Requirements

• Texas courts are limited in when they are allowed to award alimony, known as spousal maintenance or maintenance. As of December 2010, Texas Family Code section 8.051 allows a court to grant alimony if the paying spouse was convicted of an act of family violence within the two years preceding filing or while the divorce was pending, or, if the marriage lasted for at least 10 years, the recipient spouse lacks sufficient property to care for his needs.
  
  

Factors

• Upon a determination that a spouse is eligible for maintenance, the court uses different factors to determine the amount of the award according to Texas Family Code section 8.052. These include, but are not limited to: each spouse's income and financial resources, their education levels, the length of the marriage, the age of each spouse, their emotional and physical health, the contribution each spouse made to the marriage and the marital misconduct of the spouse seeking maintenance.
  
  

Duration

• Texas Family Code 8.054 limits how long maintenance lasts. The court cannot order maintenance for more than three years unless specific conditions are present. A recipient spouse who has a mental or physical disability that prevents him from earning an income, or who has custody of a child of the marriage with such a disability, can receive support for as long as the disability persists. If no condition is present, however, the court must limit the maintenance to the shortest reasonable time period that allows the recipient to earn an income and care for his minimal requirements.
  
  

Amount

• Texas Family Code 8.055 limits the dollar amount a court can order for alimony. The court may not order alimony that is higher than $2,500 per month or 20 percent of the payee's average monthly gross income, whichever is less. So, if a payee earns $4,000 a month in gross income, the court cannot order alimony payments of more than $800.