Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB865 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R734 MM-F
2	2	By: Thompson of Harris H.B. No. 865
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to spousal maintenance.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 8.052, Family Code, is amended to read as
10	10	follows:
11	11	Sec. 8.052. FACTORS IN DETERMINING ORIGINAL MAINTENANCE
12	12	ORDER. (a) A court that determines that a spouse is eligible to
13	13	receive maintenance under this chapter shall determine the nature,
14	14	amount, duration, and manner of periodic payments by considering
15	15	all relevant factors, including:
16	16	(1) each spouse's ability to provide for that spouse's
17	17	minimum reasonable needs independently, considering that spouse's
18	18	financial resources on dissolution of the marriage;
19	19	(2) the education and employment skills of the
20	20	spouses, the time necessary to acquire sufficient education or
21	21	training to enable the spouse seeking maintenance to earn
22	22	sufficient income, and the availability and feasibility of that
23	23	education or training;
24	24	(3) the duration of the marriage;
25	25	(4) the age, employment history, earning ability, and
26	26	physical and emotional condition of the spouse seeking maintenance;
27	27	(5) the effect on each spouse's ability to provide for
28	28	that spouse's minimum reasonable needs while providing periodic
29	29	child support payments or maintenance, if applicable;
30	30	(6) acts by either spouse resulting in excessive or
31	31	abnormal expenditures or destruction, concealment, or fraudulent
32	32	disposition of community property, joint tenancy, or other property
33	33	held in common;
34	34	(7) the contribution by one spouse to the education,
35	35	training, or increased earning power of the other spouse;
36	36	(8) the property brought to the marriage by either
37	37	spouse;
38	38	(9) the contribution of a spouse as homemaker;
39	39	(10) marital misconduct, including adultery and cruel
40	40	treatment, by either spouse during the marriage; [and]
41	41	(11) any history or pattern of family violence, as
42	42	defined by Section 71.004; and
43	43	(12) the intentional unemployment or underemployment
44	44	of either spouse.
45	45	(b) If the actual income of either spouse is significantly
46	46	less than what the spouse could earn because of intentional
47	47	unemployment or underemployment, the court may determine the
48	48	spouse's gross income based on the earning potential of the spouse.
49	49	(c) In determining whether a spouse is intentionally
50	50	unemployed or underemployed, the court may consider evidence that
51	51	the spouse is a veteran, as defined by 38 U.S.C. Section 101(2), who
52	52	is seeking or has been awarded:
53	53	(1) United States Department of Veterans Affairs
54	54	disability benefits, as defined by 38 U.S.C. Section 101(16); or
55	55	(2) non-service-connected disability pension
56	56	benefits, as defined by 38 U.S.C. Section 101(17).
57	57	(d) When appropriate, in order to determine the gross income
58	58	available for maintenance, the court may assign a reasonable amount
59	59	of deemed income attributable to assets that do not currently
60	60	produce income. The court shall also consider whether certain
61	61	property that is not producing income can be liquidated without an
62	62	unreasonable financial sacrifice because of cyclical or other
63	63	market conditions. If there is no effective market for the
64	64	property, the carrying costs of such an investment, including
65	65	property taxes and note payments, shall be offset against the
66	66	income attributed to the property.
67	67	(e) The court may assign a reasonable amount of deemed
68	68	income to income-producing assets that a spouse has voluntarily
69	69	transferred or on which earnings have intentionally been reduced.
70	70	SECTION 2. Sections 8.057(a) and (c), Family Code, are
71	71	amended to read as follows:
72	72	(a) The amount of maintenance specified in a court order or
73	73	the portion of a decree that provides for the maintenance [support]
74	74	of a former spouse may be modified [reduced] by the filing of a
75	75	motion in the court that originally rendered the order. A party
76	76	affected by the order or the portion of the decree to be modified
77	77	may file the motion.
78	78	(c) After a hearing, the court may modify an original or
79	79	modified order or portion of a decree providing for maintenance on a
80	80	proper showing of a material and substantial change in
81	81	circumstances that occurred after the date of the order or decree,
82	82	including circumstances reflected in the factors specified in
83	83	Section 8.052, relating to either party or to a child of the
84	84	marriage described by Section 8.051(2)(C)[, if applicable]. The
85	85	court:
86	86	(1) shall apply the modification only to payment
87	87	accruing after the filing of the motion to modify; and
88	88	(2) may not increase maintenance to an amount or
89	89	duration that exceeds the amount or remaining duration of the
90	90	original maintenance order.
91	91	SECTION 3. (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply
92	92	only to a suit for dissolution of marriage or a proceeding for
93	93	maintenance that was commenced on or after the effective date of
94	94	this Act. A suit for dissolution of marriage or a proceeding for
95	95	maintenance that was commenced before that date is governed by the
96	96	law in effect on the date on which the suit or proceeding was
97	97	commenced, and the former law is continued in effect for that
98	98	purpose.
99	99	(b) The enactment of this Act does not by itself constitute
100	100	a material and substantial change in circumstances sufficient under
101	101	Section 8.057, Family Code, to warrant modification of a spousal
102	102	maintenance order rendered before the effective date of this Act.
103	103	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.