Texas Divorce Laws
Texas Divorce Laws regarding Alimony
The Court may issue orders about alimony only in the following three conditions –
- The spouse distinctly lacks the earning capacity sufficient to offer support for the minimum reasonable requirements of the spouse
- The spouse can not attend a job outside the house as the spouse is the custodian of the child who needs personal supervision and considerable care due to a mental or physical disability
- The spouse has an incapacitating physical or mental disability due to which it is impossible to support self by means of proper job
Alimony is determined after consideration of the following factors –
- The attempts of the partner requesting maintenance to follow existing employment counseling
- Any marital misconduct of the partner requesting alimony
- The input of both partners as a homemaker
- The property procured by either partner during marital status
- The input of one partner in the raised earning capacity, training or education of the other partner
- The separate property of each partner and the comparative economical resources of the partners inclusive of insurance, retirement, medical benefits etc
- Actions by either partners that have resulted in irregular or excess expenses or fraudulent disposition, concealment or destruction of community property or other commonly held property
- The capacity of the partner from whom alimony is requested to fulfill self personal needs, personal needs of the spouse requesting alimony and child support payments
- The emotional and physical condition, earning capacity, employment history and age of the partner requesting for alimony
- The period of marital life
- The employment skills and education of both partners, the duration essential for the partner requesting alimony to attain enough education or training to seek apt job and the availability and practicality of that education or training
- The economical resources of the partner seeking alimony inclusive of separate and community property, the liabilities allocated to this partner during the dissolution procedure and this partner’s capacity to fulfill self needs independently
Texas Divorce Laws regarding Child Custody
The Court is guided by the following issues to take a decision regarding child custody –
- In case the child has completed 12 years, then the preference of the child, regarding who should be offered the exclusive right to choose the primary residence of the child, is taken
- The geographical closeness of the residences of the parents
- Prior to filing of the suit, if both parents have taken part in child rearing
- If each parent can promote and accept a positive relation amongst the other parent and the child
- Whether the parents have the capacity to consider the welfare of the child as the first priority and complete shared decisions in the best interests of the child
- Whether the appointment of joint managing conservators would result in a profit in the development, emotional requirements, psychological and physical needs of the child
The sex of the child or the parent has no significance while allocating custody. It is ascertained that whether in the past any family violence has occurred involving the parents of the child.
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