The person filing for divorce takes the Petition for Divorce, along with two copies to the District Court clerk's office and pays the filing fee. The clerk will assign a case number and will file-stamp the Petition and the copies. Texas requires a minimum 60 day waiting period before any divorce can be finalized. The 60 day period begins to run from the day the Petition is actually filed with the court. When both spouses agree on all aspects of the divorce, the Petition for Divorce tells the court, among other things, that the non-filing spouse will waive his or her right to personal service.
The Waiver of Citation that tells the court that your spouse has received a file-stamped copy of the Petition and has signed the Final Decree of Divorce. You can file a Motion for Substituted Service along with an Affidavit in Support of Substituted Service, which asks the judge to issue an Order allowing the Respondent to be served by any one of the following alternate methods:. Texas requires a court hearing for all divorce cases. This hearing can happen no sooner than 61 days after filing the Petition.
An uncontested divorce hearing is typically brief and involves the Petitioner requesting the divorce be finalized while the judge ensures everything is in order.
The Ultimate Guide to Getting Divorced in Texas Divorce Guide | Survive Divorce
At the hearing, the Petitioner files the Final Decree of Divorce signed by both spouses. At the end of the hearing, the judge will sign the Decree, and the divorce will be final. Only the Petitioner is required to attend the court hearing. Although the statutory waiting period to finalize a divorce is 60 days, the shortest amount of time it will take to finalize a divorce in Texas is 61 days. Don't I need to "serve" my spouse the divorce papers?
Why does my spouse need to sign the Waiver of Citation? What if my spouse won't sign the Waiver of Citation? You can file a Motion for Substituted Service along with an Affidavit in Support of Substituted Service, which asks the judge to issue an Order allowing the Respondent to be served by any one of the following alternate methods: By leaving a copy of the Citation and Petition with anyone over 16 years of age at Respondent's residence.
By posting a copy of the Citation and Petition on the door at Respondent's residence. Sending the notice by regular U. Mail to Respondent's mailing address. The filing spouse will also need to file a form for a declaration for default, or uncontested dissolution or legal separation.
If the spouse seeking the divorce wants to enter a custody arrangement, is looking for support, or wants marital property and debt divided up, there are more forms to fill out. The spouse who completes all these forms is likely to get the divorce agreement he or she wants, so the spouse that does not respond needs to know the tremendous risk that he takes by not arguing for his interests.
Call today to schedule a consultation with an Irvine, CA family lawyer to learn more. Gregory G.
Brown is an Irvine, CA based business litigation attorney. A trial lawyer for over 30 years, he has spent hundreds of days as lead trial counsel in jury trials throughout California involving fraud, breach of contract, shareholder disputes, breach of fiduciary duty and many other issues.
A Divorce Without a Spouse (Default Judgment Divorce)
Contact us. In Texas, an uncontested divorce can be filed without an Attorney. If both spouses can reach an agreement on all of the details of their divorce, and they agree to file their divorce as an uncontested divorce, the legal process for filing an uncontested no-fault divorce and for finalizing their divorce is straightforward. When the divorce petition is filed, either the spouse who files it the petitioner , or the spouse whom it is served on the respondent , must have lived in the state of Texas for at least the past six months.
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And, the divorce must be filed in a Texas District Court located in a county where a spouse has been a resident of the county for at least three months before the filing. Step 2 Civil Case Information Sheet. The Civil Case Information Sheet provides general information about the spouses in the divorce proceeding such as their contact information.
The spouse who is going to file the divorce should fill out this document, sign it, and file it in court at the same time they file the Original Petition for Divorce to start the Divorce suit. Step 3 Original Petition for Divorce.
What to Know Before You File for Divorce in Texas
The original petition for divorce is the document that is filed by the petitioner to commence the divorce proceeding in court, provide information about your marriage, and to request that a judge grant your divorce based on the grounds you state in the petition, and issue and Order dissolving your marriage and awarding you the relief you request in the petition.
Prepare the petition, sign it, and file it in court with the civil case information sheet, and pay the court's filing fees. When the petition is filed, the court will assign a "cause number" to the case and stamp the petition to indicate that it has been filed. Step 4 Waiver of Service and Consent. You must provide your spouse with a copy of the petition that your filed in court. You can arrange for your spouse to be served with the petition by the county sheriffs office or by a private process server.
Or, if you are sure that your spouse will sign a Waiver of Citation form in which they agree they do not have to be served the petition, and they agree with what you said in your petition, and they consent to the granting of your divorce as an uncontested divorce, you can simply deliver the petition and waiver form to them by mail or in-person. Your spouse must sign this document before a Notary who will notarize their signature.
A Default Judgment Divorce is sometimes characterized by the public as any of the following:
When your spouse returns you the signed and notarized Waiver bring it to court and file it with the court clerk. Step 5 60 Day Waiting Period. Under Texas law, a Texas judge cannot grant a divorce until at least 60 days after the original petition of divorce has been filed with the court. This is generally referred to as the "waiting period" or the "cooling-off" period.
It gives the spouses time to see if they can work out their differences and decide to remain married and not get divorced. If you have not already drafted the Final Decree of Divorce, you can use this time to draft the Final Decree of Divorce.