Divorce Laws for Texas Senior Citizens

• Elderly couples facing divorce may have age-related concerns. Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images

  The Texas family courts do not treat older divorce litigants differently from younger individuals, nor do they differentiate between parties with lawyers and parties representing themselves. However, while any couple may go through a difficult life experience with divorce, regardless of age, elderly spouses may have additional, age-related concerns. Texas senior citizens going through divorce should learn about the relevant state laws regarding property division, spousal maintenance, retirement benefits and other legal issues. Each individual may wish to consult with a Texas family law attorney.

Property Division

• Texas marital property laws treat assets and debts acquired by the couple during their marriage as "community property" unless proven otherwise. Under state law, the family court must divide community property fairly. For senior citizens, property division may become especially important because the spouses may be living in retirement or have limited future earning ability.

  The family court can choose to consider a number of factors when determining property division, including each spouse's income or earning capacity, contributions to the marriage or fault in the divorce.

Spousal Maintenance

• Divorcing couples often disagree about whether one spouse should receive spousal maintenance, also known as spousal support or alimony, from the other spouse. The Texas Family Code sets forth spousal maintenance laws in Chapter 8. According to the State Bar of Texas, the court has limited discretion to grant spousal maintenance unless the circumstances meet state law requirements.

  Under Family Code Section 8.051, the court can order spousal support if the couple's marriage has lasted for 10 years or longer. Additionally, the court can order alimony if one party has a physical or mental disability preventing her from employment or clearly lacks the skills to enter the job market. Senior citizens may qualify to request spousal maintenance as they are more likely to have been married for a long period of time. Additionally, an elderly spouse might argue successfully that she has spent many years out of the work force and cannot support herself after divorce.

Retirement Benefits and Pensions

• Divorcing elderly individuals should also consider whether they have rights to retirement benefits, military retired pay or pension funds earned during the marriage. According to Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, a spouse should request a right to retirement benefits before finalization of the divorce.

  To obtain a share of retirement benefits, a spouse may need to obtain a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO), a court order that requires a retirement fund to direct part of a member's benefits to a third party such as an ex-spouse. As senior citizens may already rely on retirement benefits or will reach eligibility to receive retirement benefits soon, a divorcing elder should learn about the relevant Texas and federal laws, and determine whether he should obtain a QDRO.