Does Cheating Affect Spousal Support in Texas?

An upset woman in bed with her husband in the background. Cheating can affect spousal support in Texas. While infidelity doesn’t automatically determine whether a spouse receives or is denied support, it can influence the judge’s decision on the amount and duration of payments.

In Texas, a divorce can be filed on the grounds of adultery. Adultery and other marital misconduct could be brought up during the case, even if the divorce was filed on no-fault-based grounds. Adultery is considered the voluntary sexual intercourse of a married person with someone other than their spouse.

Spousal maintenance in Texas first requires that a spouse be eligible to receive payments. Then, the court reviews several factors that could affect their decision, including marital misconduct.

How Does Adultery Affect Spousal Maintenance?

At a minimum, a spouse requesting maintenance must show they do not have the financial resources to meet their own basic needs. If a spouse is eligible, the court will consider many factors in deciding whether to award maintenance, including some of the following:

Marital misconduct by either spouse during their marriage, including cheating, cruel treatment, or other misconduct
If either party destroyed or excessively spent community property
How long the couple had been married
Each spouse’s capability to provide for their own financial needs independently, with consideration to the financial resources awarded in a divorce
The property each spouse brought into the marriage
A history of family violence by either spouse
Each spouse’s education and employability
The time it would take the requesting spouse to get enough education or training to provide for their own minimum financial needs, and how possible and available that training or education is
Whether either spouse has existing spousal maintenance or child support payments, and if they would still be able to meet those payments and provide for their own needs

These factors determine whether maintenance is awarded and, if so, the amount, type, and duration.

If a spouse who cheated requests and requires maintenance, the judge may decide that their payments are lower or shorter in duration. If the paying spouse cheated, the judge may order larger maintenance payments or require them to be paid for longer. The judge has full discretion in how proven adultery affects the amount and duration of spousal support.

However, it’s important to realize that claims of cheating must be proven, either as grounds for divorce or as evidence in spousal maintenance determinations.

Proving Cheating in a Divorce

The evidence of adultery must be clear and positive in a divorce case. To meet that burden of proof, evidence may include:

Texts, emails, or other documentation of the spouse’s admission to cheating
Documentation of a spouse not denying an accusation of cheating
Phone records of frequent contacts
Spousal testimony
Bank statements
Eyewitness testimony from credible witnesses
Photos or videos of the adultery

If the court determines there is clear and positive evidence of cheating, adultery can be used as grounds for divorce or as a factor in determining spousal maintenance. Adultery that occurs after separation can still be used as grounds for divorce in Texas.

How Does a Skilled Attorney Help With Spousal Maintenance and Adultery Claims?

If you are filing for divorce based on adultery or using that information in a spousal maintenance determination, an attorney can help. A dedicated divorce attorney can investigate claims of cheating to gather evidence of marital misconduct and present this information to the court in a more effective way.

An attorney can also help you understand how misconduct could affect maintenance determinations. Adultery is only one of many factors that affect spousal maintenance, and your attorney can better anticipate how these factors will influence each other.

If you are being accused of adultery, an attorney can help you deny the claim and present evidence to refute it. An attorney can also review the other factors that may impact the divorce and maintenance determinations, such as family violence or other misconduct by your spouse.

Work With The Love DuCote Law Firm LLC Today

Divorce is often both financially and emotionally draining. To protect your financial interests and future, you must work with a dedicated and experienced divorce attorney in Sugar Land. The team at The Love DuCote Law Firm LLC has years of experience helping spouses navigate complex divorces and spousal maintenance determinations.

Let us guide you through this difficult time. You can schedule a consultation with The Love DuCote Law Firm LLC online or by calling us at 832-471-6904. We serve clients in Harris County, Sugar Land, Fort Bend, Houston, and Katy, Texas.

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Does Cheating Affect Spousal Support in Texas?

How Does Adultery Affect Spousal Maintenance?

Proving Cheating in a Divorce

How Does a Skilled Attorney Help With Spousal Maintenance and Adultery Claims?

Work With The Love DuCote Law Firm LLC Today

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