Legal Information: Texas
Divorce I need a divorce. We do not have minor children. We have minor children. This toolkit tells you about getting a divorce when you and your spouse have children who are younger than 18 or still in high school and there are no court orders for custody and support of your children already in place.
Online Divorce in Texas
A final custody and support order is already in place. This toolkit tells you about getting a divorce when there is already a final court order for custody and support of your children such as an Attorney General child support order and you do not want to change that order. Divorce My spouse filed for divorce. This toolkit tells you about your options if your spouse has filed for divorce. Acknowledgment of Paternity and Denial of Paternity. This article tells you about acknowledgment of paternity and denial of paternity.
Amended Petitions in Family Law Cases. This article provides an overview of attorneys ad litem and amicus attorneys in family law cases. This article answers frequently asked questions about changing an existing custody, visitation, child support or medical support order.
How to File for Divorce by Myself in Texas
Changing Your Address or Employment Information. This article tells you how and when to update your address and other personal information with the court and others. Child Custody. This article tells you about child support, medical support, and dental support in Texas, including how to get or change a child support order. This requires a petition.
10 Things You Should Know About Divorce In Houston, Harris County, Texas | Houston Divorce Lawyer
The petition is the legal document also known as a pleading that formally begins the divorce process in Texas. The petition is prepared by the spouse who is filing divorce or by that spouse's attorney.
The filing spouse or the attorney must sign the petition. The Texas Family Code prescribes certain information that must be included in all divorce petitions. The divorce petition is filed in the clerk's office for the family court system associated with the county where the spouses reside. If the spouses reside in separate counties, then the divorce petition can be filed in the county where either spouse resides.
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The filing of the divorce petition formally commences the divorce process. The Texas Family Code prescribes that the divorce may not be granted before the 60th day after the date the divorce was filed. A court may, in its discretion , waive the day required waiting period in certain cases where the other spouse has been convicted of a crime of family violence committed against the filing spouse or member of the household.
However, what is customary among most courts in the considerable majority of divorce cases is to require the completion of the day waiting period before the court will consider granting the divorce. At this point, it is important to keep in mind that just because all or most Texas divorces have a day mandatory minimum waiting period, that does not mean that the divorce is automatically granted or finalized by day Not every divorce case is ready or eligible to be finalized immediately upon expiration of the day waiting period.
Assuming that Texas has jurisdiction over the parties and that the divorce was filed in the correct Texas county, there are two additional important criteria that must be fulfilled before the divorce case is minimally eligible for finalization. These two criteria are: 1 legal notice to the other spouse and 2 written agreement or absence of disagreement between the spouses as to the proposed settlement terms or final orders subject of the divorce case. First, regarding legal notice, this is not the same thing as actual notice.
In other words, informally notifying your spouse that you have "filed for divorce" may furnish your spouse with actual notice of the divorce, but that actual or informal notice is not the same thing as legal notice. Legal notice to your spouse is what is required, and it is commonly accomplished in one of two ways. One way is for your spouse to sign a written document known as a Waiver of Citation. Certain information must be included in the waiver, as specified under the Texas Family Code, and the waiver must be signed by your spouse in the presence of a notary public.
Also, the waiver must be signed on a calendar date after the divorce petition has already been filed. Waivers that are not notarized are invalid, as are waivers that are signed on a date that precedes the actual filing date of the divorce petition.
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The function served by the waiver is to furnish the court with satisfactory proof that your spouse has proper legal notice of the divorce proceedings. If you and your spouse are on reasonably good terms, and if both of you are in agreement with getting a divorce and with the settlement terms for the divorce, then the chances may be good that your spouse will agree to sign a waiver.
Of course, not every spouse will agree to sign a waiver. This other method is known as service of citation. Service of citation involves having a sheriff or constable or court-authorized neutral third party usually a process server go out to where your spouse resides or works or can otherwise be found and hand-deliver a copy of the divorce petition with the attached citation to your spouse. The citation is a legal document that furnishes your spouse with prescribed due process notifications that the spouse is being sued for divorce, and that the spouse is admonished to respond to the divorce within a certain manner and time frame, otherwise the divorce may be finalized without further notice to that spouse.
In certain cases, the court may approve alternative methods of service of citation if the court is satisfied that the spouse's whereabouts are unknown or if the court is satisfied that the spouse is avoiding personal service of citation. Either way, once your spouse has received proper legal notice of this divorce, that is to say, once your spouse has either properly signed a Waiver of Citation or has been served with the citation, then the next step is to determine the specific legal and factual issues that are required to settle the divorce.
In order for the divorce to be eligible for finalization upon expiration of the day waiting period, it will be necessary for there to be a written and signed agreement between the spouses as to the settlement terms or there must be an absence of disagreement between the spouses as to the divorce and its terms. Texas law as applied to the circumstances of your own marriage will determine the legal requirements that must be included in any written settlement or final decree rendered by the Court in the divorce case.
For instance, if there are children of the marriage and if there are no prior Court orders addressing custody and support issues, then the final decree will need to include provisions for allocation of the parental rights and duties between the two parents, as well as provisions for custody and possession of the children, and provisions for child support.
Similarly, the final decree will also need to include provisions regarding the arrangement for dividing the marital property between the two spouses. Also, in certain marriages of considerable duration 10 years or more , a spouse might be entitled to some post-divorce spousal support if certain additional criteria are fulfilled. Texas law prescribes numerous criteria and guidelines for determining the correct and appropriate orders regarding issues of child custody, property division, and child and spousal support.
These important issues are beyond the scope of this article. In many or most instances, the determination of the appropriate settlement terms on these important issues will require legal guidance from an experienced divorce attorney. In most cases, it is recommended that an attorney prepare or supervise the preparation of the final decree and other related documents.
The Texas 60-Day Divorce
But the important point for determining whether or not the divorce can be a quick divorce is to determine whether or not you and your spouse can come to an agreement, or have an absence of disagreement, as to these ultimate terms. If your spouse has received legal notice by voluntarily signing a Waiver of Citation, then this is usually a reliable indicator that the two of you may be able to reach an agreement on these important settlement terms, which can then be included in the written final decree that you and your spouse can sign. Or, if your spouse has received legal notice by being served with citation, and if your spouse has not subsequently hired an attorney or otherwise filed a written pleading with the court challenging some aspect of this divorce , then that may be a reliable indicator that your spouse is not interested in challenging or contesting the divorce.
In other words, if your spouse receives legal notice of this divorce by being served with the citation, but your spouse does not subsequently respond to this divorce within the time prescribed, then that may indicate that there is an absence of disagreement between you and your spouse as to the terms of the divorce. If your spouse has been furnished with proper legal notice of the divorce and has not expressed any proper challenge to the divorce proceedings, then you may be eligible to finalize the divorce without further notice to your spouse.
This is what is known as finalizing the divorce on a default basis.