The need to pay alimony is something that most Texas spouses will attempt to avoid. However, some spouses may enjoy financial abundance from their employment income, while their soon-to-be exes possess only a limited earning capacity. In these situations, courts will often order the so-called "moneyed" spouse to pay temporary monthly distributions to the "less-moneyed" in the months, and possibly years, following the dissolution of the marriage.
In the vast majority of alimony cases, the payments will – fortunately for the paying spouse – be temporary. These payments are intended to serve as a financial bridge to the less-moneyed spouse so that she has a sufficient amount of time and financial backing to obtain professional training and education that helps him or her become financially dependent.
During the temporary time frame of the alimony payments, the less-moneyed spouse will usually attend school or other training, while maintaining a similar quality of life as he or she enjoyed during the marriage. That said, if a high quality of life was only maintained as a result of credit cards and loans, the typical family law judge will deem it to be an unrealistic quality of life, and the moneyed spouse will not be expected to incur more debt to maintain it. In all cases, alimony payments should be reasonable and affordable for the moneyed spouse to pay given his or her financial circumstances and income.
If you're being asked to pay an unreasonable amount of alimony to your soon-to-be ex, lawful divorce strategies may be available to help you fight the alimony request in court.