• (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 

• lacks sufficient property to provide for his or her reasonable minimum needs; or

• is unable to support him or her self through employment because of an incapacitating physical or mental disability; or 

• 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 

• clearly lacks earning ability in the labor market adequate to provide for the spouse's minimum reasonable needs.

If it is determined that Texas spousal support or alimony is proper, the Court will consider the following in structuring the amount and duration of 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.

A spousal support or alimony award may not last longer than three years unless there is a compelling impediment to the recipient spouse obtaining gainful employment.

Click Here for Texas Message Board