California determines alimony based on the recipient's “marital standard of living,” which aims to allow the spouse to continue living in a similar manner as during the marriage.
Texas law sets forth general guidelines for calculating spousal maintenance, including limitations on the amount and duration of payments. The court-ordered monthly amount of spousal maintenance can be at most $5,000 or 20% of the paying spouse's average monthly gross income, and whichever is lower of those two.
How much is alimony usually? Alimony is usually around 40% of the paying party's income. This number is different in different states and different situations. The court also looks at how much the other party makes or could make and how much they need to maintain their standard of living.
Texas is one of the most difficult states to win alimony in a divorce. While it is possible to win alimony or spousal support in court, it is much more likely to receive alimony through a private contract created as part of the divorce settlement.
In Texas, some things can disqualify you from spousal support. These include: Cohabitation: If you live with someone else in a marriage-like relationship, you may be disqualified for spousal support. Remarriage: If you remarry before your spousal support obligation ends, you may be disqualified for further payments.
Texas allows judge-ordered spousal maintenance and contractual alimony. Texas spousal assistance requires financial hardship and one of the qualifying conditions, such as a long-term marriage with reduced earning capability, a physical or mental handicap, or domestic violence.
The most common type of spousal support is usually called rehabilitative alimony—because it's meant to "rehabilitate" dependent spouses by giving them financial support while they gain the education, training, or work experience needed to become self-supporting.
To calculate alimony, the court will divide the paying spouse's annual gross income by 12 to determine their monthly gross income. Then, it will multiply that number by 0.2. If that amount is less than $5,000, that is the monthly amount of alimony you will receive.