How is Spousal Support Determined in a High-Income Divorce?
The amount and duration of alimony payments are subject to several rules.
For the most part, high-income divorce spousal support is determined in the same way as spousal support in all other matters. The overall principle is exactly the same. Within some limits, judges determine the amount and duration of alimony payments based on the obligee’s financial need and the obligor’s ability to pay. The specific nuts and bolts of alimony in high-income divorces are outlined below.
Because of the aforementioned obligor/obligee balance of interests, both spouses have important legal and financial rights in alimony proceedings. Only a good Fort Worth family law attorney upholds these rights in court. A lawyer is a strong voice for obligors and obligees alike.
Alimony Eligibility
In many states, obligees are automatically eligible for spousal support if they demonstrate a financial need. But in the Lone Star State, the process is much more complex.
Initially, a Fort Worth family law attorney must prove (or disprove) the obligee lacks sufficient property, including the spouse’s separate property, on dissolution of the marriage to provide for the spouse’s minimum reasonable needs.
The law doesn’t define minimum reasonable needs. But it’s a lower threshold than the standard of living during the marriage. If Maria and Jose were one-percenters, Maria must show she doesn’t have sufficient property to meet her minimum reasonable needs. By almost any definition, a vacation home in Colorado is not part of the MRN equation.
Additionally, Maria’s Fort Worth family law attorney must prove at least one of the following, by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not):
- The obligor was convicted of (or received deferred adjudication for) a family violence offense within the last two years, and that offense directly involved the obligor or the obligor’s children;
- The obligee, who has been married to the obligor for at least ten years, has an “incapacitating physical or mental disability” that precludes him/her from earning MRN income; or
- The obligee has custody of an adult or minor child “who requires substantial care and personal supervision because of a physical or mental disability that prevents the spouse from earning sufficient income to provide for the spouse’s minimum reasonable needs.”
We are getting a bit ahead of ourselves. First, the obligee must overcome the presumption in Section 8.053(a) that alimony is unavailable under any circumstances unless the obligee “has exercised diligence in earning sufficient income to provide for the spouse’s minimum reasonable needs or developing the necessary skills to provide for the spouse’s minimum reasonable needs during a period of separation.”
Amount and Duration of Payments
Texas law caps the amount of spousal support payments at $5,000 per month or 20% of the obligor’s gross (not net) income. Certain revenue sources, such as most government benefit payments, are excluded from gross income.
The duration of payments is capped according to the length of the marriage, up to a maximum of 10 years. Another cap applies in this area. In most cases, the judge must “limit the duration of a maintenance order to the shortest reasonable period that allows the spouse seeking maintenance to earn sufficient income to provide for the spouse’s minimum reasonable needs.”
Specific factors regarding the amount and duration of payment include the length of the marriage, the standard of living during the relationship, fault in the breakup of the marriage, non-economic contributions to the marriage, and custody of minor children.
Work With a Compassionate Tarrant County Attorney
High-asset divorce alimony is subject to various conditions. For a confidential consultation with an experienced family law attorney in Fort Worth, contact the Law Office of Kyle Whitaker. Convenient payment plans are available.