Board Certified - Family Law and Criminal Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization
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13455 Noel Road, Suite 1000, Dallas, TX 75240
Telephone: (972)980-8000
E-Mail: JerryMelton@jerrymelton.com

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Spousal Support: (Alimony)

The court may award maintenance for a spouse only if: 

1. The spouse from whom maintenance is requested has been convicted of family violence within 2 years before the suit for dissolution; or 
2. The duration of the marriage was 10 years or longer and the spouse seeking maintenance (a) lacks sufficient property to provide for his or her reasonable minimum needs; or (b) is unable to support him or her self through employment because of an incapacitating physical or mental disability; or (c) is the custodian of a child which requires substantial care and supervision because of a physical or mental disability which makes it necessary that the spouse not be employed outside the home; or (d) clearly lacks earning ability in the labor market adequate to provide for the spouse's minimum reasonable needs.

If the court determines that a spouse is eligible for maintenance, the following factors are then considered in the award:

• The financial resources of the spouse seeking maintenance, including both separate and community property and liabilities; 
• The spouse's ability to meet his or her needs independently; 
• The education and employment skills of the spouses; 
• The time necessary for the supported spouse to acquire sufficient training or education to enable him or her to find employment; 
• The availability and feasibility of that training; 
• The duration of the marriage; 
• The age, employment history, earning ability, and physical and emotional condition of the spouse seeking maintenance;
• The ability of the supporting spouse to meet their own needs and make any child support payments; 
• Excessive or abnormal expenditures, concealment or destruction of any property by either spouse; 
• The comparative financial resources of the spouses, including medical, retirement, insurance or other benefits, and any separate property;
• The contribution of one spouse to the education, training, or increased earning power of the other spouse; 
• The contribution of either spouse as homemaker;
• Any marital misconduct of the spouse seeking maintenance; 
• The efforts of the spouse seeking maintenance to seek employment;
• The efforts of the spouse seeking maintenance to obtain self-support skills while the divorce is pending or during any separation; and 
• Property brought to the marriage by either spouse. 

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