Wow, just returned from the 37th Annual Advanced Family Law Conference in San Antonio where 1000+ family lawyers converged to stay up-to-date with the law and best practices. Because this was a legislative year, there were a number of changes in the law that dramatically affect family law. Two significant ones were in the area of alimony and paternity.
In the area of alimony there is a huge increase in and the benefits available to spouses under the rewritten alimony statute. The maximum amount of alimony allowed has increased to $5000 up from $2500 or 20% whichever is less. The potential duration of alimony has also increased to 10 years from 3 years based on the length of marriage. The lawyers who worked with the lobbyists in getting the statute changed told us that the purpose behind the statute was rehabilitative in nature. What that means is that the purpose behind the granting of alimony is to provide an opportunity for a former spouse to acquire skills and education immediately after the divorce so as to better be able to support themselves in the future.
There are also new factors that the court can consider in the granting or denying of alimony. One of these that appears quite frequently in my divorce cases is the issue of infidelity. The infidelity factor applies to both the potential payor and payee. There are a number of confusing things about the statute, so it will be interesting to see how the law will actually turn out to work in the courts of Tarrant County.
When you select an attorney, play close attention to their experience in your county with the family law judges. That kind of attention to selecting an attorney contributes to a Smart Divorce in Texas.
For Smart Divorce in Texas
In the area of alimony there is a huge increase in and the benefits available to spouses under the rewritten alimony statute. The maximum amount of alimony allowed has increased to $5000 up from $2500 or 20% whichever is less. The potential duration of alimony has also increased to 10 years from 3 years based on the length of marriage. The lawyers who worked with the lobbyists in getting the statute changed told us that the purpose behind the statute was rehabilitative in nature. What that means is that the purpose behind the granting of alimony is to provide an opportunity for a former spouse to acquire skills and education immediately after the divorce so as to better be able to support themselves in the future.
There are also new factors that the court can consider in the granting or denying of alimony. One of these that appears quite frequently in my divorce cases is the issue of infidelity. The infidelity factor applies to both the potential payor and payee. There are a number of confusing things about the statute, so it will be interesting to see how the law will actually turn out to work in the courts of Tarrant County.
When you select an attorney, play close attention to their experience in your county with the family law judges. That kind of attention to selecting an attorney contributes to a Smart Divorce in Texas.
For Smart Divorce in Texas
Diane M. Wanger (Divorcing people since 1983)
texasfamilylaw.info
817-285-2855
