Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

My brother is 52 years old & has been married for about 20 years to his 54 year old wife. They own a home in Illinois that has been on the market for about 2 years. They are going to divorce but have been postponing it while hoping to sell the house first. Our question is regarding some of her demands for spousal support and remaining on his medical insurance coverage. His annual earnings are approx. $80k and hers $40k. He has an assoc. degree and she has a masters that he helped her obtain during their marriage. Her earnings potential is actually greater than his but she has never applied herself towards getting a job in her field. He has also been living and working in PA for the past 2+ years. She remains in IL in the house. He pays 3/4 of the house payments and she pays the rest plus utilities. What are her chances of being awarded the support she requests ($200 a month) and keeping the medical coverage? We have researched and it appears that even a court order cannot force a plan to allow coverage if it is a self insured plan or was written in a different state. She has the opportunity for medical coverage through her employer. Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.


Asked on 1/03/11, 1:11 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Fran Brochstein Attorney & Mediator

You do not state when the divorce is filed. The laws where the divorce is filed will control what occurs in the divorce.

I assume that your brother has a competent family law attorney. He needs to talk to his attorney. If he does not trust his attorney, then he needs to fire his attorney and hire a new one.

No competent attorney is going to try to "predict" the outcome of a complex divorce case based on the limited information you have provided - sorry! Divorce law is just too complex and you've not given nearly enough information to do so. Also, my crystal ball is broken!

PS - Judges look at actual earning not "potential". If she never earned lots of money for 20 years -- that is the reality of the situation. Her husband tolerated her behavior for 20 years. The judge does not have a "magic wand" to make her "live up to her potential.

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Answered on 1/08/11, 1:38 pm


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