Spousal Support - Mansfield,TX

Texas has spousal support. You have to have been married for 12 years. My brother had to pay spousal support and this is what he was told anyway. Good luck to you

the judge will determine if you get it. but a really good lawyer will help your case. get the best you can afford and get a mean one, not a vindictive one. so the job will get done to the best of everyone's benefit. see the family code online.
good luck,
L.

There are numerous criteria the Court will consider when determining if a spouse qualifies for spousal support, including the educational level achieved of both parties, whether one spouse has stayed home with the children while the other furthered their own career, whether the marriage has lasted 10 years or more, etc.

I am a family law attorney in the Addison area, please feel free to call or email me for further information: ###-###-####; ____@____.com

Texas state law. You can google it and find out what the law reads, or just speak with your attorney. It's pretty straight forwad in TX.

You can get spousal support for up to 3 years maximum if you have been married for over 10 years. You can get temporary spousal support until the final order is entered if you have no means or very little means of income. You can pull up the Texas Family Code online and find it. Google Texas Family Code - spousal support and you will find a lot of information. Here is an article written by a Texas attorney.
Texas Spousal Support FAQ
[Note: In this section, the wife is referred to as the spouse receiving spousal support for convenience only. It should be understood that husbands can also request and receive spousal support from wives.]

1) Can I get temporary spousal support while our case is pending?
Texas courts routinely order temporary alimony during the pendency of the divorce (from the day of filing the petition until the day the divorce is granted) How much is ordered depends on the earnings and expenses of each spouse as well as which court your case is set in.
Where child support is being paid, the guideline level of child support is first calculated. Then, spousal support is determined.

2) Am I entitled to spousal support after the divorce is final and if so for how long.
Where the marriage has lasted more than 10 years, or under some family violence situations and support is needed to meet the "minimum reasonable needs" of the spouse, the court may order support for up to three years. If a spouse is disabled or responsible for a adult disabled child, the support may continue beyond 3 years.
3) Is the spousal support I am paying tax deductible?
The Internal Revenue Code provides that all spousal support payments are tax deductible by the paying spouse and taxable to the recipient spouse as "ordinary income." For this reason, it is not uncommon for a negotiated settlement to include the payment of a high amount of spousal support, because such a payment results in tax benefit to the husband.
4) Can I get medical insurance benefits through my spouse's employer after the dissolution of marriage?
Under Federal L. you might be entitled to keep your medical insurance benefits under your former spouse's group plan. The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 created what are commonly known as "C.O.B.R.A." benefits, which are available to the former spouses of people who work for employers who have 20 or more employees.
In general this L. provides that employers must offer "continuation coverage" for the first three years after the termination of the marriage. The L. further provides that the employer can charge the former spouse for this coverage, but the charge cannot be more than 2% greater than what is charged to employees.

After the three years have ended, the L. states that the employer must offer a former spouse the right to purchase "conversion coverage", but there are no limits on how much the employer can charge for this coverage.

The C.O.B.R.A L. further provides that the former spouse does not have to pass a physical examination in order to obtain the continuation or conversion benefits. This is significant if you have any pre-existing conditions that might not be covered by another medical insurance carrier.

In order to obtain your C.O.B.R.A. benefits you have to file your application with your spouse's employer by no later than sixty (60) days after the termination of your marriage. If you do not file your application by that date you will not be able to ge t these important benefits.

If you wish to have your C.O.B.R.A. benefits you must contact your former spouse's employer directly and request the appropriate forms. This is not a service that is customarily performed by our office. You must contact your former spouse's employer directly if you want to obtain these benefits.

The Court System. If you are talking child support is based on a percentage of salary. If you are talking alimony, there are certain requirements to be met. Like being married for certain amount of time, I think 12 years in Texas.

Yes, there is no alimony in Texas but there is spousal support for however long the judge decides to award it to you. Mine was 6 0r 9 months several years ago. It's based on how much money the judge determines the spouse should pay for you to get on your feet, so to speak, and find a way to support yourself. That's why it's temporary. I'ts for you and the children to keep, as close to as possible, the quality of life you were living as a family.If you are a SAHM, I would say it's a given. I have a friend going through it right now and she is getting $1000 per month on top of the child support.It doesn't just depend on his income like child support, it depends on your living expenses. Good luck to you!

Yes, I second the information about the 50/50 split and no spousal support in Texas. The exceptions are if you are disabled in some way or you are caring for a dependent that is disabled. Pretty rare to have it awarded though. Also, child support is based on only the first 6K/month so if the spouse makes more than $72K a year, the child support is only a percentage (20% of the adjusted gross for 1st child, additional 5% for each additional child) of up to 6K/month. Higher income spouses get off easier.

Texas is a community property state - everything is split 50-50. There is no spousal support in Texas.

The Judge is the only one who can /will determine if you get spousal support. It will be determined by your husbands income and your inability to work if there is one. Please be aware that unfortunately Texas is one of the hardest states to have spousal support granted to you. IF the Judge decides to award you spousal support it will only be for the duration of the divorce. Once you and your husband have both signed the Final Order your spousal support will stop (in most states you can receive spousal support until you remarry,tx is NOT one of those states anymore). Do you have children from this marriage?

There is no alimony in Texas regardless of how long you have been married. You can be awarded temporary spousal support during divorce proceedings until the final decree is entered. All you need to do is ask for it in your petition. However, if money is owed to you by your spouse or say you have a business or house together and he is buying you out, the court could set up a payment plan for him to pay you back over a period of time. One of the reasons there is no alimony in Texas is because Texas is a community property state. Community property is all property (real estate, cars, furniture, art, investments, dividends, savings) built up during the marriage. Texas law makes no distinction as to whether you contributed 30 % and he 70%. If it's in both your names, it's community and 50/50. If there was a prenup, your/his property is separate. In addition, you are entitled to half of his retirement unless you have been working and have your own. Even if you have a retirement, if his is significantly more, you may be entitled to half of what was contributed during your marriage. If you have been married ten years, you are entitled to half of his social security as well.

in Texas, you have had to been married at least 10 yrs in order to get spousal support.