Texas Family Code Title 1, Chapter 8 - Maintenance

SUBCHAPTER A GENERAL PROVISIONS

SUBCHAPTER B SPOUSAL MAINTENANCE

• Texas Section 8.001 - Definitions
  In this chapter: (1) "Maintenance" means an award in a suit for dissolution of a marriage of periodic payments from the future income of one...
• Texas Section 8.051 - Eligibility For Maintenance
  In a suit for dissolution of a marriage or in a proceeding for maintenance in a court with personal jurisdiction over both former spouses following...
• Texas Section 8.052 - Factors In Determining Maintenance
  A court that determines that a spouse is eligible to receive maintenance under this chapter shall determine the nature, amount, duration, and manner of periodic...
• Texas Section 8.053 - Presumption
  (a) It is a rebuttable presumption that maintenance under Section 8.051(2)(B) is not warranted unless the spouse seeking maintenance has exercised diligence in: (1) earning...
• Texas Section 8.054 - Duration Of Maintenance Order
  (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a court: (1) may not order maintenance that remains in effect for more than: (A) five years after...
• Texas Section 8.055 - Amount Of Maintenance
  (a) A court may not order maintenance that requires an obligor to pay monthly more than the lesser of: (1) $5,000; or (2) 20 percent...
• Texas Section 8.056 - Termination
  (a) The obligation to pay future maintenance terminates on the death of either party or on the remarriage of the obligee. (b) After a hearing,...
• Texas Section 8.057 - Modification Of Maintenance Order
  (a) The amount of maintenance specified in a court order or the portion of a decree that provides for the support of a former spouse...
• Texas Section 8.058 - Maintenance Arrearages
  A spousal maintenance payment not timely made constitutes an arrearage. Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 807, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
• Texas Section 8.059 - Enforcement Of Maintenance Order
  (a) The court may enforce by contempt against the obligor: (1) the court's maintenance order; or (2) an agreement for periodic payments of spousal maintenance...
• Texas Section 8.0591 - Overpayment
  (a) If an obligor is not in arrears on the obligor's maintenance obligation and the obligor's maintenance obligation has terminated, the obligee must return to...
• Texas Section 8.060 - Putative Spouse
  In a suit to declare a marriage void, a putative spouse who did not have knowledge of an existing impediment to a valid marriage may...

SUBCHAPTER C INCOME WITHHOLDING

• Texas Section 8.061 - Unmarried Cohabitants
  An order for maintenance is not authorized between unmarried cohabitants under any circumstances. Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, Sec. 1, eff. April...
• Texas Section 8.101 - Income Withholding; General Rule
  (a) In a proceeding in which periodic payments of spousal maintenance are ordered, modified, or enforced, the court may order that income be withheld from...
• Texas Section 8.102 - Withholding For Arrearages In Addition To Current Spousal Maintenance
  (a) The court may order that, in addition to income withheld for current spousal maintenance, income be withheld from the disposable earnings of the obligor...
• Texas Section 8.103 - Withholding For Arrearages When Current Maintenance Is Not Due
  A court may order income withholding to be applied toward arrearages in an amount sufficient to discharge those arrearages in not more than two years...
• Texas Section 8.104 - Withholding To Satisfy Judgment For Arrearages
  The court, in rendering a cumulative judgment for arrearages, may order that a reasonable amount of income be withheld from the disposable earnings of the...
• Texas Section 8.105 - Priority Of Withholding
  An order or writ of withholding under this chapter has priority over any garnishment, attachment, execution, or other order affecting disposable earnings, except for an...
• Texas Section 8.106 - Maximum Amount Withheld From Earnings
  An order or writ of withholding must direct that an obligor's employer withhold from the obligor's disposable earnings the lesser of: (1) the amount specified...
• Texas Section 8.107 - Order Or Writ Binding On Employer Doing Business In This State
  An order or writ of withholding issued under this chapter and delivered to an employer doing business in this state is binding on the employer...

SUBCHAPTER D PROCEDURE

• Texas Section 8.108 - Voluntary Writ Of Withholding By Obligor
  (a) An obligor may file with the clerk of the court a notarized or acknowledged request signed by the obligor and the obligee for the...
• Texas Section 8.151 - Time Limit
  The court may issue an order or writ for withholding under this chapter at any time before all spousal maintenance and arrearages are paid. Added...
• Texas Section 8.152 - Contents Of Order Of Withholding
  (a) An order of withholding must state: (1) the style, cause number, and court having jurisdiction to enforce the order; (2) the name, address, and,...
• Texas Section 8.153 - Request For Issuance Of Order Or Writ Of Withholding
  An obligor or obligee may file with the clerk of the court a request for issuance of an order or writ of withholding. Added by...

SUBCHAPTER E RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF EMPLOYER

• Texas Section 8.154 - Issuance And Delivery Of Order Or Writ Of Withholding
  (a) On receipt of a request for issuance of an order or writ of withholding, the clerk of the court shall deliver a certified copy...
• Texas Section 8.201 - Order Or Writ Binding On Employer
  (a) An employer required to withhold income from earnings under this chapter is not entitled to notice of the proceedings before the order of withholding...
• Texas Section 8.202 - Effective Date And Duration Of Income Withholding
  An employer shall begin to withhold income in accordance with an order or writ of withholding not later than the first pay period after the...
• Texas Section 8.203 - Remitting Withheld Payments
  (a) The employer shall remit to the person or office named in the order or writ of withholding the amount of income withheld from an...
• Texas Section 8.204 - Employer May Deduct Fee From Earnings
  An employer may deduct an administrative fee of not more than $5 each month from the obligor's disposable earnings in addition to the amount withheld...
• Texas Section 8.205 - Hearing Requested By Employer
  (a) Not later than the 20th day after the date an order or writ of withholding is delivered to an employer, the employer may file...
• Texas Section 8.206 - Liability And Obligation Of Employer For Payments
  (a) An employer who complies with an order or writ of withholding under this chapter is not liable to the obligor for the amount of...
• Texas Section 8.207 - Employer Receiving Multiple Orders Or Writs
  (a) An employer who receives more than one order or writ of withholding to withhold income from the same obligor shall withhold the combined amounts...
• Texas Section 8.208 - Employer's Liability For Discriminatory Hiring Or Discharge
  (a) An employer may not use an order or writ of withholding as grounds in whole or part for the termination of employment of, or...
• Texas Section 8.209 - Penalty For Noncompliance
  (a) In addition to the civil remedies provided by this subchapter or any other remedy provided by law, an employer who knowingly violates this chapter...

SUBCHAPTER F WRIT OF WITHHOLDING ISSUED BY CLERK

• Texas Section 8.210 - Notice Of Termination Of Employment And Of New Employment
  (a) An obligor who terminates employment with an employer who has been withholding income and the obligor's employer shall each notify the court and the...
• Texas Section 8.251 - Notice Of Application For Writ Of Withholding; Filing
  (a) An obligor or obligee may file a notice of application for a writ of withholding if income withholding was not ordered at the time...
• Texas Section 8.252 - Contents Of Notice Of Application For Writ Of Withholding
  The notice of application for a writ of withholding must be verified and: (1) state the amount of monthly maintenance due, including the amount of...
• Texas Section 8.253 - Interstate Request For Withholding
  (a) The registration of a foreign order that provides for spousal maintenance or alimony as provided in Chapter 159 is sufficient for filing a notice...
• Texas Section 8.254 - Additional Arrearages
  If the notice of application for a writ of withholding states that the obligor has failed to pay more than one spousal maintenance payment according...
• Texas Section 8.255 - Delivery Of Notice Of Application For Writ Of Withholding; Time Of Delivery
  (a) The party who files a notice of application for a writ of withholding shall deliver the notice to the obligor by: (1) first-class or...
• Texas Section 8.256 - Motion To Stay Issuance Of Writ Of Withholding
  (a) The obligor may stay issuance of a writ of withholding by filing a motion to stay with the clerk of the court not later...
• Texas Section 8.257 - Effect Of Filing Motion To Stay
  If the obligor files a motion to stay as provided by Section 8.256, the clerk of the court may not deliver the writ of withholding...
• Texas Section 8.258 - Hearing On Motion To Stay
  (a) If the obligor files a motion to stay as provided by Section 8.256, the court shall set a hearing on the motion and the...
• Texas Section 8.259 - Special Exceptions
  (a) A defect in a notice of application for a writ of withholding is waived unless the respondent specially excepts in writing and cites with...
• Texas Section 8.260 - Writ Of Withholding After Arrearages Are Paid
  (a) The court may not refuse to order withholding solely on the basis that the obligor paid the arrearages after the obligor received the notice...
• Texas Section 8.261 - Request For Issuance And Delivery Of Writ Of Withholding
  (a) If a notice of application for a writ of withholding is delivered and the obligor does not file a motion to stay within the...
• Texas Section 8.262 - Issuance And Delivery Of Writ Of Withholding
  The clerk of the court shall, on the filing of a request for issuance of a writ of withholding, issue and deliver the writ as...
• Texas Section 8.263 - Contents Of Writ Of Withholding
  A writ of withholding must direct that an obligor's employer or a subsequent employer withhold from the obligor's disposable earnings an amount for current spousal...
• Texas Section 8.264 - Extension Of Repayment Schedule By Party; Unreasonable Hardship
  A party who files a notice of application for a writ of withholding and who determines that the schedule for repaying arrearages would cause unreasonable...
• Texas Section 8.265 - Remittance Of Amount To Be Withheld
  The obligor's employer shall remit the amount withheld to the person or office named in the writ on each pay date and shall include with...
• Texas Section 8.266 - Failure To Receive Notice Of Application For Writ Of Withholding
  (a) Not later than the 30th day after the date of the first pay period after the date the obligor's employer receives a writ of...

SUBCHAPTER G MODIFICATION, REDUCTION, OR TERMINATION OF WITHHOLDING

• Texas Section 8.267 - Issuance And Delivery Of Writ Of Withholding To Subsequent Employer
  (a) After the clerk of the court issues a writ of withholding, a party authorized to file a notice of application for a writ of...
• Texas Section 8.301 - Agreement By Parties Regarding Amount Or Duration Of Withholding
  (a) An obligor and obligee may agree to reduce or terminate income withholding for spousal maintenance on the occurrence of any contingency stated in the...
• Texas Section 8.302 - Modifications To Or Termination Of Withholding In Voluntary Withholding Cases
  (a) If an obligor initiates voluntary withholding under Section 8.108, the obligee may file with the clerk of the court a notarized request signed by...
• Texas Section 8.303 - Termination Of Withholding In Mandatory Withholding Cases
  (a) An obligor for whom withholding for maintenance owed or withholding for maintenance and child support owed is mandatory may file a motion to terminate...
• Texas Section 8.304 - Delivery Of Order Of Reduction Or Termination Of Withholding
  Any person may deliver to the obligor's employer a certified copy of an order that reduces the amount of spousal maintenance to be withheld or...
• Texas Section 8.305 - Liability Of Employers
  The provisions of this chapter regarding the liability of employers for withholding apply to an order that reduces or terminates withholding. Added by Acts 2001,...

Last modified: September 28, 2016