In Texas, where for many years the lack of a provision for permanent alimony has made temporary alimony has made temporary alimony especially crucial, Tex fam code {ann 3.58}, Dissolution of Marriage, concerning temporary orders, declares in one sentence that after a petition, the court “may take temporary orders respecting the property and parties as it deems necessary and equitable.” Section 3.59 on temporary support adds that the court, after notice, “may order payments for the support of the wife, or the support of the husband, until a final decree is entered.” The courts have authority to make temporary custody orders in actions affecting children, and that authority is transferred to the divorce court when a divorce case in a marriage involving children is filed.
Statues
Statues generally. Given the strong doctrine that divorce is entirely a creature of statue, most states have seen to it that there is a provision for temporary relief in the state code. Also, states have found long-standing common-law authority to award temporary relief in divorce cases so that the assets and the status quo can be preserved, and the dependent parties kept alive, while the litigation is pending.
( family Law Checklists, Richard E. Crouch, Volume 1 )