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Can Alimony Be Modified After Divorce?

The amount and duration of alimony payments must be based on current emotional and financial circumstances.

The Earth continues turning after a divorce. Incomes change, economic circumstances change, and emotional situations change. If emotional and/or financial circumstances materially and substantially change, the judge may modify almost any part of a divorce order, including the amount or frequency of alimony payments. However, alimony payments are not exclusively based on emotional and financial circumstances. More on that below.

The amount and duration of alimony payments are a hot-button political issue today. Many people, mostly people paying alimony (obligors), believe spousal support is basically a divorce penalty. Others, mostly obligees (the people who receive these payments), feel spousal support is an essential component of a just and right property settlement. If you feel the alimony payments previously ordered should be increased, decreased, or stopped, a Fort Worth family law attorney can help.

The same legal framework that controls initial alimony awards also controls alimony modifications. In Texas, this legal structure is unusually complex.

Many alimony modifications involve the qualifications for alimony in Section 8.051. For example, the judge may only order spousal maintenance if the obligee cannot provide for his/her minimum reasonable needs (live above the poverty line) and s/he is physically or mentally disabled or has full custody of a disabled child.

The obligee’s higher income may be the most common basis for alimony modification. Ideally, a Fort Worth family law attorney uses documents, like tax returns, to prove higher income. Circumstantial evidence of lifestyle changes (new house, new car, etc.) is also admissible. Additionally, disabilities are not always permanent.

The law also requires the judge to award the least amount of alimony possible under the circumstances.

Financial Change

If the obligee still financially qualifies for alimony, the court examines the changed circumstances of the obligor or obligee. Usually, the change must be permanent, substantial, and unexpected.

Permanent changes are, well, permanent. Large bonuses and self-employment income spikes usually aren’t permanent changes. As a rule of thumb, an income change is substantial if it is more than a 10 percent change. Events like the obligor’s retirement are expected changes.

Next, if the inquiry gets this far, the judge sets the amount and duration of payments based on several factors, such as:

State law also caps the amount and duration of payments. Payments cannot exceed 20 percent of the obligor’s net income. The law limits the duration of payments according to the length of the marriage.

Emotional Change

The obligee’s remarriage usually does not affect child support payments. But remarriage ends spousal support payments as a matter of law. No ifs, ands, or buts.

A few obligees game the system, or at least try to, by informally marrying paramours. A marriage-like relationship could have the same effect as a legal marriage. Some factors to consider include the length of the relationship, cohabitation arrangements, joint major purchases, and cross-familial support (e.g., boyfriend gives money to girlfriend’s son).

Work With a Tough-Minded Tarrant County Attorney

Alimony orders are not set in stone. For a confidential consultation with an experienced family law attorney in Ft Worth, contact the Law Office of Kyle Whitaker by calling 817-332-7703 or going online now. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start working for you.