need the money, but if your marriage had not lasted the requisite length of time, then you would be out of luck.
What does spousal maintenance attempt to do for the spouse who receives the money?
Spousal maintenance aims to provide your spouse with a solid, temporary support system that can extend into the future. Often, when someone legitimately requests spousal maintenance payments during the divorce, it puts everyone on edge about how much the soon-to-be ex-spouse might receive.
Understanding spousal maintenance
There may be financial, educational, health, or other differences that have caused a significant difference in your ability to provide for yourself after a divorce and your spouse’s ability. You may have a better job than she does. You may be healthier or younger than she is. She may have stayed at home and out of the workforce for many years to allow you to work and build up her career or even to go back to school and earn an advanced degree. Regardless of the reasons, the court will examine your life circumstances to determine whether to order spousal maintenance.
As we will discuss shortly, spousal maintenance does not aim to allow your spouse to maintain a certain lifestyle or receive long-term financial support from you. Instead, it aims to help your spouse get back on their feet while adjusting to life as a single person. A judge will award spousal maintenance for the shortest length of time possible that will otherwise accomplish the goal of allowing your spouse the basics of life to subsist after a divorce. While you may think that any award of maintenance will be too high, the truth is that you should not view spousal maintenance as a permanent financial support system for your spouse or as a gravy train to ride.
Spousal maintenance and job search
At the same time, your spouse must show a willingness to try and work to avoid having a spousal maintenance order. If your spouse does not make an effort to find work during the divorce, the court will have no basis to order spousal maintenance. Simply telling a judge that you know that you won’t be able to find work because you’ve tried and been unsuccessful before is not going to be a sufficient excuse. You need to provide the court with proof of your attempts to find work, the results of those searches, and then whether you were able to find meaningful work despite these challenges.
Again, your spouse should not get comfortable with the lifestyle they have become accustomed to as far as your household is concerned. It is not reasonable to expect that your spouse should be able to keep living in the manner to which she has become accustomed just because it was once the way that she lived. If she can only find an entry-level job after the divorce, that may help prevent you from having to pay spousal maintenance. However, the job’s ability to meet her minimum basic needs is another important consideration. The judge should take into account reasonable rent and food costs, among other expenses, when determining whether to award spousal maintenance.
Conditions for contractual alimony to be terminated
A final decree of divorce typically includes two conditions regarding the termination of contractual alimony. The obligation to pay contractual alimony would typically end when either you or your ex-spouse die. Another termination clause involves remarriage. If your ex-spouse remarries, then this would be a standard “out” for you to no longer have to pay contractual alimony. Bear in mind that these are examples of termination clauses or provisions that some people choose to include in their divorce decree. You will need to negotiate these specific provisions with your spouse in mediation, however.
Keep in mind, however, that if you owe back contractual alimony payments to your spouse then you must continue to make however many payments are necessary to become current for you to no longer need to pay the contractual alimony. You cannot automatically stop paying these alimony payments even if your ex-spouse has remarried. If you had gone back to the family court that issued your order and have received further orders on how to repay your spouse any owed alimony, then you need to follow those orders before stopping payments altogether.
Cohabitation and Spousal Maintenance
When romantically involved partners live together, they cohabit. If the recipient spouse cohabits with another romantic partner, spousal maintenance payments cease. To end your obligation as the paying spouse, you must file a petition to terminate payments, rather than just stopping payments and moving on. You must inform the family court judge that your ex-spouse is cohabiting with someone else, which should terminate your spousal maintenance obligation. This can be challenging. While you might have evidence like seeing them together, witnessing a moving truck at your old house, or noticing social media posts, proving cohabitation is crucial.
However, you need to be able to figure out a way to turn that “evidence” into actual evidence that is sufficient to prove your case. If somehow that significant other has moved in and had their name added to the deed on the home, then this would be evidence that a court would certainly consider looking at your case. Short of something this obvious (and unlikely), you can present photographs if you find any that show cohabitation is occurring.
We are not recommending that you stake out the house and snap photos on your phone while ducking low in the front seat of your car. This puts you and them in a dangerous situation, potentially. Do not engage in this way. Seek out photographs from places like social media before you ever try and take photographs of someone at their house. Talk with an experienced family law attorney with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan before making any decisions to do anything like that.
Substantial changes in circumstances
If you can show a court that a material and substantial change in circumstances has occurred for either you or your ex-spouse, then you may have grounds to at least modify the spousal maintenance awarded. Either you or your ex-spouse can file a motion to this effect, though assuredly it is you as the paying spouse who would be much more likely to ask for a modification to be considered.
For example, if you were ordered to pay spousal maintenance in your divorce three years ago you may have seen your income drop substantially in that time for several reasons. Whatever the actual reason may be, if you were earning $170,000 annually back in 2019 but are only earning $70,000 right now then you probably can’t afford to pay spousal maintenance to the extent that you were able to do so then. What used to be 20% of your gross monthly income would now be nearly half of your income for any month. That is a substantial change in financial position. If you have other financial obligations, such as supporting a new child with another person, the court may consider modifying or even terminating your spousal maintenance obligation entirely.
Disability as a reason to request spousal maintenance
If you have a mental or physical disability that has prevented you from working or even has prevented you from living independently, a court can order that you receive spousal maintenance as a result. By the same token, if you have been unable to find appropriate employment because of caring for a child of the marriage who requires substantial care and personal supervision from your ex-spouse. This is an exception to the rule that we stated earlier about how your marriage needs to have lasted for at least 10 years for spousal maintenance to be considered by a court.
Family violence as a reason to request spousal maintenance
Another exception to the “10-year rule” for marriage length to request spousal maintenance relates to family violence. If your spouse has been convicted or received deferred adjudication for a criminal offense that also constitutes family violence, then you may request spousal maintenance in a divorce. Here are the two requirements that must also be in place as far as the timing of the violence is concerned. First, the offense must have occurred within two years before the date on which the divorce was filed. Second, the family violence conviction could have occurred while your divorce was ongoing, as well. In either case, you would be able to request spousal maintenance.
What can you do to prepare for a divorce?
The questions that we have been asking and answering in today’s blog post have been specific. We are talking about one subject and as a result, we did our best to pinpoint several topics within the world of post-divorce spousal support. Make no mistake- while you may be interested in reading about spousal maintenance today several topics will be vital to your divorce outside of spousal maintenance.
The question that you need to ask yourself is how are you going to prepare for your divorce case. Reading blog posts is a fine way to start your journey but none of what you read in this blog post or any other on our website is legal advice. We want you to have information, but that information is generally applicable to (hopefully) a wide audience. What you need is specific advice about your circumstances so that you can make wise decisions for yourself and your children.
That is where experienced attorneys can come in handy. If you go into a divorce without representation, then you are setting yourself up for tough times. Sure, your best friend’s neighbor’s dog-sitter may have gotten divorced without an attorney but would you want to risk everything in your life on not hiring a lawyer? Consider your circumstances before making that decision.
Conclusion
Navigating alimony in Texas requires a clear understanding of its legal framework. While media often portrays alimony as a common post-divorce obligation, Texas family courts generally do not award it unless specific conditions are met. If your spouse seeks alimony during divorce proceedings, it’s important to assess your situation carefully. Understanding your rights and legal options is key to determining whether you can terminate alimony obligations. Consulting with an experienced family law attorney can provide the clarity and guidance you need to address this question and make informed decisions based on your unique circumstances.
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