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House Bill 901 |
House Author: Thompson et al. |
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Effective: 9-1-11 |
Senate Sponsor: Harris |
House Bill 901 amends provisions of the Family Code relating to spousal maintenance. The bill revises the conditions that establish eligibility for spousal maintenance and makes changes to the factors required to be considered by a court in determining the nature, amount, duration, and manner of periodic payments for a spouse who is eligible to receive maintenance. The bill extends the maximum period for which a maintenance order may remain in effect and makes the duration of such an order contingent on the duration of the marriage. The bill increases from $2,500 to $5,000 the dollar amount used to determine the minimum monthly maintenance an obligor may be ordered to pay and specifies the types of income that constitute a spouse's gross income. The bill revises provisions relating to the termination, modification, or enforcement of a spousal maintenance obligation and prohibits a court from enforcing by contempt any provision of an agreed maintenance order for any period of maintenance beyond the period of maintenance the court could have ordered under law. The bill requires an obligee to return to an obligor any overpayment in maintenance made by the obligor if certain conditions apply and authorizes an obligor to file a suit to recover overpaid maintenance.