Spousal maintenance and alimony in Texas

Texas allows court-ordered spousal maintenance only in limited situations. The spouse asking must lack enough property to meet their minimum reasonable needs and must also fit one of four categories, such as a marriage of 10 years or more combined with an inability to earn enough. When it is ordered, it is capped at the lesser of $5,000 a month or 20% of the paying spouse's average monthly gross income, and it is limited in how long it can last.

Worried about how you'll get by

For many people, the hardest question in a divorce is a practical one: how will I pay my bills after this? Maybe you stepped back from a career to raise children. Maybe your spouse has always earned more. Or maybe you're the higher earner and worried about what you'll owe. Either way, it helps to know how Texas actually handles support between spouses.

Scott Rewak studied accounting before law school and is Board Certified, Family Law — Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He works with spouses on both sides of this question across Dallas, Collin, Denton and Tarrant counties.

Maintenance and alimony are different things in Texas

People often use "alimony" for any support paid to a former spouse. Texas law separates two kinds:

• Court-ordered spousal maintenance: support a judge can order under Chapter 8 of the Texas Family Code. It has strict eligibility rules and limits on amount and length.
• Contractual alimony: support the spouses agree to in their divorce settlement. Because it's an agreement, it isn't bound by the same eligibility rules or caps. Its terms depend on what the spouses negotiate.

There is also temporary support while a divorce is pending, which a court can order as part of temporary orders. That is separate from maintenance after the divorce.

Who is eligible for court-ordered maintenance

Under Tex. Fam. Code §8.051, the spouse seeking maintenance must "lack sufficient property, including the spouse's separate property, on dissolution of the marriage to provide for the spouse's minimum reasonable needs." That is the first requirement. In addition, one of these must apply:

• The other spouse was convicted of, or received deferred adjudication for, family violence against the spouse or the spouse's child, within two years before the divorce was filed or while it is pending.
• The spouse can't earn enough to meet minimum reasonable needs because of an incapacitating physical or mental disability.
• The marriage lasted 10 years or more, and the spouse can't earn enough to meet minimum reasonable needs.
• The spouse is the custodian of a child of the marriage who needs substantial care because of a disability, and that prevents the spouse from earning enough.

Texas law also generally expects the spouse asking for maintenance to show they have been making diligent efforts to earn enough income or develop the skills to do so. The property each spouse receives in the divorce is part of the picture, which is why maintenance and property division are usually worked out together.

How long maintenance can last

Under Tex. Fam. Code §8.054, maintenance generally may not last longer than:

• 5 years if the marriage lasted less than 10 years and eligibility is based on family violence, or if the marriage lasted 10 to 20 years.
• 7 years if the marriage lasted 20 to 30 years.
• 10 years if the marriage lasted 30 years or more.

These are upper limits. The court is required to order the shortest reasonable period that lets the spouse earn enough to meet minimum reasonable needs. Different rules can apply where the basis is a disability of the spouse or of a child.

How much maintenance can be

Under Tex. Fam. Code §8.055, a maintenance order may not require monthly payments of more than the lesser of:

• $5,000, or
• 20% of the paying spouse's average monthly gross income.

So for a spouse with $20,000 a month in gross income, the most a court could order is $4,000 a month. For a spouse with $40,000 a month, the cap is $5,000. The cap is a ceiling. The actual amount is based on the requesting spouse's needs and the circumstances.

When maintenance ends

Court-ordered maintenance generally ends when the order's term runs out. It also ends on the death of either spouse or the remarriage of the spouse receiving it. After a hearing, a court must also end it if it finds the receiving spouse is living with someone in a dating or romantic relationship on a continuing basis. Contractual alimony ends according to its own terms, which is one reason the wording of an agreement matters so much.

Why the agreement often matters more than the statute

Many spouses who wouldn't qualify for court-ordered maintenance still settle on some form of contractual alimony. It can be part of a larger trade involving the house, retirement accounts or a business. A spouse who might qualify may agree to a different structure that suits both sides better.

These agreements are contracts, so drafting is everything: the amount, how long, what ends it, whether it can be changed and the tax treatment. Scott's approach is to look at the whole financial picture and aim for a resolution that leaves you in the best possible position once the case is over. That often happens in mediation.

Questions people ask

Written for Scott Rewak, Board Certified, Family Law — Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Last reviewed October 1, 2026. General information, not legal advice.