An important thing to know about divorce in Texas is that this is a community property state, which means that all property acquired between the two of you during the marriage is owned equally.
Sick and tired of living with a bickering spouse in a loveless marriage? You can’t resolve your differences and separation won’t cut it. Maybe divorce can bring you the freedom and peace you crave. But what about divorce cost in Texas? Will it be too costly to go ahead with a divorce in Texas, what is an uncontested divorce in the lone star state, do you have to get your spouse’s permission to get a divorce, and what is the procedure? Will you need a lawyer to get a divorce in Texas? All these questions will need to be answered.
You must have grounds to get divorced
With all the states and not just Texas, you must have a good reason or grounds to actually get divorced. So reasonable reasons for divorce will include things such as –
- Adultery
- Abandonment
- No-fault divorce
- A person confined to a mental institution for 3 years and with no chance of coming out.
Some facts you need to know about divorce in Texas –
- With an uncontested divorce or agreed divorce in Texas, couples agree on the legal issues involved in a divorce and they have reached an amicable solution on how to divide the property and how child custody will work.
- An agreed divorce is quicker and cheaper than a contested divorce.
- There are couples who want to save on costs and they investigate do-it-yourself divorces. So you can file for divorce online and be guided through the process.
- When there are complications with a divorce, it can be a wise move to have a lawyer prepare your settlement agreement. Certainly, if your divorce is contested, you will need a lawyer to help you with handling all the complicated legal procedures.
- In Texas, both partners aren’t required to agree to end the marriage. So one partner can start divorce proceedings and the other partner can’t stop the process. Even if they don’t agree to the divorce and don’t want to go ahead with it, they can’t stop the divorce process.
- Debt accumulated during the course of the marriage is the responsibility of both spouses.
- Steps in a Texas divorce process will depend on whether you’ve filed for an agreed divorce or a contested divorce. With a contested divorce, the respondent has 20 days to reply to the divorce petition. With an uncontested divorce, the respondent can reply or return the waiver of service. Both spouses will have to file a Final Decree of Divorce. At the hearing, the judge will review the divorce papers and sign the final divorce decree.
- Texas allows for no-fault divorces which means that the person requesting the divorce doesn’t have to reveal any kind of evidence of what the spouse has done wrong.
- In Texas, with child custody, the child’s best interests always come first. Legal custody in Texas is known as managing conservatorship. Texas law believes that it is in the child’s best interests for both parents to have managing conservatorship. However, the parent who has spent the least amount of time with the children is the one who will pay child support.
- If any property is acquired by means of a gift or inheritance by the one spouse, the spouse doesn’t have to divide it but has sole ownership of it. Also, any property acquired before the marriage is also the sole property of the one who received it.
As suggested, Texas is a no-fault state for divorces. The courts divide assets fairly and squarely, but all the while taking into account the rights of both partners as well as children in the marriage.
Getting a divorce in Texas is no easy task and it can become emotionally draining when you try to do things on your own and nothing works out smoothly. Things can become complicated too.
Try to sort things out amicably with your spouse and then get a skilled divorce lawyer in Texas to help you. It’s a stressful period in your life and you simply want to get it behind you so that you can get on with life.
