Spousal Maintenance (Alimony) – Texas Family Law changes by the Texas Legislature in 2011
In addition to the changes I discussed in my earlier blog entitled “Texas Family Law changes by the Texas Legislature in 2011,” significant revisions were made to the Spousal Maintenance (Alimony) statute by the Texas Legislature in 2011. In 1997, the Texas Legislature passed the first Spousal Maintenance (Alimony) statute under Texas Family Law. Until 2011, that statute remained basically unchanged. They made up for that in 2011. The primary changes cover: Duration of a Maintenance Order The most significant change was to increase the maximum duration of a spousal maintenance order. In the old statute, maintenance could not be ordered for more than three years, regardless of the length of the marriage, unless the spouse seeking maintenance could not meet minimum reasonable needs through appropriate employment or developing…