Yes, Texas does have alimony, though state law calls the court-ordered version “spousal maintenance” and makes it harder to obtain than in most other states. Spouses can receive financial support in three ways: temporary support while the divorce is pending, court-ordered maintenance after the divorce is final, or contractual alimony negotiated privately as part of a settlement. Each works differently, and only one of them, maintenance, is something a judge can impose over the other spouse’s objection.
The Three Forms of Spousal Support in Texas
Temporary spousal support is money a judge orders during the divorce itself to keep a dependent spouse afloat while the case moves through the courts. It ends when the divorce is finalized. There is no statutory cap and no minimum marriage length; the judge has broad discretion.
Court-ordered spousal maintenance is the post-divorce version and the one most people mean when they ask about alimony. Texas statute defines it as periodic payments from one spouse’s future income for the support of the other.1State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 8.001 – Definitions Because a judge issues the order, a spouse who stops paying can be held in contempt.
Contractual alimony is a private deal between the spouses, usually written into the divorce decree or a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. It is not bound by the statutory caps or duration limits that apply to maintenance, so couples can agree to larger amounts or longer terms. The tradeoff is enforcement: if the paying spouse walks away, the recipient has to sue for breach of contract rather than use contempt proceedings.2State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 8.101 – Income Withholding
Who Qualifies for Court-Ordered Maintenance
Getting a Texas court to order maintenance is genuinely difficult. The spouse asking for support must first prove they will not have enough property after the divorce, including their own separate property, to meet their minimum reasonable needs.3State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 8.051 – Eligibility for Maintenance That showing alone is not enough. The spouse also has to fit one of four specific categories:
- The other spouse was convicted of or received deferred adjudication for a family violence offense committed during the marriage, with the offense occurring within two years before the divorce was filed or while the case was pending. Marriage length does not matter in this scenario.
- The requesting spouse has a physical or mental disability that prevents them from earning enough to meet basic needs.
- The marriage lasted at least 10 years and the requesting spouse cannot earn enough to meet basic needs.
- The requesting spouse is the primary caretaker of a child of the marriage with a physical or mental disability that requires substantial care, and that responsibility prevents them from earning sufficient income.3State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 8.051 – Eligibility for Maintenance
If you do not fit into one of these four boxes, a Texas court will not order maintenance, no matter how large the income gap between the spouses. This is the biggest way Texas differs from states where income disparity alone can justify alimony.
The Self-Support Presumption
A spouse seeking maintenance on the 10-year-marriage basis faces an extra obstacle. Texas law presumes maintenance is not warranted unless the requesting spouse has been making real efforts to earn enough income or to develop the job skills needed to become self-supporting during the separation and while the divorce was pending.4State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 8.053 – Presumption
In practice, this is where many cases turn. Judges want to see concrete evidence: job applications, enrollment in training or classes, career counseling, something documenting an honest attempt. A spouse who did nothing during the pendency of the divorce starts the case already behind.
How Much and For How Long
Even after a spouse qualifies, Texas puts hard limits on both the amount and the duration of maintenance.
The Payment Cap
A judge cannot order maintenance exceeding the lesser of $5,000 per month or 20 percent of the paying spouse’s average monthly gross income. For most households the 20 percent figure controls, because it produces a number well below $5,000. Gross income for this calculation covers wages, bonuses, commissions, self-employment income, rental income, retirement benefits, and investment income, but excludes VA disability compensation, Social Security disability, SSI, workers’ compensation, and public assistance.5State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 8.055 – Amount of Maintenance
Contractual alimony is not subject to these caps. If both spouses agree to a higher number in settlement, the court will usually honor it.
Duration Tied to Marriage Length
The maximum length of a maintenance order depends mostly on how long the marriage lasted:
- Marriage under 10 years with family violence basis: up to five years.
- Marriage of 10 to 20 years: up to five years.
- Marriage of 20 to 30 years: up to seven years.
- Marriage of 30 years or more: up to 10 years.6State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 8.054 – Duration of Maintenance Order
These are ceilings. The court is required to limit the order to the shortest period that reasonably allows the recipient to become self-supporting.6State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 8.054 – Duration of Maintenance Order A judge who awards the full statutory maximum has to explain why that much time is needed.
Disability is the major exception. If the recipient has a physical or mental disability that substantially prevents them from becoming self-supporting, or is caring for a disabled child of the marriage, the court can extend maintenance for as long as the condition continues.6State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 8.054 – Duration of Maintenance Order
Within these limits the court weighs factors such as each spouse’s financial resources, education and job skills, age and health, contributions as a homemaker or to the other spouse’s career, child support obligations, and any history of marital misconduct or family violence.7State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 8.052 – Factors in Determining Maintenance
When Payments End or Change
Court-ordered maintenance automatically terminates when either spouse dies or when the recipient remarries. The paying spouse can also ask the court to end or reduce payments if the recipient begins cohabiting with a romantic partner in a marriage-like relationship. Either side can seek a modification based on a material change in circumstances, such as the payer losing a job or the recipient landing well-paying work.
Enforcement and Bankruptcy
If a paying spouse falls behind on court-ordered maintenance, the recipient can pursue contempt proceedings, which carry the possibility of fines or jail time, and can also get a judgment for unpaid amounts enforced through wage withholding. A paying spouse can defeat a contempt finding only by proving all of the following: they lacked the ability to pay, had no property to sell or pledge, tried and failed to borrow the money, and knew of no other legal source of funds.8State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 8.059 – Enforcement of Maintenance Order
Contractual alimony is enforced through a breach of contract lawsuit rather than contempt, which is slower and carries no threat of jail. That difference is one of the main things to weigh when deciding whether to accept contractual alimony in a settlement in place of a court-ordered award.
Bankruptcy does not provide an escape route. Domestic support obligations, including maintenance and qualifying contractual alimony, are excluded from discharge in both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 – Exceptions to Discharge If your former spouse files, your support still has to be paid.
Federal Tax Treatment
For any divorce or separation agreement executed after December 31, 2018, spousal support is not deductible by the payer and not taxable to the recipient.10Internal Revenue Service. Publication 504 – Divorced or Separated Individuals The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act repealed the old rule, and the alimony change was made permanent.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 71 – Repealed Agreements executed on or before December 31, 2018 still follow the older deductible-to-payer, taxable-to-recipient treatment unless they were later modified to adopt the new rules.