End the Pain and Drain of Divorce
Alimony Lawyers

Serving clients in Dallas, Plano, Frisco, Allen, McKinney, Richardson, Carrollton, Highland Park, University Park, Garland and all of Collin, Dallas, Denton, Grayson, Hunt and Tarrant counties.

Alimony or spousal support is called "separate maintenance" in Texas. It is awarded only when two specific conditions are met:

1. The marriage must have existed for 10 years or more.
2. The spouse who is not the wage earner does not have readily marketable skills outside the house.

Separate maintenance is usually awarded when one party has not worked for many years, has raised children, and does not have readily marketable skills outside of the home (think of Ward and June Cleaver). When awarded, separate maintenance is usually temporary. Typically it is awarded while the divorce action is pending. In most cases, judges will award a disproportionate share of the community property to the spouse with the greatest financial need in lieu of continuing separate maintenance payments. In the rare event that separate maintenance continues after the divorce is final, the payments would typically end after three years.

Temporary Separate Maintenance Orders
Temporary separate maintenance is awarded to nonworking spouses almost automatically. Courts will also order temporary child custody and visitation. The goal of temporary separate maintenance is to continue things as close to status quo as possible. Temporary separate maintenance is just that. It is to maintain someone for a temporary period of time, pending the dissolution of the marriage.

At The Barbknecht Firm, P.C., part of our job as lawyers is to help our clients deal with the anxiety of divorce by giving them predictability. By understanding how courts have awarded separate maintenance to nonworking spouses in the past can help you plan your finances accordingly.

End the Pain and Drain of Divorce.
Call The Barbknecht Firm, P.C. for a free initial consultation.