spousal support in Texas?

Question

I have been married for 20 years and just now going thru a divorce. During our marriage I did not work that much, I was a stay at home mom. My husband has always made good money and took good care of us. Now that we are getting a divorce I do not understand spousal support that my lawyer said he might can get for me. It's so hard right now and having to start all over again at my age. Can anyone help that has gone thru this?

Answer 1

I haven't been through it personally, but I am a family law attorney in Arizona. Every state's laws are different but the basic premise is that spousal support or alimony is usually awarded in a couple situations 1) the does not have enough property to reach their reasonable needs or 2) the spouse is not able to be self sufficent through employment or 3) the marriage lasted a long time and the spouse is of an age that would make it unlikely they could gain employment that would allow them to be self-sufficent or 4) the spouse worked and helped the other through school.
Spousal support in Arizona can last indefinitely or you can put a time limit on it. Additionally, it works like a child support order where there is a wage assignment and the money is automatically taken from the paying spouse's paycheck. Your case, from what I understand, sounds like a perfect example of someone who SHOULD recieve spousal support. I would recommend you petition for it because if you do not, you can't go back later and modify your divorce decree like you can with child support. I think that you should not be put in a lesser position then your spouse because you feel sorry for him or you don't understand your lawyer. In a divorce people often let emotions get in the way, and then when the emotions die down over time they realize that they hurt themselves by not asking for what is rightfully theirs. The decision is yours, but my advice is do it becuase I'm almost sure you'll regret it later.

Answer 2

You of course are entitled to a share of the marital assets - there is no law that says that it has to be half. It can be more or less depending on a lot of factors. Usually spousal as opposed to child support in Texas is for only a limited time (less than a few years) and it is usually not much. The key for you is get some education with the money so you can support yourself.

For example: When I split from wife #1 I gave her 2/3 of the marital assets just to avoid a possible hassle with spousal support. Since she had a job, she probably wouldn't have gotten it, but I didn't want to take a chance. I suspect that since you were at home most of the time the judge would be inclined to give you more than half of the marital assets in lieu of spousal support payments. It is a deal a court mediator can hammer out for you.

Answer 3

For 3 children child support will be 30% of your adjusted income (after taxes and any insurance premiums you pay for your children's coverage). Texas has 2 different types of spousal support. The first is temporary support. TSS is often ordered when there is a substantial difference between the spouses' incomes and ends as soon as the divorce is final. "Permanent" SS is only order when the marriage lasted longer than 10 years and there is a substantial difference between the spouses' incomes. PSS is generally "short-term". It rarely ordered for more than 18 months - 2 years, which gives the lower income spouse the opportunity acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to adequately become self-sufficient. The amount is up to the judge. There is no set formula for calculating SS, but it cannot exceed 25% of the higher earning spouse's adjusted income. Of course there are exceptions to every rule and Texas support laws are no different. There are many factors that can result in support being calculated and ordered outside of the standard guidelines.

Answer 4

In Texas, you are entitled to half of the marital estate whether you held a job or not. You should get half of everything you own together. There are certain cases in which you are entitled to spousal support for up to 3 years, but that is rare.

Here is a link to help explain it more fully:

http://www.texasfamilylaw.info/spousalsupport.htm

Consider getting into a divorce recovery group nd getting a job so that you have an income. Both of those will really help.

Answer 5

I can only tell you that it is extremely hard to get. You will have to prove that you cannot support yourself because you gave up your education and/or skills to be a wife. You would get spousal support to help you learn skills to get a job and be able to look after yourself and children on your own. It doesn't last very long and really isn't much. You are entiteled to half of the assetts of your marriage and that might help you. I, too, live and have been divorced in Texas.