Individuals who are going through the divorce process in Texas may be entitled to obtain spousal support. To receive payments from a former spouse, an individual may need to show that he or she was the victim of domestic violence. In this case, it should be shown that the perpetrator was convicted or received deferred adjudication no more than two years prior to the divorce taking place. An individual may also receive spousal support if that person is unable to earn money because of a mental or physical problem.
The same may be true if a person is unable to earn money because he or she is the custodial parent of a special needs child born during the marriage. Finally, spousal support may be available to those who cannot meet their needs and were married for at least 10 years.
If the paying spouse was convicted of domestic abuse, alimony may be available to a person who was married for less than a decade. In such a scenario, support payments would be made for up to five years. Those who were married for more than 30 years may receive alimony for up to a decade. Permanent spousal support may be available if a spouse or child is disabled and is unlikely to recover. Payments are typically the lesser of $5,000 or 20% of the paying spouse’s average monthly income.
An attorney may be able to help a person convince a judge that he or she is entitled to the maximum spousal maintenance allowed by law. This might be done by pointing to the other spouse’s criminal record or medical records proving that a child has a long-term disability. An attorney may also use payroll and other records to establish how much a paying spouse made during his or her career.