Alimony and Spousal Support

Who is eligible for “maintenance” in Texas?

Determining eligibility for an award of maintenance in Texas begins with evaluating whether the spouse seeking maintenance will lack sufficient property after the divorce to provide for his or her minimum reasonable needs. If so, then a spouse can be awarded alimony/maintenance under the Texas Family Code only if

Where did “maintenance” in Texas come from? Is it the same thing as “alimony”?

Traditionally, Texas law did not favor awards of alimony and the Texas Constitution specifically prohibited it. In 1967, the Texas Supreme Court distinguished between court-ordered alimony and agreements between spouses upon divorce to pay alimony, allowing agreements to stand even where a