Who Can Be Denied Spousal Support in Texas?

A mother and son counting coins on their table. Spousal support is not awarded in every divorce. There are several reasons why you may be unable to secure spousal support, which is also called spousal maintenance. You must first be found eligible for maintenance in Texas, meeting certain criteria like having financial need and being unable to support yourself independently. If you are not eligible, you may not qualify to receive payments.

Even if you meet the eligibility criteria, the court considers factors that may prevent you from receiving maintenance, such as actions to destroy community property, marital misconduct, or family violence. While these factors are considered at the court’s discretion, they could result in disqualification from receiving spousal support.

Can a Spouse Be Ineligible for Spousal Support?

A spouse can be ineligible for spousal support. Whether you’re seeking spousal maintenance or responding to a request for it, understanding how eligibility is determined can help you prepare for what lies ahead.

In order to be eligible, a spouse who requests maintenance has to have insufficient property, including separate and community property, which prevents them from providing for their basic needs.

In addition, the spouse they are requesting payment from must have been convicted of an act of family violence, or the reason for the requesting spouse’s inability to provide for their needs must fall under one of the statutory reasons listed in Texas law. A spouse may be unable to meet basic financial needs due to:

A mental or physical disability that is incapacitating
A marriage that lasted 10 or more years
Responsibility for caring for a disabled child of the marriage

Therefore, a spouse would be ineligible to request maintenance if they could independently provide for their own financial needs.

If a spouse is eligible for financial hardship on the grounds of a ten-year or longer marriage, there is a rebuttable presumption that may disqualify them from receiving maintenance. The spouse must exercise diligence in earning sufficient income or in developing skills for employability during the period of separation. If they do not exercise this diligence, they may not be able to receive spousal maintenance.

Can a Spouse Be Disqualified from Maintenance Even if They Are Eligible?

Even if a spouse is eligible for spousal maintenance, this does not mean they will receive it. The court considers numerous factors when deciding the amount or duration of spousal maintenance. How these factors influence a court’s determination will depend significantly on the specific judge and whether you work with an experienced attorney.

A spouse could be disqualified from spousal maintenance based on the following cases:

The spouse can independently provide for their minimum reasonable financial needs, considering separate and community property.
The spouse is employable or educated in a way that enables them to be employable, or it is reasonable to assume they could quickly become employable.
The marriage was very short.
The spouse cannot provide for their own needs when considering existing obligations to ex-spouses or children.
The spouse excessively spent, destroyed, wasted, or concealed community property.
The spouse’s marital misconduct, such as cruel treatment or adultery.
The spouse’s history of family violence.

Maintenance may also be denied in the following cases:

The spouse who would pay support cannot provide for their own reasonable needs if they pay spousal maintenance.
That spouse can’t provide for their own financial needs when considering existing maintenance or child support payments.

These and other factors are considered by the court and may result in a requesting spouse being disqualified or receiving a lower payment. An experienced divorce attorney can help you understand what may make you or your spouse unable to receive spousal maintenance during divorce proceedings.

When Can Spousal Maintenance Be Terminated?

Even after spousal maintenance has been awarded, a party receiving payments can be disqualified if they remarry. Remarriage terminates spousal maintenance, as well as cohabitation with someone the individual has a continuous dating or romantic relationship with. This is because the court assumes the individual now has additional financial support and does not require maintenance to meet their basic needs.

Spousal maintenance also terminates on the death of either party or when it reaches the court-ordered date of termination.

How Does The Love DuCote Law Firm LLC Help You Navigate a Spousal Maintenance Determination?

The team at The Love DuCote Law Firm LLC can help you understand what the court may consider when determining spousal support, as well as whether you or your spouse is eligible for maintenance. Our attorneys can also advocate for your interests, present your case to the judge, and fight to secure a fair spousal maintenance determination.

We provide straightforward and dedicated legal support. If you need a divorce attorney, contact our firm online or at 832-471-6904. We have locations in Sugar Land, Katy, Fort Bend, Houston, and Harris County, Texas.

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What Disqualifies You From Spousal Support in Texas?

Can a Spouse Be Ineligible for Spousal Support?

Can a Spouse Be Disqualified from Maintenance Even if They Are Eligible?

When Can Spousal Maintenance Be Terminated?

How Does The Love DuCote Law Firm LLC Help You Navigate a Spousal Maintenance Determination?

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