How to Modify Spousal Maintenance in Texas

You can ask a Texas court to change court-ordered spousal maintenance, but only by filing a motion in the court that issued the original order and proving a material and substantial change in circumstances that happened after that order. The judge can raise, lower or end payments within strict limits, and any change only reaches payments that come due after your motion is filed. That last point is why timing matters more than most people expect.

This guide walks through who can ask, what you must prove, how the filing works, what evidence persuades a judge, and the situations where maintenance ends on its own. If your situation involves a negotiated agreement rather than a court order, read the section on contractual support first, because the rules are different.

TL;DR

• Only a court-ordered maintenance award can be modified under the Family Code. You file a motion in the court that rendered the original order, and the other side is served with citation.
• You must show a material and substantial change in circumstances that occurred after the date of the order. Documents comparing then and now carry the case.
• A modification applies only to payments that accrue after your motion is filed, and a court cannot increase maintenance beyond the original amount or remaining duration.
• Remarriage of the recipient ends maintenance automatically. Continuing cohabitation in a dating or romantic relationship requires a hearing, after which the court must terminate.
• Do not stop paying on your own. File first, and keep paying what the order requires until a judge changes it.

Table of Contents

• First, confirm what kind of support you have
• What the Texas statute allows
• What counts as a material and substantial change
• Automatic termination: death, remarriage and cohabitation
• How to file a motion to modify, step by step
• Evidence that wins or loses these hearings
• Common mistakes
• Our perspective on maintenance modifications
• When to talk with a lawyer
• FAQ
• Sources

First, confirm what kind of support you have

People use “alimony,” “spousal support” and “spousal maintenance” as if they were the same thing. In Texas they are not. Spousal maintenance is the court-ordered payment governed by Chapter 8 of the Family Code. Spousal support that was agreed to voluntarily in a settlement is a different animal, and TexasLawHelp explains that voluntary support is generally agreed to in a divorce settlement, while maintenance is enforceable as a court order.

That difference decides whether the statute can help you. Look at your final decree and answer three questions:

1. Does the decree order maintenance under the Family Code, with an amount, a start date and an end date?
2. Or does it recite a private agreement between you and your former spouse to pay support?
3. If it is an agreement, does the agreement itself say how or whether it can be changed?

A contractual obligation is usually governed by the terms you signed, not by the court’s power to modify maintenance. If you are unsure which you have, bring the decree and any separate agreement to an attorney before you file anything. If you are still married and planning ahead, our page on postnuptial agreements in Texas explains how private agreements about money are structured.

What the Texas statute allows

Section 8.057 of the Family Code is the rule. According to the text of Section 8.057, a party affected by the order may file a motion in the court that originally rendered it. After a hearing, the court may modify the order on a proper showing of a material and substantial change in circumstances that occurred after the date of the order or decree.

Three features of that sentence do most of the work:

• Either side can ask. The paying spouse can seek a reduction. The receiving spouse can seek an increase.
• The change must be new. It has to have occurred after the date of the order. Something the judge already knew about at the divorce does not count.
• A hearing is required. A judge decides on evidence. A phone call, a letter or a mutual handshake does not change a court order.

What a court can and cannot do

The same section limits the result. The court applies a modification only to payments that accrue after the motion to modify is filed, and it may not increase maintenance to an amount or duration that exceeds the original order’s amount or remaining duration. You can read that limit directly in Section 8.057.

In practice:

The statutory ceilings on a first award also frame what a modification can accomplish. Under Chapter 8 of the Family Code, monthly maintenance is capped at the lesser of $5,000 or 20 percent of the paying spouse’s average monthly gross income, and the maximum duration runs from five years up to ten years depending on the length of the marriage, with the shorter terms tied to marriages under 20 years (and, for marriages under 10 years, to qualifying family-violence cases). Our overview of the $5,000 cap and Chapter 8 covers how those numbers are set in the first place.

What counts as a material and substantial change

Texas does not publish a checklist of qualifying events. The statute says the change may include circumstances reflected in the factors in Section 8.052, which are the same considerations a judge weighs when deciding whether to award maintenance at all, such as each spouse’s ability to provide for minimum reasonable needs, earning capacity and the paying spouse’s ability to pay. The judge then asks whether your situation today is meaningfully different from the one the original order was built on.

Situations that people commonly raise include:

• A significant, lasting change in the paying spouse’s income, in either direction.
• A change in the recipient’s earnings or ability to support themselves.
• A serious change in either person’s health or ability to work.
• A change in the needs of a disabled child of the marriage, where the original order rested on that child’s care.

Whether any of these is “material and substantial” depends on the size, the permanence and the cause of the change. A short dip in overtime pay is a weak basis. A permanent loss of a job through no fault of your own, or a sustained jump in income, is stronger. Courts generally look hard at changes that look self-created, such as quitting a well-paid job right before filing.

One limit deserves attention. According to the research on the Chapter 8 text, under the statute, post-divorce loss of employment or circumstances arising from an incapacitating physical or mental disability that leave a former spouse unable to meet minimum reasonable needs are not grounds for instituting spousal maintenance. That language concerns starting maintenance when none was ordered. It is a reminder that Texas treats post-divorce hardship narrowly, so do not assume a bad turn in your life automatically supports a new or larger award.

Automatic termination: death, remarriage and cohabitation

Some events end maintenance without a modification. Section 8.056 says the obligation to pay future maintenance terminates on the death of either party or on the recipient’s remarriage.

Cohabitation works differently. After a hearing, the court must order termination if it finds that the recipient cohabits on a continuing basis with a person with whom the recipient has a dating or romantic relationship, in a permanent place of abode. Two practical consequences follow:

• You still need the court. A friend moving in does not end your obligation by itself. You must file, serve and prove it at a hearing.
• Facts matter. “Continuing basis,” “romantic relationship” and “permanent place of abode” are all things you have to prove, with leases, utility records, mail, photographs, social media or testimony.

If you pay maintenance and suspect cohabitation, document what you can lawfully and openly observe, and speak with an attorney before confronting anyone.

How to file a motion to modify, step by step

The procedure is the same whether you are asking for more or less. Section 8.057 requires that the motion go in the court that rendered the original order, and that notice follow the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure for an original lawsuit: service of citation, and an answer due by 10 a.m. on the first Monday after 20 days from service.

1. Pull your decree and every later order. You need the exact amount, start date, duration and any terms about termination.
2. Pick your factual basis. Write down, in a sentence, what changed, when it changed, and why it is lasting.
3. Gather before-and-after records (see the next section).
4. Prepare and file the motion in the original court, naming the change in circumstances and the relief you want.
5. Have the other party formally served with citation. Informal delivery is not enough.
6. Wait for the answer, then the court sets a hearing.
7. Attend mediation or settlement talks if ordered or offered. Many modification disputes resolve by agreed order, which is then signed by the judge.
8. Present your evidence at the hearing and obtain a written order.

File early

Because a modification reaches only payments accruing after filing, every month you wait is a month the new amount cannot cover. If your income has dropped and you are still paying the old figure, delay can be costly. If the recipient’s needs have grown, the same logic applies in reverse.

Never simply reduce or stop payments. An unpaid court-ordered amount can lead to an enforcement action, and the old order stays in force until a judge changes it.

Evidence that wins or loses these hearings

The central question is a comparison: what were the circumstances when the original order was entered, and what are they now? The Texas Court of Appeals addressed this in In re Marriage of Lendman (2005), holding that without financial data comparing circumstances at the time of the original order with those at the time of the modification request, a court cannot determine whether a material and substantial change has occurred.

That means your first job is to rebuild the “then” picture. Assemble:

• The original financial record. Inventory and appraisement, financial information statements, pay stubs and tax returns from around the time of the divorce.
• Current income proof. Recent pay stubs, tax returns, profit and loss statements if self-employed, and any termination or offer letters.
• Expense records. Bank and credit card statements showing actual living costs now.
• Medical and employment records where health or ability to work is part of the change.
• Records of the recipient’s or payor’s new household, when cohabitation or remarriage is at issue.

Organize them side by side, with one column for the date of the order and one for today. A judge who can see the difference on one page is far more likely to find it material.

What to expect at the hearing

A modification hearing is usually shorter and more document-driven than a divorce trial. Each side testifies, the exhibits come in, and the judge asks questions about income, expenses, job history and why the change occurred. Expect cross-examination on whether the change is temporary, voluntary or avoidable. Prepare to answer plainly, and do not guess about numbers: bring them.

Common mistakes

• Confusing a maintenance order with a settlement promise. The remedy depends on which one you have.
• Self-help. Stopping payments, or sending less, creates arrears and enforcement exposure.
• Waiting. The change cannot reach back to payments before the filing.
• Thin proof. Statements like “business is slow” without records rarely carry the motion.
• Asking for too much. An increase cannot exceed the original amount or remaining duration, so a motion built on that request will fail no matter how strong the facts.
• Ignoring related orders. Child support and custody are modified through different procedures. See our guides on modifying a custody order and custody modification under Sections 156.101 to 156.104 if your circumstances have shifted there as well.

Our perspective on maintenance modifications

We see two kinds of people in this situation. One has just lost income and is frightened about falling behind on an order. The other is receiving payments that no longer cover a household that has changed. Both ask the same question first: can this be fixed quickly? The honest answer is that it can be fixed properly, and that properly usually means a clear record and an early filing.

Our approach is to build the comparison a judge needs before the motion is filed. We look at the decree, pin down what the court actually ordered, identify what has genuinely changed, and tell you candidly whether the change is likely to meet the “material and substantial” standard. Sometimes the right advice is that the facts are not there yet, and that waiting while keeping careful records is better than filing a weak motion. Sometimes the best result comes from a negotiated agreed order with the other side, which spares both people a contested hearing.

We also work with the whole family picture. Maintenance rarely changes in isolation from custody, child support or property issues, and clients should always know where their case stands and what comes next. Clear communication and meticulous preparation are what we promise, and we do not promise outcomes.

— Giri

When to talk with a lawyer

If you have a court order for maintenance and your circumstances have changed, a consultation can tell you in one meeting whether you have a viable motion, what evidence you are missing, and how much time you can afford to wait. Our divorce and marital law practice represents clients in The Woodlands, Houston and surrounding Texas communities, including on post-divorce matters. Bring your decree, your last two years of tax returns and recent pay records, and we can begin from there. If you are earlier in the process, our guide to Texas temporary spousal support and the divorce process in Texas explain how support questions start.

FAQ

Can I modify spousal maintenance if my ex and I agree?

Yes, in practice the cleanest route is an agreed order. You still need to file in the court that issued the original order, and the judge must sign the new order. A handshake or an email exchange does not change a court-ordered obligation.

Does a modification fix the payments I already missed?

No. Under Section 8.057, a modification applies only to payments that accrue after the motion to modify is filed. Amounts already due under the old order remain owed, which is why filing promptly matters.

Can the court increase my maintenance beyond the original order?

No. The court may not increase maintenance to an amount or duration that exceeds the amount or remaining duration of the original order. A recipient can ask for more only up to those limits, and only on proof of a material and substantial change.

Does my ex remarrying or moving in with someone end maintenance?

Remarriage by the recipient ends the obligation to pay future maintenance. Cohabitation on a continuing basis with a dating or romantic partner in a permanent home leads to mandatory termination, but only after a hearing in which the court finds those facts.

Sources

• Texas Family Code Section 8.057, Modification of Maintenance Order (2025)
• Texas Family Code Chapter 8, Maintenance (2025)
• In re Marriage of Lendman, 170 S.W.3d 894 (Tex. App. 2005)
• TexasLawHelp: Spousal Maintenance (Alimony)

Recommended

• Know the $5,000 Cap: Spousal Maintenance in Texas, Chapter 8 Tips
• Temporary Spousal Support in Texas: Who Qualifies