Divorce can be an emotionally and physically draining experience for everyone involved, even when the couple arrives at an amicable and mutual decision to split up. Sometimes, the party that would normally be served divorce papers will choose to waive his or her right to be formally served to help reduce embarrassment and further distress. Before you sign this paperwork, however, there are a number of important things to understand about a divorce waiver of service in Texas.
One of the most important things to understand is that there are two different types of "waiver of service" forms that you can fill out as a part of a Texas divorce. One simply waives your right to be served but doesn’t impact your right to participate in the divorce proceedings. The other waives your right to be served and also waives your right to have any input in the divorce.
As you might imagine, making a mistake in this regard could be incredibly damaging. For this reason, it’s a good idea to fully understand the ramifications of signing a waiver of service in Texas. Because the stakes are so high, it’s generally a good idea to consult with a lawyer before signing a form of this type, as it is all too easy to sign the wrong form and give up more rights than you intended.
Let’s take a look at some of the most important things to understand about a divorce waiver of service in Texas to ensure that your rights are protected and your side of the story can be heard.
When an individual is being sued in Texas, they are entitled to what is known as personal service. This means that they receive a copy of the lawsuit that was filed with the county court.
You’ve likely heard about someone being “served” either in real life or in TV shows– this is the same thing as personal service.
If you’re spouse filed for divorce papers, it means that they filed a lawsuit against you and you will need to be served divorce papers.
The documents included in this paperwork are what is known as initial court papers. These typically include:
There are very specific parameters for how divorce papers must be served. Some of the aspects of the service might involve:
If you don’t want to get divorced and you don’t want to be served with divorce paperwork, you might now be thinking that you’ll simply refuse the documents if you’re approached by a process server or constable.
However, if those first two steps are accomplished and you refuse to take the paperwork, the process server is able to simply drop the documents on the ground. They can then go to the court and file an affidavit stating that you were served with your divorce paperwork but refused to receive it.
There are a number of different ways you can be served if your spouse is filing for divorce in Texas.
As the divorce process goes on, there will be more paperwork that gets filed over time. When the petitioner files paperwork after the initial filing, you will usually receive this information either through email or regular mail.
If you are served with divorce papers, the first thing you should do is read them immediately.
You’ll want to look out for a number of specific pieces of information, including:
The next step is calculating how long you have to file your answer.
Once you have been served with divorce paperwork, you are given a specific amount of time in which you can file an answer. It’s actually a little bit of a project to calculate your deadline, so you’ll want to pull up a calendar on your computer or head over to the calendar on your wall.
In order to figure out when your deadline is, you’ll want to first find the day that you were served.
From there, count out twenty more days, including holidays and weekends.
Now, go to the next Monday on the calendar.
This is your deadline– you must file an answer with the court before 10:am on or before this date (so long as any other waiting periods that are applicable to your case have passed.)
What do you do if the courts are closed on your answer deadline date? Look at your calendar and find the next day that the courts are open– your answer is due by then.
Being served with divorce papers can be overwhelming and confusing. Even if you don’t want to hire a lawyer to help you handle your entire divorce, you might find that consulting with a family law attorney about your options after being served is helpful.
Are you wondering if you're a good candidate for getting divorced without a lawyer in Texas? While it's fully within your rights to represent yourself in a Texas divorce, you'll want to weigh out the pros and cons of getting a DIY divorce before you decide to go it alone.
You ultimately have three primary options in terms of how to respond after being served with divorce papers.
An important note: if you think that the divorce should be transferred to another court in Texas or you don’t live in Texas, it’s essential that you talk to an attorney before filing an answer or forms of any kind with the court.
You have until the deadline you calculated above to file an answer with the court after you’ve been served with divorce papers. If you want to have a say in your divorce, you absolutely must file your answer by this deadline. The answer form is known as a Respondent’s Original Answer form.
If you don’t turn in your answer by the deadline, your spouse might be able to move forward with the divorce without any input from you at all.
Your second option is to file both an answer and a counter-petition with the court. When your spouse filed their divorce paperwork, they told the judge what orders they want to be made in your divorce. A counter-petition is your opportunity to tell the judge the orders that you would like to be made instead.
This might be the right option for you if your divorce is contested. If you are going through a contested divorce, it's generally advised to work with a lawyer.
Of course, you are also free to do absolutely nothing after you’ve been served with divorce papers. While this is a path you can take, it’s important to understand that there are consequences.
When you don’t respond, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have to get a divorce. What it means is that your spouse might be able to continue on in the divorce process without you.
This is what is known as a default judgment.
In short, you won’t have any say in what happens to your property, debt, and money. If you have children in the marriage, you won’t be able to have any say in what decisions are made regarding child support, visitation, and custody.
No one wants to be served papers for any type of lawsuit, but receiving divorce paperwork that is delivered in person by a process server or constable can be an uncomfortable and unpleasant experience. If you end up getting served in public or near your workplace, it can feel downright humiliating. If you know that your spouse is filing for divorce and you don’t want to be served, there are two options:
When you do one of these two things, you are communicating to the judge that you’ve received a file-stamped copy of the Original Petition for Divorce and that you ultimately know about the divorce case. When either of these things occur, your spouse won’t be required to have you served.
So we’ve talked quite a bit about your options when you are served with divorce papers, including filing an answer with the court to ensure that the divorce doesn’t carry on without your input.
But what exactly is an answer?
In short, an answer is a legal form that protects your right to have a say in your divorce. This form is filed by the respondent (the spouse that did not file the original divorce petition) with the court.
When you file an answer, you are ensuring that your spouse can’t finish the divorce unless you receive written notice of a contested hearing date or you agree to sign a Final Divorce Decree.
If the respondent knows about the divorce proceeding and doesn’t want to be sued, they can sign a waiver of service only form. In general, a waiver of service is a form that indicates that you are giving up your right to be served with divorce papers.
However, it is very important to understand that there are two different kinds of waivers of service forms, one of which waives your right to know anything about the case, meaning your spouse can complete the divorce without you being informed.
It isn’t particularly easy to tell the difference between the two different waiver forms. It’s a good idea to have a lawyer check over your paperwork before filing it with the court to ensure that you are filing the proper form. Otherwise, you could be giving up rights you don’t intend to.
In the next section, we’ll talk about what you need to know about the two different types of waiver of service forms.
Are you wondering what to expect during your divorce? You can learn more about the divorce process in Texas here.
If you are well aware that your spouse is filing for divorce, you aren’t interested in filing an answer or a counterpetition, and you’d prefer not to be served, you might be interested in signing a waiver of service. Before you do, though, read through these three things you’ll want to understand about a divorce waiver of service in Texas.
The first kind of waiver of service is known as a specific waiver. This is a form you can sign in order to waive your right to be formally served with the paperwork in a divorce case. When you fill out this type of waiver, you aren’t giving up any of your other rights in the case. Just as your right to participate in the divorce case is protected by filing an answer, so it is when you file the proper specific waiver form.
Your spouse will not be able to finish the divorce until you receive a contested hearing date or you agree to sign the final divorce decree if you file a specific waiver with the court.
Don’t just run off and sign the specific waiver without reading on, though. It is very important to read any waiver of service forms carefully before signing and filing them with the court. If you don’t, it’s possible you are signing and filing a form that gives up rights you don’t intend to waive.
There is also a waiver of service that is known as a global waiver. This type of form doesn’t just waive your right to be formally served with the divorce paperwork, but it also waives your right to receive any other information about the divorce case.
It is generally not a good idea to sign this type of waiver. When you sign and file a global waiver, you’re giving your spouse the right to complete the divorce without your involvement. This means that you won’t receive any notice when there are court dates, you won’t receive copies of the paperwork related to your divorce, and the judge won’t ever hear or incorporate your side of the story.
This means that a final decision about your divorce could be made without your consent. On top of that, your parental rights could be at stake if you have children through the marriage.
It isn’t always easy to tell the difference between these two types of waivers. If you are unsure whether you’re signing a specific or a global waiver, you might want to talk to a lawyer or choose to file a voluntary answer instead to make sure you aren’t waiving any rights you don’t intend to.
You should be very careful when downloading waiver of service forms online. If you want to sign a specific waiver, it’s best to talk to a lawyer or the courthouse about the proper form to fill out and file.
Receiving divorce papers can be incredibly unpleasant, and it makes sense that someone might want to avoid the experience altogether. However, it’s important that you don’t choose to sign a specific waiver of service without analyzing your other options as well. Unless you are 100% sure that you want to proceed with an agreed divorce, it’s really a good idea to consult with a lawyer to discuss the different courses of action you can take after your spouse files for divorce.
Beyond the fact that it might be better for you to file an answer
Whenever there is a civil case brought against another party in Texas, the opposing party must be formally served. While we often don’t think about divorces as lawsuits, they are technically civil suits.
If your spouse has filed for divorce, you might be wondering what to expect when it comes to being served.
The divorce paperwork will be hand-delivered to you by a process server, constable, or sheriff. This can be done at the place where you live but it can also occur at your work or somewhere else you frequently spend time. Once you have been served, the process server will provide proof of service to the courts.
Service can also come through certified mail in certain cases. If this is how you are served, you will need to sign the form and return the slip that is attached in order to show that you received this paperwork.
Are you wondering how you can keep your divorce affordable? This article looks at cheap divorce options in Texas.
Someone might choose to sign a waiver of service for a number of different reasons. Some of these include:
Signing a divorce waiver of service in Texas isn’t necessarily a bad idea, but you’ll want to be very certain that you are signing the right form and that you understand the implications of doing so. It is ultimately advisable to talk to a lawyer before you sign this type of form, even if the divorce is amicable and mutual.
If you’re getting divorced in Texas, the sheer amount of paperwork and decisions can be overwhelming. Not only are you dealing with the emotional and physical toll of dissolving your marriage, but you also have to navigate the complex legal process surrounding divorce in Texas.
One of the best things you can do when you’re getting divorced is read up on the laws in your state in order to better understand your rights and responsibilities. On top of that, informing yourself about the process of divorce and what to expect can help relieve stress and make you feel more on top of the ball. If you stay in the dark about how the process works, you can constantly feel like you’re getting blind-sighted by issues and circumstances you didn’t expect.
If you’re looking for more resources about family law in Texas, be sure to check out our library of articles at TexasDivorceLaws.org.
If you were supporting your spouse during your marriage, you might be worried that you’ll be required to pay spousal maintenance or alimony. This can seriously impact your post-divorce finances, and you might be wondering how to avoid paying spousal support in Texas.
Understanding how you can reduce or avoid making spousal support payments first requires that you have a sense of the different types of support that are allowed under Texas law.
If you are worried about court-ordered spousal maintenance, you can find some peace in the fact that Texas is one of the hardest states in which to get alimony. If your main concern is negotiated alimony as a part of the settlement agreement, though, avoiding alimony legally becomes a different task entirely.
Let’s take a look at what you need to know about spousal support in Texas to help you craft a strategy that works for you and your post-divorce finances.
The term spousal support is often used interchangeably with alimony, even though Texas law never once uses the word alimony. The purpose of this type of support is to provide a continuing income to a lower-wage-earning spouse or a non-wage-earning spouse.
There are several different types of spousal support in Texas, which are:
Texas is considered one of the hardest states in which to get spousal maintenance awarded by a court. Unlike other states, there are strict qualifications that must be met in order to qualify for spousal maintenance, and courts are bounded by limitations in terms of how much maintenance can be ordered and for how long.
The state of Texas doesn’t favor ordering spousal maintenance. In fact, proceedings begin with the assumption that it wouldn’t be appropriate to award these payments to either spouse.
There is a statutory cap on how much a court can order one spouse to pay to another. The law additionally limits the length of time that these payments can go on for after a divorce.
Texas law sets a maximum amount of spousal maintenance that courts can order, which is:
Out of these two options, courts can only award the lesser of these two amounts. This means that if a person makes $30,000 in gross monthly income on average, they can only be ordered to pay up to $5,000 in spousal support each month even though 20% of their income would amount to $6,000.
Once you take a look at the qualifications for receiving spousal maintenance, you’ll see just how difficult it is to even be considered for court-ordered maintenance. Couples are able to set up their own agreement regarding spousal support, however, as a part of the divorce settlement. It’s common for this to take place through voluntary or compulsory mediation.
A spouse might fight for contractual alimony during the negotiation process, even if they are far from being able to qualify for spousal maintenance in Texas.
A number of different issues are attemptedly worked out during the mediation process, including:
This agreement will be submitted to a judge to sign once both couples have signed the contract. It will then be entered into the final divorce decree so long as they find that everything is in order.
Once the settlement has been entered into the final divorce decree, both parties are contractually bound to adhere to it.
Spouses have a lot more elbow room when it comes to contractual alimony to create an agreement that works for them versus court-ordered spousal maintenance. They can pretty much come to any agreement in regards to:
The way that contractual alimony is enforced is different from the way spousal maintenance is enforced.
Temporary spousal support is alimony that is paid only during the process of divorce. Once a certain time period has passed (which relates to how long the court thinks it should reasonably take the lower-earning spouse to become financially independent,) the supporting spouse no longer has to make the payments.
In some cases, judges will award this type of support where it extends beyond the divorce finalization for a short time.
The spouse that wants to receive temporary support has to file a Motion for Temporary Orders– it’s not something that happens automatically. Temporary spousal support is reserved for circumstances where the court finds it to be fair and necessary, and it’s worth noting that it certainly isn’t always awarded.
If you're trying to avoid paying spousal support because you're worried about your post-divorce finances, you're likely also concerned about the cost of the divorce itself. Some people try to keep the cost of divorce down by avoiding hiring a lawyer, but this is usually only a good idea if your case is agreed upon and your estate isn't too complex. You can learn more about getting a divorce without a lawyer in Texas here.
There are specific parameters for determining the duration of spousal maintenance when it is court-ordered.
The court is limited in how long it can order support to be paid depending on how long the marriage lasted. The parameters are as follows:
Either spouse has the right to request spousal support as a part of a Texas divorce process. However, at least one of the following circumstances has to exist and the requesting spouse must not have enough property to provide for their basic needs at the time of the divorce:
As you can see, Texas is very strict about who can receive court-ordered support as a part of a divorce.
That being said, any couple is free to come up with their own alimony agreement as a part of their divorce settlement. These qualifications only apply when it comes to the court’s ability to order spousal payment.
If you're worried that your spouse is trying to pull something funny in order to get money out of you after the divorce when they don't really need it to meet their needs, you'll probably want to look at these common sneaky divorce tactics so you know what to keep an eye out for.
In Texas, every spousal maintenance case begins with the presumption that it wouldn’t be appropriate to award maintenance. If the spouse requesting maintenance can prove that they have tried, in good faith, to earn the money they need to meet their basic needs (whether through getting a job or getting the required education or training,) a court will move forward with the evaluation.
A number of factors will be taken into account when determining whether someone needs spousal maintenance, including:
How spousal support is enforced in Texas has to do with whether the support comes in the form of spousal maintenance or contractual alimony.
Contractual alimony can be enforced by the court only to the extent that it aligns with statutory requirements. Beyond that, it can only be enforced in the same way any other contract would be in the state of Texas. This means that it can be pursued as a civil, but not criminal, claim.
If a person fails to pay court-ordered maintenance, the court has the ability to find them in criminal contempt and even send them to jail.
If you are worried about being ordered to pay spousal support by the court, you might be relieved to learn about how strict the qualifications are for a person to receive payments in this manner. However, that’s not much consolation if your spouse does, in fact, qualify for spousal maintenance.
On the other hand, you might be facing divorce negotiations where your spouse is gunning for alimony payments as a part of the settlement.
It’s worth understanding that there can be serious consequences of not paying spousal support when there is a court order dictating that you do so. Not abiding by contractual alimony is a breach of contract and can also lead to unsavory outcomes.
If you’re already expected to pay spousal support in one way or another, you’ll want to take a look at the legal avenues for reducing or terminating the order or agreement, which we’ll discuss a little later on.
Of course, this option requires having some foresight. This type of agreement is becoming increasingly common, as more and more people are getting married later in life with more assets to their name.
Prenuptial agreements and postnuptial agreements are similar in the issues that they deal with, but they differ in when they are signed. Prenups are written and signed before marriage in contemplation of marriage, while postnups are written and signed after the parties get legally married.
If you and your spouse agree to waive the right to spousal maintenance and alimony in one of these contracts, Texas courts will most likely abide by the contract you’ve both agreed to.
For a prenup or a post-marital agreement to be enforceable, though, a number of elements are required:
When it comes to prenups, they also have to be written: “in contemplation of marriage.”
If your spouse asked the court for spousal maintenance and you believe that they don’t need the money to cover their basic needs, you can work to demonstrate that your spouse has the necessary assets in order to cover his or her cost of living without added assistance from you.
Even if your spouse doesn’t have a current source of income, that doesn’t automatically mean they are going to need support. A court will consider additional resources including assets that could be sold, large investment accounts, trust funds, and more.
Are you looking for the most cost-effective way to get divorced in the Lone Star State? Check out these cheap divorce options in Texas.
The way that spousal maintenance works in Texas is that the duration of payments ordered is directly related to how long the marriage lasted. While this option obviously won’t be possible for everyone, understanding the relationship between the duration of a marriage and how long you have to pay spousal support can be a useful piece of information to include in your divorce contemplation.
When you look at the qualifications for receiving court-ordered support, you’ll see that the required elements certainly don’t apply to all Texas marriages. The most common method that a spouse obtains spousal support is through the qualification of having been married for at least ten years and not being able to support themselves financially.
If you are approaching the ten-year mark and you know your marriage isn’t working out, it might incentivize you to get moving toward divorce sooner rather than later.
Even if your spouse doesn’t have a source of income and claims they won’t be able to find a job, it’s possible that they actually already have the training they need to find work and make enough money to be financially independent. If they are asking the court for maintenance or an existing order is in place, you might be able to ask that the court evaluates their employability.
Even if this doesn’t help you totally avoid alimony, it might help to shorten the amount of time you have to pay support after divorce.
A judge will take a look at your spouse’s education, job history, and training in order to determine whether they should be able to support themselves after divorce.
If you expect your spouse to fight for contractual alimony during mediation, you might be able to find a compromise that lets you off the hook from making monthly payments.
When embroiled in a contested divorce, it’s usually advised to have a lawyer. Divorces are complex and the outcomes can have serious outcomes on your day-to-day life post-divorce. Working with a lawyer can help you understand what your options are and help you determine the best course of action.
There are a number of ways you can try to avoid making monthly payments through a divorce settlement.
The first option is to make other concessions instead of paying alimony. One common example of this tactic is letting your spouse keep the marital home or other valuable property in exchange for releasing you from the expectation of making alimony payments.
The second option is making a lump sum payment as a part of the divorce settlement rather than ongoing payments.
If you choose to go the second route, it’s important to make sure this will actually be less expensive in the long run. A financial advisor and a tax specialist should be able to help you figure out the option that is most favorable to you.
If you’ve been making spousal maintenance payments and your ex has started living with a new romantic partner, you can request termination of the maintenance payments. You will need to be able to prove that your spouse is married to a new person or living with someone they are in an intimate relationship with.
Texas law outlines a number of different circumstances when spousal maintenance can be terminated, and the supported spouse getting remarried or moving in with a romantic partner is one such instance.
If there has been a substantial and material change of circumstances since the order was first put in place, a court can modify your maintenance orders. The paying spouse is required to continue upholding the requirements of the existing order, however, until the court changes the award formally.
This means that you should not stop paying spousal support or reduce your payment even if the court is considering your request to modify the amount owed. You must wait until the new order is in effect.
If you don’t comply with the existing court order, you can end up facing serious consequences, including bank liens, steep fees, or even jail time.
In general, spousal maintenance continues until the stated termination date. There are some exceptions, though. These include:
It’s important that you continue to follow the existing court order until the judge hears your request for a spousal support modification and terminates or modifies the order.
Of course, it’s important to stay within the boundaries of the law when you are trying to avoid spousal support in Texas. And, depending on your circumstances, you might feel that paying some amount of support is justified.
That being said, it’s totally natural to be worried about having to send a big portion of your income to your ex-spouse for a specific period of time after your divorce is final. If you feel that your spouse is trying to bleed you dry when they don’t actually need the money in order to survive, the whole process can be particularly aggravating.
If you’re getting divorced in Texas, one of your primary priorities should be learning about your rights and obligations under the law. Divorce can be a stressful and emotional time, but getting a better grasp of the process can be very helpful to let you know what to expect and how to best protect your interests and rights.
Are you looking for more resources about Texas family law? Be sure to check out TexasDivorceLaws.org.
Texas is one of a small handful of U.S. states that doesn’t recognize legal separation. This means that couples desiring similar outcomes to those they would normally receive from legal separation have to take a different avenue. One such option is known as a separation agreement. Before you choose to create such a contract, though, you likely want to know how to enforce a Texas separation agreement.
After all, creating a document that both parties agree to is only one part of the battle. If a spouse is unwilling to abide by the terms that were agreed upon, it’s important to know what options you have for enforcing the contract.
It’s also a good idea to understand why you might want to create a separation agreement, and what your other options are for living separately from your spouse while remaining married.
Let’s take a look at what you need to know about alternatives to legal separation in Texas and how a separation agreement can be enforced if necessary.
A separation agreement is a contract that the judge and both parties sign. This document puts the terms of a couple's separation in writing.
The state of Texas, however, doesn’t recognize legal separation, unlike most other states. In fact, many other states require separation before filing for divorce. There are only six states where legal separation isn’t an option:
This means that you don’t need a formal agreement to separate in Texas. If you’re looking to create any of the following court orders, though, you will need a separation agreement that is in writing and signed by the judge:
This contract is a way for both parties to be protected in a separation. It also helps to keep both parties accountable to the other. A spouse can ask the court for intervention and enforcement if the other spouse ignores the agreement.
Since legal separations aren’t recognized by Texas law, couples must file for divorce if they want to modify their relationship status. They are, of course, free to choose to live separately without getting a divorce.
Couples that don’t get a divorce are able to create a separation agreement, which is akin to other marital contracts in many ways. This is because they allow the parties to establish their obligations and rights and provide a number of the same benefits that could be gained through legal separation in other U.S. states.
If you and your spouse have reached a point in your relationship where your marriage seems irreparable, there’s a good chance you’ve discussed the options of separation or divorce.
A divorce is a legal procedure that results in the termination of the marriage. Either spouse has the option to start the process of getting divorced by filing an Original Petition for Divorce with the county court.
As a part of the divorce process, couples typically reach agreements on a number of key issues, including:
In most cases, couples come to an agreement on any relevant issues before they meet with a judge. If any terms can’t be worked out, however, the court will decide the outcome for those issues that the couple can’t agree upon.
The conclusion of the divorce process involves the court formally ending the marriage. This allows both parties to re-enter their lives as single individuals without the obligations and rights of marriage to the other person.
In most states, a legal separation is an option that is similar to divorce. The couple or the judge will make decisions about the same types of issues listed above. The difference, though, is that the spouses are still married legally even though they aren’t living together anymore.
If a couple is legally separated and one spouse wants to get remarried to someone else, later on, they will have to ask for their separation to be converted into a formal divorce by the court.
However, since the state of Texas doesn’t recognize legal separation, couples that want to live separately without getting divorced will have to choose between a number of different options. We’ll discuss each of these a bit later on.
In states where legal separation is an option, some couples might choose to legally separate rather than pursue a formal divorce.
There are a number of different potential reasons why they might make this decision, including:
In addition to the above reasons that largely have to do with providing space in the relationship in order to determine if they really want to get a divorce, there are also some financial and practical reasons people might opt for legal separation instead of divorce. These include:
If you live in Texas and you’re interested in getting separated first, it’s important to know that this isn’t a legal process like it is in other states. However, you do have options for creating a scenario that is similar to that of legal separation.
Are you wondering how much the total bill is going to be at the end of your divorce? This article looks at the cost of divorce in Texas.
Texas is one of six states in the U.S. that does not recognize legal separation. If you want to formally end your marriage, you have to get divorced. You are allowed, however, to make temporary arrangements and live apart when your divorce is still pending.
If you are interested in separating from your spouse without getting a divorce in Texas, there are methods you can use to create an informal separation.
Since Texas law doesn’t recognize formal or informal separation, though, you’ll want to understand the following points:
For married couples that have children together, you can ask the court to determine child support, child custody, and visitation when there isn’t a pending divorce. This is known as a suit affecting the parent-child relationship. This will provide a finalized parenting plan that can only be changed through the court.
If a suit affecting the parent-child relationship is filed by one spouse and a divorce proceeding is filed by the other, the two requests will be merged by the court into divorce proceedings.
Couples can also choose to draft a partition and exchange agreement that divides and transfers community marital property into separate property.
If the spouses choose to get divorced with this type of agreement in place, the court won’t divvy up the assets or property listed in the agreement. On the other hand, if you and your spouse decide to get back together, you’ll need to terminate or modify the agreement in order for it to be void.
The decision to dissolve a marriage is typically incredibly painful and emotional. Couples don’t take divorce lightly, and it can be difficult to know whether a marriage is truly irreconcilable.
In these instances, spouses might want to participate in a trial separation. This is when the two parties live separately for a specified period of time.
This can give both individuals a chance to take a look at their marriage and assess whether they can still work things out. It can also provide some breathing room for deciding what the next steps are in their relationship, whether it’s divorce or an attempted reconciliation.
In most instances, a couple can verbally agree on their trial separation terms. These might include parenting arrangements and financial support.
If they don’t end up getting back together, though, the couple will need to either negotiate a formal property division and parenting plan agreement or begin divorce proceedings. It’s worth noting that trial separations aren’t something that is monitored by the court.
Since Texas doesn’t offer couples the option to legally separate rather than get divorced, you’ll want to look at the other available options if you’re looking to achieve similar outcomes as those you typically associate with legal separation.
The following options are available to couples that are looking to achieve many of the same goals legal separation offers in other states:
Temporary orders are court orders about your children or use of property that can be put in place when your divorce is pending. Temporary orders can be requested by either party in a family law case by filing a Motion for Temporary Orders.
Temporary orders remain in place until they have been modified by a judge or the judge signs a final order.
Victims of family violence can gain protection through protective orders. These orders can dictate:
In many cases, protective orders expire two years after they are put in place.
This type of case involves a judge making decisions about the following issues:
If an Acknowledgment of Paternity has been signed by both parents, a SAPCR case is the right type of case to file for people that need terms set as a part of a parenting agreement outside of divorce proceedings.
However, if an Acknowledgment of Paternity hasn’t been signed by both parties, you’ll probably want to file a paternity case instead. This is a case where the judge deals with all the same issues as those in a SAPCR while also establishing paternity.
This is a contract where a couple can transfer marital, community property to each spouse so that it instead becomes each of their separate property. If you do end up going through with a divorce down the road, the court won’t divvy up the property that is transferred to separate property via this agreement because it is no longer legally community property.
However, if you and your spouse end up getting back together instead of getting divorced, you will need to terminate or amend the agreement if you want it to be void.
You might think it doesn’t matter whether your property is seen as separate or community if you’re getting back together, but that isn’t the case.
For example, if one spouse dies before you terminate the original partition agreement, the living spouse won’t automatically receive the property that is listed as belonging to the spouse in the agreement. In fact, there’s a good chance that the property could end up getting transferred to the spouse’s heirs rather than the living spouse.
Finally, another option to achieve some of the same outcomes of legal separation in Texas is by creating a separation agreement.
This is a contract for spouses that aren’t officially divorced but are living separately. Separation agreements can set requirements for financial support, visitation, or property rights and therefore can provide similar outcomes to legal separation.
One of the reasons that couples pursue this option is that it offers a timely and cost-efficient method of specifying the rights and obligations of each party while living apart. In order to be valid, the specific terms must be in writing and both parties must sign the contract.
While couples don’t need a formal agreement to separate in Texas because the state doesn’t recognize separation, the contract can offer many of the same protections that one would receive through a regular divorce.
Looking to keep costs down when dissolving your marriage in the Lone Star State? Check out these cheap divorce options in Texas.
A separation agreement isn’t designed to be a permanent solution for couples, but rather a tool used temporarily to help spouses bridge the gap between deciding to terminate the marriage and actually finalizing their divorce.
Getting divorced isn’t a fast process, and it can take months or even years from start to finish, depending on your circumstances.
Creating a separation agreement can make it clear what the rights and duties are of each party during this time of limbo.
While separation agreements can be a good way of memorializing the terms of the relationship while the couple is living separately, there are a number of challenges you’ll want to be aware of. These include;
In regard to that second point, it isn’t unheard of for couples to use separation agreements in order to gain some of the benefits of being separated while also maintaining some of the benefits of being married. For example, they might want to keep the tax benefits of being married, or they simply might not want to deal with the time, expense, and effort required to get divorced.
If you aren’t taking formal steps toward divorce and you ask a court to enforce a separation agreement, you likely won’t receive the outcome you’re looking for. A judge will want to hear about what you’ve done to move toward divorce. If you can’t prove that you’ve been pursuing divorce, the validity of your separation will come into question in the eyes of the court and they might be unwilling to enforce your agreement.
Enforcing a Texas separation agreement will likely require enlisting the help of an experienced attorney. You will need to provide the court with a compelling argument and strong evidence, including:
Depending on your specific circumstances, you might have to provide additional evidence. It is probably the best option to work with an experienced attorney if you choose to try and have a court enforce a separation agreement, gathering all of the relevant evidence and presenting the court with your case is no easy feat for the layman.
Separation agreements tend to be scrutinized more closely than prenups in Texas because there are special fiduciary duties that married couples owe one another.
(Check out this article to learn what a woman should ask for in a prenuptial agreement.)
The first thing the court will look at is whether the agreement was signed willingly and voluntarily by both parties.
They will also look at the following:
Even if all of those conditions are met, it doesn’t necessarily mean that a court will choose to enforce the terms of your separation agreement.
Divorce is difficult, no matter what the circumstances are. Creating an arrangement where you and your spouse can separate for a period of time before going through the costly and lengthy process of divorce can be a reasonable option to give you both some time to think over the relationship. You might find that this time gives you enough breathing room that you are able to revisit the concept of reconciling after some time away or living separately might give you the headspace to realize that you’re ready to move on with your life as a single person.
The family laws in Texas are in some ways unique, such as their refusal to recognize legal separation. For that reason, it’s important to educate yourself on the divorce and family law matters that are specific to Texas rather than getting advice from general resources.
If you’re searching for more information about family law in Texas, be sure to check out our blog at TexasDivorceLaws.org.
If you've been supporting your spouse throughout your marriage, you might be wondering whether you'll be ordered to make payments after the divorce is final to your ex. If you're wondering how to avoid alimony in Texas, there are a number of things you'll want to understand about spousal support in the Lone Star State.
First of all, alimony isn't a given in every divorce in Texas. Court-ordered spousal maintenance is only ordered in specific circumstances. However, it's possible that alimony will be an issue that needs to be negotiated in your divorce settlement.
It's reasonable to be concerned about the financial burden of paying alimony after the divorce is final. The good news, though, is that Texas courts begin with the presumption that court-ordered maintenance won't be appropriate.
If you are embroiled in a divorce where your spouse is fighting for court-ordered maintenance, though, or putting alimony on the table in the settlement process, stick with us while we look at how to avoid alimony.
Alimony refers to payments made by one spouse to another as a part of the divorce process. The purpose behind these payments is to help support a spouse that makes a lower income or has no income financially.
Each state has its own laws regarding alimony. In some places, a court might order a higher-earning spouse to make payments to the lower-earning spouse in order to allow them to maintain the same lifestyle they had during the marriage. In other states, though, alimony isn’t intended to help the lower-earning spouse live the same lifestyle but instead meet their basic needs.
It’s worth understanding that Texas law doesn’t use the word “alimony.” Instead, they refer to spousal support and spousal maintenance. In addition to these terms, Texas courts will uphold contractual alimony so long as all the necessary requirements are met.
When you get married, certain legal duties are established for both spouses. One such duty is the reciprocal obligation to support one another, including financially.
In the state of Texas, though, the public policy puts forth the idea that a spouse’s duty to support the other spouse is terminated by the end of the marital relationship. This means that a Texas court won’t award a spouse maintenance payments in the form of traditional permanent alimony. If your spouse is expecting the court to order payments in order to uphold a certain lifestyle standard even though they have the means to meet their basic needs after divorce, they’re out of luck.
Not terribly long ago, Texas courts held that an individual was only entitled to their share of community property when a marriage dissolved. However, in 1995, this policy shifted somewhat when it was specifically recognized that spousal maintenance is valid in certain circumstances.
In general, Texas courts are greatly restricted in their power to order spousal maintenance in a divorce, both in the amount and duration of payments.
That being said, divorcing parties are free to create a contractual agreement that outlines alimony payments after divorce.
The public policy in Texas favors the notion of freedom of contract for individuals. This means that people are free to enter into private contractual alimony agreements.
Before we learn about how to avoid or reduce alimony in Texas, it’s important to understand the different types of spousal support in Texas. The Lone Star State is considered one of the most difficult places to get court-ordered spousal maintenance in a divorce, and there are strict qualifications that the supported spouse has to meet for a judge to order the other spouse to make payments to them.
Under the Texas legislature, courts are able to award spousal maintenance payments to a spouse for a brief period of time after a divorce in specific situations. Texas law does not favor spousal maintenance, and courts enter into proceedings with the assumption that spousal maintenance would not be appropriate.
The amount of spousal maintenance that can be ordered by the court has a statutory cap. On top of that, the duration of time that these payments are required is limited by the law.
The maximum amount of spousal maintenance that can be ordered is set at 20% of the average monthly gross income of the higher-earning spouse, or $5,000, whichever is lower.
In order to find your gross income for the purposes of estimating spousal maintenance, you’ll want to add up everything that you earn in a month, including:
It’s important to understand that courts will only award spousal maintenance in specific circumstances. We’ll discuss the qualifications for receiving spousal maintenance a little later on.
As opposed to spousal maintenance, contractual alimony isn’t determined by a court. Instead, it is typically created as a part of a divorce settlement through the agreement of both spouses. This often occurs through mediation, whether compulsory or voluntary.
During the mediation process, spouses will bargain over a number of issues, including:
When the divorcing couple comes to an agreement that they are both willing to sign, they will submit it to the judge. So long as everything is in order, the judge will enter the agreement into the final divorce decree. Spouses are then contractually bound to adhere to the agreement they signed, as the final divorce decree is binding.
With contractual alimony, as opposed to court-ordered maintenance, spouses have the freedom to determine the terms of alimony payments, including the amount, the duration, and how frequently payments are made. With spousal maintenance, courts are significantly limited in terms of when they can order maintenance payments, for how much, and for how long.
Contractual alimony also differs from court-ordered maintenance in the way that it is enforced.
If an ex-spouse doesn’t make court-ordered payments, the court might enforce the payments using its contempt powers. This means that they could face fines or even time in jail.
There are a number of defenses that an individual might use in these cases, including:
Contractual alimony, on the other hand, is only enforceable to the extent it aligns with statutory requirements.
For example, let’s say that you entered a contractual agreement to receive alimony payments for fifteen years. However, the court would not have been able to order more than ten years' worth of maintenance payments. If your ex-spouse ceases to make the payments they agreed to in the eleventh year, the court wouldn’t be able to hold them in contempt.
That being said, you can pursue a civil claim in order to enforce your rights when it comes to contractual alimony.
If you’re getting a divorce in Texas, you’ll also want to know about temporary spousal support.
This type of support is only paid during the divorce proceedings and potentially for a short period of time after the divorce is final. How long this type of support is paid is determined by the court depending on how long they believe it will take the supported spouse to find another means of financial support or income.
A Motion for Temporary Orders must be filed by the spouse seeking support in order to receive it. This type of support is reserved for situations where the court believes the payments are fair and necessary. This means that receiving this type of support (or being ordered to pay it) is not at all a given.
If you’re in an informal marriage and you and your partner are splitting up, you might be wondering if you qualify for paying or receiving alimony. Texas law sees common law marriages as equally valid as traditional marriages. So long as it can be proven that the marriage existed, the process of dissolving a common law marriage is the same as dissolving a formal marriage. You can learn more about common law marriage in Texas in this guide.
Spousal maintenance is in no way automatic in Texas. Usually, it is requested by a spouse when they aren’t able to be financially independent after the divorce. A court could order you to pay maintenance to your ex if they don’t have enough to cover their basic living expenses and if they don’t have the means to immediately get a job to earn enough income to support themselves.
Sometimes, one spouse has been out of the workforce for a long time because they have been raising children or taking care of an elderly parent. Having spent significant time away from the workforce, they might argue that it will be difficult for them to get a job and be financially independent after divorce.
Courts will decide whether or not spousal maintenance is necessary in your specific case. However, divorcing couples are free to come to their own agreement regarding alimony payments as a part of their divorce settlement.
Both spouses are free to request spousal maintenance during a Texas divorce. That being said, courts are seriously limited in their ability to award maintenance under Texas law.
Basically, a court only has the power to order spousal maintenance if the spouse requesting financial support can’t meet their basic needs at the time of divorce and one of the following circumstances is true:
As you can see here, there are only very specific circumstances that allow Texas courts to order spousal maintenance. When support payments are awarded by the courts, the most common circumstance is that a spouse is unable to support themselves and they have been married for at least ten years.
Courts will take a number of financial and non-financial factors into consideration when determining spousal support.
Of course, the judge will look at the income of each spouse when determining whether spousal maintenance is appropriate or necessary. In addition to income, though, they will also consider:
A judge can consider the fact that you could be earning more than you’re currently earning when determining whether spousal maintenance will be ordered. In these instances, they will use the potential earnings of a spouse rather than the current earnings of a spouse to determine the amount of the award.
The financial factors in a divorce case are the primary elements that a judge will consider. However, additional information can impact their final decision, such as:
Alimony and spousal maintenance are ways to help a lower-earning spouse that would be unable to support themselves immediately after marriage get back on their feet. However, in some cases, a spouse might try to prove they require court-ordered maintenance or fight for alimony in a settlement when you don’t feel they actually need the payments in order to make ends meet.
Let’s look at some of the ways that you can avoid or reduce alimony in a Texas divorce.
In the state of Texas, the court begins with the assumption that neither spouse should receive spousal support. Only if the spouse asking for maintenance payments is unable to meet his or her “minimum reasonable needs” will the court consider ordering these payments.
There are a number of factors that the court will take into account to determine whether maintenance is needed in a divorce case. These include the spouses:
If you are worried that you are going to have to make spousal maintenance payments, it’s worth understanding that spousal support is certainly not a given in Texas. If you can prove that your spouse has the ability to find gainful employment or support themselves, the court won’t order you to make payments to them after divorce.
Even if your spouse doesn’t have the means to get a job right away, that doesn’t mean they need spousal maintenance. If you and your lawyer can prove to the court that they have the assets to cover their minimum basic needs, you are much less likely to have to make alimony payments.
For example, your spouse might have a large investment account, a trust fund, or considerable individual assets that they could sell to cover the cost of their basic needs after a divorce.
It isn’t unheard of for a spouse to claim that they will be unable to find employment after divorce that allows them to meet their minimum basic needs, even if this isn’t true. If you can prove to the court that your spouse does have the training necessary to find a well-paying position, you might be able to avoid paying alimony or shorten the duration of time you are ordered to pay alimony.
If you believe your spouse is capable of finding gainful employment after divorce, you can ask the court for an evaluation of their employability. The court will look at a number of factors, including their:
If a judge finds that your spouse requires less training or schooling to find a new job than they initially claimed, it can help you avoid or reduce the spousal support you are ordered to pay.
Of course, this might not be possible in every instance. However, if you know you want a divorce and you are waiting for the right time, it’s worth understanding that the length of your marriage can have an impact on whether spousal maintenance is ordered by a court.
Even if you are ordered to pay spousal support, the length of the marriage also directs how long you are ordered to make payments for after the divorce is finalized.
For example, if you haven’t been found responsible for domestic violence, your spouse simply might not qualify for support if the marriage lasted less than ten years.
If you have a prenuptial agreement or post-marital agreement that waives the right to alimony and spousal maintenance, you can rest assured that Texas courts will likely abide by your existing contract. That being said, there are a number of elements required for a prenup or post-marital agreement to be enforceable, including:
Many couples avoid creating a prenup before marriage because they feel it indicates that they don’t think the marriage will last. However, there are a lot of benefits to creating prenups, including helping to avoid conflicts down the road about how finances are dealt with in the marriage. In fact, it can be a great tool that strengthens a relationship because important considerations are discussed and agreed upon before the marriage even begins.
If you’re concerned about your soon-to-be-ex fighting for alimony either through the courts or in a divorce settlement, one of the best things you can do is hire an experienced family law attorney.
If alimony is on the table during your divorce settlement, there are a number of options to help avoid the outcome of making monthly payments to your ex after divorce.
One option is to make a one-time, lump sum payment to your spouse as a part of the divorce settlement. In the long-term, this can provide a cost-savings for the supporting spouse. That being said, it’s a good idea to consult with a tax specialist and a financial advisor to make sure that this is the most beneficial option for you in the big picture.
You also might be able to avoid paying alimony in a divorce settlement if you are willing to make other concessions. These might include allowing the spouse to keep valuable assets, including the marital home or other property.
A good divorce lawyer will help you examine all of the different options when it comes to creating a divorce settlement. By looking at your assets, debts, and overall situation, they can assist you in coming up with an agreement that is worth fighting for as well as determine what concessions are worth making.
Of course, hiring a lawyer for your divorce isn’t cheap. This leaves some people wondering if they can manage to get divorced without bringing an attorney onto their side. Getting divorced without a lawyer is generally only advisable in certain circumstances, so you’ll want to consider the pros and cons carefully before deciding to represent yourself in a divorce case.
If you’ve already been ordered to make spousal maintenance payments and you’d like to request the termination of the payments, showing that your spouse is living with or married to a new partner is one reason that Texas will put an end to the required payments.
There are a number of circumstances in Texas that you are allowed to request termination of spousal support payments, including your ex living with an intimate partner or getting remarried.
The prospect of having to pay alimony can be incredibly distressing, and this can leave them hoping that they can skip town to avoid making the payments. Let's take a look at some commonly asked questions about alimony and spousal support to ensure that you understand what is and isn’t possible when it comes to avoiding alimony.
If you signed a contractual alimony agreement with your spouse, moving out of state won’t free you from this obligation. The same is true if you are ordered to pay spousal maintenance by a court.
Are you supposed to be receiving alimony or maintenance payments from a spouse and they haven’t been paying up after moving out of state? This probably means that it’s time to hire a lawyer to help take a look at your options.
Even if your spouse is required to make payments to you, that doesn’t mean it isn’t sometimes difficult to collect these payments.
The enforcement options are different when it comes to spousal maintenance and contractual alimony. If you fail to pay court-ordered maintenance, it’s possible you could be found in criminal contempt and even go to jail. Contractual alimony, on the other hand, is only enforced to the extent it aligns with statutory requirements. Otherwise, it is enforceable in the same way other contracts are in Texas, meaning you could work to enforce your rights by pursuing a civil claim.
An experienced lawyer will know the best way to pursue the payments you are owed, whether by court order or by contractual agreement.
Moving out of the country won’t remove your legal obligation to make spousal support payments. This is true whether it was ordered by a court or agreed upon contractually as a part of the divorce settlement.
If you’re worried that your spouse is planning on playing dirty pool during your divorce, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with some common sneaky divorce tactics. This will help you know what to keep an eye out for as your divorce progresses.
If you are getting divorced for the second (or third, or fourth, etc.,) time, you might be wondering if it’s legal for an individual to pay alimony or spousal maintenance to more than one ex-spouse.
In short, the answer is yes.
If you sign a contract with more than one spouse agreeing to pay alimony, you will be responsible for upholding your end of the contract in both cases.
If you are ordered to pay spousal maintenance to one ex, and you are getting divorced again, you can still be ordered to make support payments to another spouse. If you are in this situation, it’s a good idea to talk to an attorney to help estimate what your spousal maintenance payments will be and for how long you will be expected to pay them.
Getting divorced can be an incredibly stressful time, both emotionally and financially. In terms of the finances, you not only have to worry about the cost of divorce, but you also have to think about what your post-divorce finances will look like.
If you were the higher-earning spouse, you might be worried that you will have to pay alimony or spousal maintenance. If there are children involved, you also might be ordered to pay child support.
Understanding your rights and responsibilities under Texas law can help you obtain an outcome that you are happy with after a divorce. For more information about family law in Texas, be sure to check out our library of articles at TexasDivorceLaws.org.
Getting divorced is one of the most stressful and difficult life events that anyone can go through. At the same time, there's a good chance that you have other obligations and commitments that get in the way of your ability to move a divorce case forward. If this describes your situation, you're likely wondering: how long can a divorce be put on hold in Texas?
In short, there isn't any established Texas law about how long you can pause the process of divorce. However, waiting too long to take steps during your case can result in your case being dismissed.
How long it takes for the court to dismiss your case will depend on the county. That being said, they will inevitably notice that there hasn't been recent activity in your case. Courts will then put your case on a dismissal docket in order to help clear up their list of upcoming cases.
If you're interested in pausing your divorce, stick with us while we look at everything you need to know.
The first official step in a Texas divorce is the filing of the Original Divorce Petition. This is the document that begins divorce proceedings and outlines essential information, including:
Only one party has to file the divorce petition to begin the divorce process. The person who files the paperwork is referred to as the Petitioner, while the person that receives the document is referred to as the Respondent.
The divorce petition must be served to the Respondent in specific ways except in very special circumstances. The documents that a Respondent will receive can include:
In some divorces, both parties are in agreement about the divorce. In these instances, each spouse can sign a Waiver of Service form in front of a notary and return it to the court. Through filing this paperwork, the Respondent is waiving their right to be served papers.
If you are filing for divorce, it’s essential to understand that you can’t serve the divorce papers to the Respondent yourself. Under Texas law, the Respondent is considered to be served in the following instances:
Once the Respondent has been served, they then have a certain timeframe in which they have the opportunity to answer the divorce petition. An answer is a legal form that the respondent files in order to protect their right to participate in the divorce process and have a say in the divorce.
When you are served divorce papers, you have the right to file an answer. If you choose not to file an answer, though, your spouse can get a default judgment after the case moves forward without you. In this situation, you won’t have any say in what happens to your assets and debts and potential issues that involve your children.
You will have the chance to file a counter-petition if the divorce is contested. This gives you the opportunity to inform the judge as to what outcome you would like from the divorce, as opposed to what was stated in the divorce paperwork filed by your spouse.
It’s also a good idea to talk to a lawyer if you are served with divorce papers. They can give you advice and help you understand your options.
You don’t necessarily have to hire a lawyer to handle your whole case. You can also choose to hire a lawyer only to review your forms or give you advice. There are also legal clinics where you might be able to talk to a lawyer for free.
Are you wondering whether you can get away without seeking any legal counsel? Learn about getting divorced in Texas without a lawyer here.
The deadline for filing an answer is a little bit complicated. Basically, you have to file your answer by “10 am on the Monday after 20 days have gone by since you were served your papers.”
In order to find your deadline, follow these steps:
There are three options when it comes to how you can respond. These are:
You can file a waiver of service if you don’t want to be formally served. This means that your spouse doesn’t have to go through the process of serving you. This form only waives you of your rights to be served and doesn’t waive any of your rights to be involved in the proceedings.
It’s a good idea to talk to an attorney about whether or not you should file a waiver of service in your particular circumstance.
A divorce petition does not technically expire in Texas. That being said, there are specific time frames and guidelines that have to be adhered to in a Texas divorce.
If there isn’t any forward movement in a divorce case after a certain period of time, a judge can process it as a dismissal for want of prosecution (DWOP). Even though the divorce petition doesn’t legally expire, a case being filed as a DWOP does effectively mean that it has expired.
A divorce case can also be dismissed by a judge if you missed a trial or hearing that you have notice about.
If your divorce case has been filed as a DWOP, it means that you have to start the entire process over again from step one, including filing a divorce petition.
You will receive an email or a letter from the clerk before your case is dismissed for want of prosecution. This message will let you know that your case has been placed on a list of cases that will be dismissed on a certain date, known as the dismissal docket.
If your case hasn’t been dismissed yet but has been placed on a dismissal docket, you can file a Motion to Retain Case on Docket and Notice of Hearing in order to ask the judge to keep your case open. This is known as retaining a case.
You can also reinstate a case if you file a Motion to Reinstate Case on Docket and Notice of Hearing by a specific deadline. This means that you might be able to get your case reopened even if it was dismissed if you take the necessary steps within a certain timeframe.
There are a number of reasons why a party might want to reinstate or retain their divorce case. Doing so can preserve:
If a judge doesn’t reinstate your case, it means that you have to start the process over again. This means paying another filing fee and serving the other party again if necessary.
You have thirty days from the date that a dismissal order was signed by a judge to file a completed Motion to Reinstate Case on Docket and Notice of Hearing form.
There is an exception to this rule, though.
If you didn’t learn about the judge’s dismissal order until more than twenty days had passed since its signing, the start date of your thirty-day deadline is pushed back. The thirty-day time period begins on the day that you actually found out about the dismissal or on the day you received dismissal from the clerk, whichever happened first.
It’s worth noting, though, that the thirty-day deadline can’t start more than ninety days after the judge signed the dismissal order.
This means that the latest you could file to reinstate your case is 120 days after the judge signed the dismissal order.
There are a number of reasons that an individual or a couple might want to put a divorce on hold. If the couple is considering trying to work things out, they might wonder how long they have before they have to decide whether or not to proceed. On the other hand, one party might be trying to delay the divorce process because they don’t want the marriage to end, they fear the financial ramifications of divorce, and they want to punish their spouse by dragging things out, or another reason entirely.
Unfortunately, there is no exact answer to how long a divorce can be put on hold. In many counties, cases will be put on the dismissal docket if there hasn’t been any movement for a few months.
That being said, there is a mandatory waiting period in nearly all Texas divorces that lasts for sixty days. That means that a judge almost always cannot sign a final divorce decree until sixty days have passed since the original paperwork was filed. In most cases, divorces will take longer than sixty days even when they are straightforward and agreed upon.
There are no legal means through which you can “press the pause button” on a divorce in Texas. If both you and your spouse are reconsidering divorce and thinking about staying together, there is a chance that your divorce case will be dismissed by the court.
How long it takes for your case to be placed on the dismissal docket depends on a number of factors, including the county that you filed for divorce in. In many counties, however, several months of no forward progress on a case will result in being placed on the dismissal docket.
When your case is placed on the dismissal docket, a dismissal hearing will be set. The parties have to show up to court to prove that some forward progress is being made in the case in order for the case to remain open.
You should not expect that you can pause your divorce process indefinitely in Texas, particularly in larger counties.
If the couple is trying to work things out and wants to pause the proceedings for longer than the court will allow, the Petitioner can file a Notice of Nonsuit to voluntarily dismiss the case. The parties have the right to file the case again later on, but they will have to pay a new filing fee and the case would start over from scratch.
If you believe that your spouse is purposefully delaying your divorce, it’s a good idea to become familiar with some common tactics used to achieve this end.
One way that a spouse can drag out divorce proceedings is by filing needless motions. This can slow the family court process and leave the other spouse dealing with stacks of unnecessary legal paperwork.
A spouse can also delay the divorce process by refusing to sign the necessary paperwork. For example, maybe two parties came to an agreement in the mediation process. One spouse, though, isn’t fully happy with the arrangement, gets cold feet, or changes their mind. In these cases, they might refuse to sign or delay signing.
One of the most common ways that a spouse delays divorce is by avoiding service. The Respondent has to be served with a copy of the divorce paperwork in order for the spouse to be brought under the power of the court after the Petitioner files for divorce.
If the Respondent avoids service, though, the whole process can be delayed.
You or your divorce attorney can ask the court for substituted service if your spouse is avoiding regular service. This is a court order that lets your spouse be served in an alternative manner.
Unfortunately, substituted service usually takes longer and costs more than normal service.
Another downside of substituted service is that your spouse will have the opportunity to ask for a new trial up to two years later if the judgment is reached by default. This can mean more delays and more legal fees to deal with.
In most cases, spouses and their lawyers will comply with the discovery rules of a case. Occasionally, though, a difficult attorney or a spouse representing themselves will fail to respond to discovery in a timely fashion.
When this occurs, the next step is usually to file a motion to compel discovery and have a hearing date set. If the judge finds that the other party is in violation of the rules of discovery, they can take a number of actions, including:
Delaying divorce is just one sneaky trick that spouses use during the process. Check out these other tricky tactics that are common in divorce.
The process of divorce can feel long and drawn out when it’s moving along as expected. When a spouse cancels or reschedules court proceedings or mediation over and over again, however, it can become extremely frustrating.
One trick that people use to delay their divorce proceedings is to fire their divorce lawyer just before their trial. This is generally allowed, as judges typically don’t want to force people to stay in contractual relationships against their will. Things can get pushed back when your ex has to find a new lawyer and then get them up to speed on the case.
If you are dealing with a spouse that seems to be purposefully dragging their feet in the divorce, you might be wondering what their reasoning is. A person might be compelled to delay divorce for a lot of different reasons, but let's look at some of the most common culprits.
If your spouse is receiving temporary spousal support during the divorce process, they might be trying to get as much money as they can before the divorce is final. If they aren’t eligible to receive spousal maintenance after the divorce is complete, they might want to drag out the divorce so they can receive as much money as possible.
While some divorces are amicable, this isn’t always the case. If a spouse is particularly resentful of their soon-to-be-ex, they might try to drag out the proceedings in order to punish them. This punishment comes in two forms: making divorce as painful, tedious, and time-consuming as possible, and making it as expensive as possible.
Of course, the ex that plays this game is in many ways doing the same thing to themselves. In some cases, though, a spouse is so disgruntled that they are willing to endure the same punishment that they are putting their ex through.
Some people have a “scorched earth” mentality, where they simply cannot accept their spouse getting anything out of the divorce. This can even amount to the party with a “win at all costs” mentality to want to get rid of the marital property so their spouse doesn’t walk away with anything, even though this would leave them empty-handed, too.
Dragging out a divorce isn’t always purposefully malicious. In some cases, a spouse might be avoidant of the reality that their marriage is ending and in denial of the fact that their spouse filed for divorce.
No matter what the reason is that you want to pause your divorce, it's important to understand the laws in Texas to ensure that your case doesn't get dismissed. If it does, you will have to start the entire process over again unless you appeal to a judge within a specific timeframe to have it reinstated.
Whether you want to pause your divorce because you're in the throws of a busy holiday season or you're considering working things out with your spouse, you'll want to be aware that you can't indefinitely avoid moving forward with the case.
That being said, with the sixty-day waiting period built into almost all divorces, you are given a little breathing room between filing the divorce paperwork and the final divorce decree being signed.
When you're getting divorced, it can be incredibly empowering to become more knowledgeable about the family laws in Texas. This way, you can know what to expect during your divorce as well as your rights and responsibilities.
Are you looking for more resources to help you learn about the divorce process in Texas? Check out our library of articles at TexasDivorceLaws.org.
When you're trying to plan for your post-divorce finances, you're probably wondering whether you should expect to pay or receive alimony. Different states have their own guidelines for awarding spousal maintenance, which is sometimes bounded by the duration of the marriage. If you're getting divorced in the Lone Star State, you're probably wondering: how long do you have to be married to get alimony in Texas?
The reality is that Texas has some of the most strict guidelines surrounding court-ordered spousal maintenance. Texas law doesn't favor awarding maintenance and only does so if it is necessary to help the supported individual get to a point where they can be financially independent.
That being said, divorcing couples can come up with just about any alimony agreement they are both comfortable with and include it as a part of their divorce settlement. It's worth understanding, though, that the way that court-ordered spousal maintenance and contractual alimony can be enforced by the courts aren't the same.
Let's take a look at how long you need to be married in Texas to receive alimony and everything else you should know about spousal support and maintenance.
Alimony is a term commonly used to refer to payments that one spouse makes to the other during the divorce process and/or for some period of time after the divorce is final.
That being said, the term “alimony” is not used in Texas law.
Instead, Texas law refers to “spousal support” and “spousal maintenance.” Spousal support is usually something that spouses agree upon as a part of their divorce settlement and is voluntary. This type of support is enforced in the same way that a contract is enforced under Texas law.
Spousal maintenance, on the other hand, is ordered by a court and is therefore not voluntary.
As a part of the Texas divorce process, either spouse can request spousal maintenance. The court is only able to award spousal maintenance, however, if the spouse that is requesting maintenance can’t provide for their basic needs and at least one of the following is true:
Courts decide whether to award spousal maintenance on a case-by-case basis.
As you can see from the qualifications listed in the previous section, Texas has fairly strict criteria through which it determines whether spousal maintenance will be ordered in a specific case.
Most people that receive spousal support in Texas do so through the first qualification listed above. In these circumstances, the spouses have been married for at least ten years and the dependent spouse isn’t able to earn enough income to meet their basic needs.
So, the short answer to the question of “how long do you have to be married to get alimony in Texas?” is ten years.
However, if you qualify based on the other three points listed above, you might be able to receive spousal maintenance through a court order even if you haven’t been married for ten years.
If you and your spouse determine alimony voluntarily in your divorce settlement, however, the two of you are free to come to an agreement that suits you regardless of how the marriage lasted.
It’s worth understanding that Texas law views “spousal support” and “spousal maintenance” as two separate concepts.
Spousal support is commonly determined through a divorce settlement. This is a voluntary agreement that is reached between the involved parties. This agreement is contractual and is therefore enforced just like a contract.
Spousal maintenance, on the other hand, is ordered by a court and not voluntary. It can therefore be enforced as a court order.
Though Texas law doesn’t use the term “alimony,” you still might come across a discussion of “contractual alimony” when reading about spousal support in Texas divorce cases. Contractual alimony can be understood as synonymous with “spousal support” as it is defined by Texas law, where it refers to a voluntary, contractual agreement that can be included in the divorce settlement.
Texas divorces are commonly settled through agreement by the spouses. This can occur either through compulsory mediation or voluntarily. There are a number of different issues that couples will negotiate during this process, including how to divide property and debts, a parenting agreement, and alimony payments.
When spouses come to an agreement that they both can agree on, they submit it to the judge to determine if it can be entered into the final divorce degree. Once the judge signs the final divorce decree, the spouses are contractually bound to the agreement, including any alimony awards they settled upon.
One important difference between court-ordered spousal maintenance and contractual alimony is that the spouses are able to agree upon basically any arrangement that works for them in a contractual alimony agreement. Couples can decide on the amount of alimony and how long alimony will be paid as a part of a divorce settlement. This includes potentially instituting permanent alimony payments.
On the other hand, court-ordered spousal maintenance is much more limited both in the amount of maintenance awarded as well as the length of time that payments are ordered to be made.
If an individual is ordered to pay spousal maintenance by the courts, the obligation will end when the award time period ends. It can terminate before this point if either spouse passes away or if the party receiving spousal maintenance gets remarried.
Courts can also terminate spousal maintenance payments if it is found that the individual receiving payments is living with someone else that they are romantically involved with.
There are strict guidelines that judges must follow under Texas law when they are determining the duration of spousal maintenance awards.
For most maintenance orders, the duration of support is limited under Texas law. The guidelines for the duration are:
Texas law requires that judges order spousal maintenance support for the shortest necessary duration for the spouse receiving maintenance to become financially independent. However, there are some exceptions to this, which include:
Getting divorced can be an incredibly stressful period of life, and determining how much spousal support will be paid and for how long can certainly contribute to that stress. While Texas laws are very strict about when it awards spousal maintenance and for how long, you still might find that your spouse is demanding a high amount of alimony through the divorce negotiation process. If you're dealing with a difficult spouse during divorce, be sure to check out some of the most common sneaky divorce tactics.
Texas limits how much support can be ordered by a court, which is unusual compared to other U.S. states. The amount of maintenance awarded cannot be more than 20% of the average monthly gross income of the supporting spouse or $5000 per month, whichever amount is less.
Spousal payments ordered by a judge are commonly periodic and usually come in the form of monthly payments.
In order to collect spousal maintenance, the court might order an income withholding order. This order directs the employer of the paying spouse to deduct the ordered payments from their paycheck in order to send it to the appropriate court agency.
When you're getting divorced, you're likely very concerned with how dissolving your marriage is going to impact your finances. In addition to factors like spousal maintenance and child support, there is also the expense of the divorce process.
Some people choose to get divorced without a lawyer in Texas in order to save money. However, this is usually only advised in very simply divorce cases where the spouses agree on all of the terms and don't have very complicated estates.
Spousal maintenance orders can be changed if the court finds that there has been a substantial and material change in circumstances since the original order was created.
However, the paying spouse has to follow what is outlined in the existing court order until the award has been formally changed by the courts.
If an individual fails to comply with a court order, even if you have made a request to modify spousal support awards, you can face serious penalties. These can include:
If a spouse is supposed to be paying spousal maintenance and isn’t, the supported spouse can file a formal request with the court in order to help enforce the existing order.
Texas law does not favor giving spousal maintenance, and therefore courts always begin with the presumption that it wouldn’t be appropriate to award spousal maintenance. If the spouse that is asking for support is able to prove that they have made a good faith effort to become financially independent and still need support, the court will move forward with an evaluation in regards to maintenance. A good faith effort is typically understood as a genuine effort to earn income or receive the necessary education or training in order to earn income.
There are a number of factors that the court will look at in order to determine how much money should be paid to a spouse and for how long. These include:
Divorce tends to precipitate change in many different aspects of life, including how you pay taxes.
The impact of divorce on how one pays federal taxes used to be larger than they currently are, however. Due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), alimony or maintenance payments that relate to divorce agreements that are dated January 1, 2019, or later are no longer tax-deductible for the individual that is making the payments. Additionally, the spouse that has been receiving maintenance or alimony payments isn’t required to report these payments as a source of income.
Before this act went into effect, people receiving alimony had to claim it as income, and people paying alimony could claim it as a deduction.
To understand how spousal maintenance or alimony impacts your taxes at the state level, you’ll want to consult with a tax professional.
If a court orders that one party pays spousal maintenance to the other, the court will typically enter an order to have a specific amount of the paying spouse’s income withheld by their employer in order to be paid to the receiving spouse.
Yes, a prenuptial agreement can provide for alimony in a Texas divorce. You can also choose to incorporate information about limitations regarding spousal support in terms of the amount, duration, and terms if a divorce were to take place.
Prenuptial agreements are contracts that a couple creates and signs in contemplation of marriage. These contracts typically cover what will happen in the case of divorce.
When it comes to alimony, prenups in Texas can include an agreement to:
Prenups are enforceable in Texas courts so long as the contract is:
Figuring out what you should ask for in a prenup can be difficult, as many people feel uncomfortable thinking about how assets and debts will be divided in the case of divorce before they even get married. However, prenuptial agreements can serve as a part of smart family planning and can help to avoid financial conflicts and issues down the road. This article takes a look at what you should ask for in a prenup.
The state of Texas does not generally favor spousal maintenance, and the laws of the Lone Star State are quite narrow when it comes to court-ordered alimony when compared to other states. The spouse that is asking to receive spousal maintenance has to fulfill the qualifications listed above in order for a court to consider awarding them maintenance.
Setting up a contractual agreement or receiving a court order for maintenance is only the first step in receiving spousal support. If the supporting spouse isn’t making the payments they are required to either through court order or contractual obligation, you’ll want to learn about how alimony and maintenance are enforced.
Some consider the laws surrounding spousal maintenance in Texas to be the strictest in the entire country.
Courts have the ability to enforce spousal maintenance orders using their contempt powers, according to Section 8.059 of the Texas Family Code. Under Texas Government Code Sec. 21.002, when a party is held in contempt, it means that fines or jail time can be ordered by the court for a failure to comply.
Defenses for the spouse that is being held in contempt include:
Paying for court-ordered spousal maintenance is only one of the financial considerations individuals have to think about when getting divorced. The entire process can be quite expensive, and it might be prudent to consider some of the cheap divorce options in Texas if you are concerned about how divorce will impact your financial situation.
Contractual alimony or spousal support is not a court order, but is, instead, a contract. This means that the court’s power to enforce contractual alimony is more limited than its power to enforce spousal maintenance.
The court doesn’t have the power to hold the supporting spouse in contempt. This means that the supported spouse might be less successful in their attempt to enforce the contractual agreement. That being said, courts can enforce these contracts through specific performance or damages.
The court can order income withholding for both court-ordered spousal maintenance and contractual alimony. Texas law states that the court can order income to be withheld from the paying spouse’s earnings, as well as when there is a voluntary agreement that has been entered into the court and approved by the court.
Common law marriage is viewed as equally valid and legitimate as a formal marriage under Texas law. This means that the process of getting divorced in a common law marriage is identical to the process of getting divorced in a traditional marriage.
That being said, it can sometimes be difficult to prove that a common law marriage existed in the first place. Couples can avoid this outcome by filing a declaration with the county clerk.
Other documents might be requested by the court to prove the marriage existed if couples don't declare their marriage with the court. Such documents include:
If there is a dispute regarding whether the marriage existed and no declaration was filed with the court, you might have to first go to court to prove the marriage before you can go through the divorce process.
It's worth noting that there is a two-year statute of limitations on this particular type of proceeding.
You can check out our complete guide to common law marriage in Texas here.
No, neither alimony nor spousal maintenance is mandatory in the state of Texas. Judges have to follow strict guidelines if a spouse is requesting support through the court.
A specific set of criteria must be met for a spouse to qualify for spousal maintenance in Texas. Contractual alimony, on the other hand, is something that you and your spouse can agree on as a part of the divorce settlement. Since they aren't court-ordered, they don't face the same strict guidelines that govern spousal maintenance in Texas.
Divorce doesn't happen overnight, which means that divorcing couples can be left in a strange middle ground where they are getting divorced but still technically and legally married. In order to ensure that both individuals are able to financially meet their basic needs during this time, a temporary spousal support order might be put in place.
These are payments that only occur for a set period of time. The court decides how long this time period is based on the reasonable amount of time it will take for the lower-earning spouse to find another means to become financially independent.
In some cases, a judge might give temporary spousal support to a lower-earning spouse for a period of time after the divorce is final.
In order to receive temporary spousal support, the lower-earning spouse needs to file a Motion for Temporary Orders. Courts will only award this type of support when they believe it is necessary and fair to do so. People who request temporary support are not always awarded it in Texas.
Divorce is one of the most stressful things that someone can go through, and the financial impact of divorce doesn't make the emotional difficulty associated with the process any easier. Not only is the divorce itself expensive, but you might be very concerned about your finances post-divorce.
Whether you're concerned that you don't have the ability to support yourself after marriage or you're worried about how much money you will need to give in the form of spousal maintenance or contractual alimony, getting a divorce can have a lasting impact on your finances.
One of the best things you can do to help cope with the process of divorce is to learn as much as possible about your rights and responsibilities under the law. While it might not be anyone's idea of a good time to read through legal articles on your day off, you'll find that the more you understand about the process the less fearful you are of it.
If you're searching for more resources to help you during the divorce process, be sure to check out our library of articles at TexasDivorceLaws.org.
Parents have a duty to financially support their children under Texas law. In some cases, a court might order a parent to pay child support. How is child support calculated in Texas, and how does the process work?
When determining child support cases, Texas courts use the Texas child support guidelines to calculate the percentage of net monthly resources a parent should pay based on the number of children that require support.
However, the way that Texas calculates net monthly resources for the purposes of child support is a bit different than how you would normally determine your take-home pay.
Let's take a look at what you need to know about how child support is calculated in Texas and what the process entails.
Child support is the funds that a parent pays in order to help with the expense of raising a child, such as the cost of housing, food, clothing, daycare, activities, and school supplies.
Both parents are expected to support their children financially, even if there isn’t a court order in place. A judge can also order a parent to pay child support. Additionally, divorcing couples can come up with a child support agreement as a part of their divorce settlement, so long as it is more than what is required under the Texas child support guidelines.
If a parent doesn’t help to support their child or doesn’t live with their child, the court might order “retroactive” child support to be paid to the custodial parent.
There are general guidelines set by Texas law for calculating child support. These guidelines outline the percentage of the noncustodial parent’s average monthly net resources that should be paid to the custodial parent based on how many children require support.
The guidelines are as follows:
For instance, let’s say that the noncustodial parent has average monthly net resources amounting to $5,000 and they have three children to support.
This would mean that the guideline child support would be $1500 per month ($5,000 x 30% = $1500).
It’s worth noting that the noncustodial parent gets credit for how much they are paying towards medical and dental insurance or cash support for medical and dental needs.
If there is more than one child receiving support, how much support is paid by the noncustodial parent will “step down” as the period of child support ends for each child.
In the example above, the noncustodial parent makes $5,000 and supports three children. This means that they pay 30% of their monthly net resources towards child support.
When the oldest child graduates from high school and turns eighteen, the support they pay will step down to 25% of their monthly net resources. This means that they would be paying $1250 each month as opposed to $1500.
In Texas, the parent who is expected to pay child support is usually the individual who doesn’t have primary custody of the child, who is referred to as the “noncustodial parent.” Texas law refers to the parent that is ordered to pay child support as the “obligor.”
Figuring out how divorce is going to impact your future financial situation can be complicated and overwhelming. If you're worried about the divorce process costing more than you can afford, check out these cheap divorce options in Texas.
The individual with whom the child lives most of the time receives child support. In most circumstances, this is a parent, but it isn’t in every case. A parent that has primary custody of a child is known as the “custodial parent.”
Texas law refers to the individual receiving child support as the “obligee.”
Medical and dental support are additional types of child support that a parent is ordered to pay.
Medical support is a form of support that a parent is ordered to pay on top of regular child support. The purpose of this support is to cover a child’s cost of health insurance and any uninsured health expenses.
There are a number of ways that a parent can be ordered to pay medical support, which are:
The parent that is expected to pay cash medical support or provide health insurance for the child is usually the same parent that is ordered to pay child support.
For the out-of-pocket (or uninsured) medical expenses of a child, each parent is typically ordered to pay half.
Dental support must also be ordered by a court in addition to medical support. It is very similar to medical support, as it is additional child support that must be paid by a parent in order to cover the reasonable cost of uninsured dental expenses or dental insurance.
The methods through which a parent can be ordered to pay dental support are:
Again, the paying parent is only required to cover the “reasonable cost” or dental insurance coverage. Under Texas law, this means that the cost of insurance isn’t more than 1.5% of the yearly resources of the obligor.
No. Both medical and dental support are payments in addition to regular child support.
Are you wondering how much your divorce is going to cost you? Check out our complete guide to the cost of divorce in Texas.
If your child doesn’t have health insurance, they might qualify for coverage through the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or Medicaid.
A judge can order medical support, dental support, and child support in several different types of court cases.
These are:
Parents are always free to agree to pay more child support than required by the Texas guidelines. However, they cannot agree to pay less than the amount outlined by the guidelines. The minimum amount of child support owed by the obligor to the obligee is determined based on a percentage of the obligor’s net monthly resources.
To determine the baseline amount of child support that is required, the obligor’s gross income is calculated, certain costs are deducted to find the net income, and then a percentage of that amount is owed depending on the number of children requiring support.
Whether you are expecting to pay or receive child support, you likely want to know how much the monthly child support payments will be. A parent’s net resources are used to calculate guideline child support, which isn’t the same thing as take-home pay.
For the purposes of child support, net resources are considered to be all of the money that is received by the noncustodial parent minus specific costs. We will outline these costs in the section titled “Determining Net Income.”
For people who have a single source of income, the easiest way to estimate your child support payments is by using the Monthly Child Support Calculator offered by the Office of the Attorney General.
It’s worth noting, though, that the actual amount that is approved or set by the court might be different than the amount determined by this calculator. It should be understood as an estimate, not a number that is set in stone.
For people with more than one source of income, estimating child support gets a little more complicated. Let’s look at how to determine gross and net income to get a sense of what you should expect when it comes to child support payments.
For the purposes of calculating child support, “resources” refers to money from a variety of sources.
The first step to estimating your child support payments is adding up the resources you receive, which include:
The following are not considered resources for the purposes of calculating income for child support:
If the noncustodial parent is remarried, a judge can’t incorporate the income of their spouse when determining the amount of child support owed.
Once you’ve added up all of the income sources to find the gross monthly income of the obligor, it’s time to subtract specific expenses to find the net income for child support purposes.
Subtract the following from the gross monthly income to determine the net monthly resources of the noncustodial parent:
Now that you have found the net monthly resources for the purposes of child support, you can use the Texas guidelines to determine what percentage of these monthly resources the obligor will likely be required to pay.
Once again, these guidelines are:
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The initial presumption when it comes to child support in Texas is that the guidelines are appropriate. If a parent believes that the amount of child support ordered should be more or less than the guideline amount, they will have to prove that the amount ordered doesn’t serve the best interests of the child.
The court will incorporate all relevant factors when determining whether the amount of child support ordered should deviate from the guidelines.
Some of these factors include:
When there is already a child support order in place, parents are able to ask for an order to be modified in there has been a substantial and material change to circumstances. This can include a change in:
Two parents cannot agree to a change in the amount of child support on their own, however. They must go through the court to modify a child support order.
Did you file your divorce petition a while ago, and you're wondering if you'll have to start the entire process over again? This article takes a look at whether divorce petitions expire in Texas.
Child support most commonly ends when a child graduates from high school or turns eighteen, whichever is later. For children with a disability, however, child support might last longer, depending on what the court orders. The Texas Family Code outlines all of the guidelines surrounding the termination of child support.
For individuals who owe back child support, child support payments will continue until the debt has been paid in full, plus interest. This means that payments might be required after the child turns 18.
The paying parent’s net monthly income (as calculated for the purposes of child support) is used to apply the Texas child support guidelines.
There are two standards that the court can apply at this point.
The first standard applies if the paying parent’s net monthly resources are less than $8,500. In this case, the court will look at the number of children that require support and apply the guidelines.
The second standard applies if the paying parent’s net monthly resources are more than $8,500. In these cases, the guidelines will only be applied to the first $8,500 of income.
If the obligor has children in separate households that they are responsible for paying child support, the courts will incorporate this information and adjust the amount of money ordered for child support accordingly.
Depending on the circumstances, courts may decide that following the guidelines would be inappropriate or unfair. In these cases, they may deviate from the guidelines.
Evidence has to be provided in order to prove that it would be in the best interest of the child for the amount of child support to deviate from these guidelines.
Under Texas law, child support can be ordered for an indefinite period if a child requires ““substantial care and personal supervision because of a mental or physical disability and will not be capable of self-support” and the disability was known to exist or existed before the eighteenth birthday of the child.
Parents can sue for indefinite support of a disabled child or adult if they have physical custody or guardianship under a court order.
Beginning on September 1, 2021, there are different sets of guidelines for child support in Texas for individuals that have monthly net resources of less than $1,000.
Child support isn't calculated as a percentage of income under Texas law. Instead, it's calculated as a percentage of monthly net resources.
For child support suits filed on or after September 1, 2021, noncustodial parents with $1,000 or less in monthly net resources will have a lower percentage of child support ordered.
The following are the guidelines for noncustodial parents who qualify as low-income for the purposes of child support:
Under Texas law, the amount of child support that is ordered is required to be in the best interest of the child or children.
Courts can consider other relevant background information if there isn't any evidence regarding an individual's resources.
Some of the information they might consider includes the following:
Courts will also look at factors including:
The process of putting a child support order in place will differ depending on your circumstances. If you're getting divorced with children, child support will likely be involved in that process. Child support cases can also occur in the case of unmarried parents.
Establishing paternity is the process of establishing legal fatherhood. This might not be necessary in all cases. However, biological fathers don't have legal rights to their children if they are unmarried until paternity has been established.
A child support order outlines how much child support, medical support, and dental support will be paid by the noncustodial parent to the custodial parent every month.
In the state of Texas, these orders also address possession and access time (visitation) as well as conservatorship (custody.)
The agency responsible for collecting and paying out child support payments is the Child Support Division of the Office of the Attorney General. Parents can pay child support in a number of different ways.
These include:
Parents who are ordered to receive child support can have their payments sent by direct deposit or through a Texas Payment Card.
In the best-case scenario, enforcing child support payments won't be necessary. If a parent doesn't fulfill their obligation, however, there are a number of tools that the state can use to enforce the order.
Here are some of the ways that the Office of the Attorney General can enforce child support orders:
If you are getting divorced with children that are under eighteen, you'll have to consider how child support will factor in to the final agreement.
If you and your spouse are unable to come to an agreement on child support, it means that your divorce case is contested. It is generally advised to work with a lawyer if your case is contested.
Depending on your situation, you also might be able to get help from the Office of the Attorney General. While they aren't able to represent parents in a divorce case that involves child support, they are able to ask a judge to create orders for medical support, child support, possession, and custody.
If a judge decides that an agreement that you and your spouse have reached regarding child support is in the best interest of the child, then they will sign an order that is based on the agreement you made. The agreement that you have come to needs to be in writing and must be included as a part of the order.
It's worth noting, however, that it can be more difficult to modify child support down the road if you and the other parent reach your own agreement that is different from the guidelines.
There might not be any need for child support if you and the other parent have relatively equivalent incomes. A judge will decide whether or not child support is required. If one parent earns quite a bit more than the other, a judge might calculate how much child support would be paid based on both parents' resources and then order the higher-earning individual to pay the difference to the lower-earning individual.
Let's look at some commonly asked questions about Texas child support.
There are a number of repercussions you can face if you don't pay court-ordered child support. These include:
There are a number of payment methods that you can use to pay your child support payments, including paying online or by phone, by mail, by bank draft, or by MoneyGram or Fidelity XPressPay.
It's important to note that you should not make child support payments to the other parent directly.
Instead, you will want to send all child support payments to the Texas Child Support State Disbursement Unit (SDU). By paying this way, the court has a payment record that is impartial. When you make child support payments directly to the other payment, they don't count as child support and are instead considered gifts.
If a parent doesn't help to support a child they don't live with, it's possible that a court will require them to pay "retroactive" or "back" child support.
This can occur even if there was never a court order in place. If a person doesn't pay child support when there is an order in place, they will be ordered to pay back child support with interest.
You cannot decide to change child support orders without involving the courts. Only the court can modify existing child support orders.
Navigating the laws regarding child support can easily become overwhelming. While the Texas guidelines seem fairly straightforward, there is a lot of other information about the process that is worth knowing. Whether you expect to pay or receive child support, having a sense of how the process works can help you make the best decisions for your children and let you know what to expect along the way.
Are you looking for more information about Texas family law? Be sure to check out our library of resources at TexasDivorceLaws.org.
Whether you are determining child support as a part of a divorce or you are embroiled in a child support case as an unmarried parent, this is often a contentious issue in Texas family law. Understanding how much you should expect to pay or receive child support is an important piece of information that will help you budget in the future.
The state of Texas has guidelines that dictate the minimum percentage of a parent’s net monthly income will be paid in child support.
This means that the exact amount you will pay or receive will depend on a number of factors, including the net monthly resources of the paying parents as well as how many children require support.
Let’s take a look at everything you need to know in order to estimate the amount of child support payments that will be required in your case each month.
Parents are required to financially support their children. In most cases, a parent who doesn’t have custody of their children will be required by law to provide financial support to the custodial parent until the child becomes an adult.
If you are getting divorced and you have children, child support is frequently one of the contested issues that needs to be addressed. For unmarried parents, paternity must be established before either parent can ask the court to order child support.
The courts in Texas take child support very seriously. When making decisions related to child support, the court’s primary focus is the best interest of the children.
When a court orders the parent of a child to make child support payments, it is mandatory. The parent ordered to pay child support has a legal duty to do so and can face consequences if they fail to make the required payments.
Like all other U.S. states, Texas has guidelines regarding how divorcing or unmarried parents will both take financial responsibility for their children. These guidelines are used to calculate the amount of child support that a parent will pay each month.
The person that is ordered to make these payments is known as the obligor. The person that is entitled to receive child support payments, on the other hand, is known as the obligee.
There is an assumption that fathers are always the ones that pay child support to mothers, but this isn’t always the case. In fact, the court can order either or both parents to make child support payments.
That being said, it’s almost always the noncustodial parent that makes payments to the custodial parent.
The custodial parent is the parent that has primary possession of the child. This means that the child lives with them most of the time and they take on the responsibility of paying most of the child’s living expenses. As you might imagine, the noncustodial parent is the parent that doesn’t have primary possession of the child.
The parent that doesn’t have custody and is ordered to pay child support may or may not have partial possession or access to their children.
The purpose of Texas child support laws is to cover, at minimum, the basic needs of the children financially until they graduate from high school or turn eighteen, whichever comes later. Child support obligations will also end if the child becomes emancipated, gets married, or passes away.
For a more in-depth overview, check out our guide to Texas child support laws.
There are a number of factors that will determine how much money the obligor has to pay to the obligee on a monthly basis. The percentage of the paying parent’s income that goes toward child support is calculated based on how many children are being supported.
The guidelines in Texas are as follows:
These guidelines only apply up to a certain monthly income, however. If the obligor makes more than $7,500 in net monthly income, for example, the first $7,500 will be the only income that is considered when calculating child support payments.
Any obligee who believes they need to receive more child support will be required to prove this need to the court. Obligors can be ordered to make larger child support payments if the court does agree that this need, in fact, exists.
An obligee might ask the court to increase child support payments for a number of reasons, including:
It’s worth noting, though, that the court will only order the obligor to pay the precise additional amount that the obligee can prove is necessary. For instance, if the custodial parent proves that they need an additional $350 a month, the court will order that the noncustodial parent pays an extra $350 a month and no more.
If you’re dealing with child support in a divorce, you’re not just thinking about how much the monthly payments will be but also what your legal bills will be for the dissolution of the marriage. You can learn about the cost of a Texas divorce here.
The courts in Texas have the ability to order either or both parents to make child support payments. These payments typically end when the child turns eighteen years old or graduates from high school, whichever event happens later.
Other occurrences that end child support payments include:
Child support can be ordered to be paid indefinitely, however, if the court deems the child to be physically or mentally disabled.
Are you wondering what is included in child support payments? This article looks at what is and isn’t covered by child support in Texas.
Physical custody is almost always the factor that determines who makes child support payments and who receives them. Physical custody is a term that refers to how much time each parent spends with the child.
A judge has the power to order either parent or both, to make payments for child support. In general, though, the noncustodial parent (the one that spends the least amount of time with the child) makes payments to the other parent in order to help support the child financially.
The logic here is that the custodial parent is going to be spending money on a day-to-day basis to support the child. Child support isn’t intended to remove financial responsibility from the custodial parent, but instead to ensure that both parents are helping to support the child. Texas law assumes that the custodial parent is directly supporting the children through the daily costs of raising them.
The Texas guidelines for child support set a basic minimum amount of child support. According to Texas law, these guidelines are “presumed to be reasonable and an order of support conforming to the guidelines is presumed to be in the best interest of the child.”
That being said, child support orders can deviate from the guidelines if it is found to be in the best interest of the child.
These child support guidelines are applied based on the net monthly income of the obligor, which is typically the noncustodial parent.
There are two separate standards for how child support is calculated:
If the obligor has other children that they are responsible for supporting, this can also impact how their child support obligations are calculated.
The percentage of income that the obligor will be required to pay will depend on the number of children they owe support for.
To estimate how much child support you will be ordered to pay or receive, you can use the Monthly Child Support Calculator offered by the Texas Office of the Attorney General.
This calculator is designed to give an estimate in cases where the obligor only has one source of income, though. If the person that will be paying child support has more than one source of income, you’ll have to do some further calculations.
In order to figure out a rough estimate of how much child support you will pay or receive, you’ll need to identify your net monthly income and determine how it relates to the Texas child support guidelines.
The first step in determining your net monthly income is figuring out your gross monthly income.
When you are calculating how much child support you will pay or receive, you will include the following sources of income in your gross monthly income:
Even if the obligor doesn’t have a job, the court might still consider them to have some sources of income. If you (or the noncustodial parent) are unemployed, you’ll want to add up any of the following sources of income to determine the child support payments:
A judge might also assign a monetary value to specific assets owned by a parent if they deem it to be appropriate. This can occur when the parent isn’t actively generating income. For instance, a judge might assign value to a second property that a parent owns.
As an example, let’s say that the noncustodial parent doesn’t have a job but has inherited a property. This property could be sold or rented out, and the judge therefore might determine that this should be included in the income of the noncustodial parent.
Child support can be a contentious issue, and sometimes obligors aren’t interested in giving up a portion of their income every month to help support the needs of their child. In order to try and reduce the amount of money they have to pay, they might be voluntarily unemployed or underemployed.
The courts don’t take this type of behavior kindly, however. If a judge believes that a parent is purposefully unemployed or underemployed, they might order child support payments to be made based upon the amount of money the individual could be making.
Once you have added up all of the sources of income received by the obligor, it’s time to move on to determining their net monthly income.
Figuring out the net monthly income for child support payments entails taking the gross monthly income found in the previous step and subtracting certain costs.
The costs that you can subtract from the gross monthly income for the purposes of child support are:
Additionally, if the parent who will be making child support payments is already making payments for children from a different relationship, the parent can take credit for these as well.
Now that you have determined the net monthly income for the obligor, it’s time to incorporate how many children will be receiving support.
The minimum percentage of the net monthly income of the obligor is outlined in the Texas guidelines as follows:
For example, let’s say that you are the noncustodial parent of two children in Texas. Your net monthly income is $5,000 a month for the purposes of paying child support. To estimate your child support payments, you would multiply $5,000 by .25.
$5,000 x .25 = $1250
This means that you would be required, at minimum, to pay $1250 a month in child support.
For obligors that make less than $1000 a month, the guidelines are as follows:
A judge has the ability to increase how much child support is owed depending on both parents’ income and the needs of the children. The judge also can increase how much support is owed if the income of the noncustodial parent surpasses a specific threshold.
The threshold, as set by the state, is changed every six years in Texas in order to account for inflation.
The guidelines in Texas are minimum guidelines, meaning that the state presumes that this is the amount that an obligor should pay in order to meet the minimum basic needs of the child or children.
If a judge believes that following the guidelines would be unfair or inappropriate to the children, they have the power to change how much support is paid.
A multitude of factors can be taken into consideration by the judge when determining whether it’s appropriate to deviate from the child support guidelines.
Some of these factors include:
In order to deviate from the guidelines, a judge is required to articulately state why following the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate.
If you are working through the issue of child support in a divorce, you and your spouse are free to agree to larger monthly child support payments than those outlined by the Texas guidelines.
However, if you are interested in creating an agreement where child support payments are less than what is outlined in the guidelines, you will be responsible for proving to the court that following the guidelines would be inappropriate or unfair.
Texas judges in child support cases will always be primarily focused on protecting the child’s best interest. If you and your spouse agree to a payment amount that is less than the guideline and the judge isn’t convinced that it’s in the best interest of the child, they won’t approve the agreement.
When a child support order is made, it isn’t voluntary. This is a duty that the obligor has to uphold by law.
It is within the power of this office to enforce child support orders through a number of different methods, including:
An individual can be impacted by the license suspension law if they:
They won’t just suspend driver's licenses, but also professional licenses, fishing licenses, and hunting licenses. Sixty licensing agencies are identified under this statute.
Let’s take a look at some of the most common questions people have about child support in Texas.
In the state of Texas, the presumption is that the noncustodial parent will provide the children with health care coverage. This isn’t set in stone, though, and the custodial parent might be responsible for providing insurance if it makes more sense.
For example, let’s say that the noncustodial parent is employed by a company that doesn’t offer health insurance for dependents. The custodial parent, however, is employed by a company that offers these benefits. In this instance, it makes sense for the custodial parent to provide health care coverage rather than the custodial parent.
There are field offices throughout Texas for the Child Support Division of the Office of the Attorney General. People can apply for services at these offices or request an application by visiting the Child Support Division's website.
It is hard to predict how long it will take to secure child support payments in any given case because there are a lot of different factors involved in obtaining child support.
If a case requires all of the services offered by the OAG-- including finding an absent parent, establishing paternity, establishing a support order, and enforcing the order-- it's going to take a lot longer than a case with a divorce decree and an established order.
Child support orders can only be modified by the court. Simply agreeing with the other parent to change the arrangement does not legally change the obligation outlined in an existing child support order.
In cases where paternity needs to be established, this can occur either voluntarily or by agreement of both parents. This is done by signing an Acknowledgment of Paternity. When this document is filed with the Texas Vital Statistics Unit, it becomes a legal finding of paternity.
Neither parent should sign this document if either of them is uncertain about the paternity of the child. In these cases, paternity should be established through the Texas courts.
Child support is one of those issues that often leaves everyone involved feeling unsatisfied. Parents who are ordered to pay child support are often deeply impacted financially by the process, while parents who are ordered to receive child support often don’t feel that they’re receiving a fair amount of money when compared to the cost of raising a child.
Regardless of your situation, how well-positioned you are in your child support case is directly related to how much you understand the process. The more you know, the better able you are to make decisions that are in the best interest of your children.
Are you looking for more information about family law in Texas? If so, be sure to check out the rest of our articles about child support and custody, divorce, and marriage in Texas.
Whether you’re getting a divorce with children or you are an unmarried parent, the child support process might leave you feeling completely overwhelmed. Hiring a child support lawyer in Texas can help you navigate the process, but finding the best one for your situation is essential.
While it can be tempting to try and avoid hiring a lawyer to save money on your case, a good lawyer can offer a number of valuable services and resources.
Not only can they help you with all of the paperwork, help you learn about the process, and give you advice about your case, but having a professional on your team can also help reduce your stress during the process.
Are you wondering how to pick the best child support lawyer for you? Let’s take a look at what you need to know.
Child support is when one or both parents make payments to help support a child financially. If you are getting divorced with children in Texas, you will have to decide the terms of child support as a part of the process. Child support cases also pertain to individuals that have children but aren’t married.
The Texas courts are able to order either or both parents to pay child support. In most cases, though, it is the noncustodial parent that makes child support payments. Custodial parents are the parents that the children primarily spend time with and live with, while noncustodial parents are the parents that the children spend less time with.
The child support laws in Texas actually don’t get into the details of what child support is supposed to cover. The purpose of child support payments is to help cover the minimum basic needs of a child.
A child support lawyer is a family law attorney that specializes in child support cases. Whether you need to modify an existing child support order, collect unpaid child support, or need help getting a child support order, a child support lawyer can help you navigate the process.
Are you going through a Texas divorce with children and you’re wondering if you can avoid the cost of hiring a lawyer? Learn more about getting a DIY divorce in Texas here.
If you’re embarking on a child support case or getting divorced with children, a child support lawyer can help out with many essential steps along the way.
One of the ways that having a child support lawyer can be valuable is that they will help you understand the process. The legal system can be so complicated and overwhelming, and not understanding what to expect can make the entire experience much more stressful and anxiety-inducing.
A good child support lawyer will walk you through every step of the process and what you will need to do at each juncture. They will talk about the different options in your scenario and the pros and cons of each.
They will also help explain the rights that each parent is entitled to in a child support case.
The requirements for implementing child support orders are different in every state. If you don’t have a child support order yet in Texas, a child support attorney can help you work through the process of receiving child support.
If you already have a child support order and you want to alter it in one way or another, a child support lawyer can help you with this, too.
As with all legal issues, there’s a lot of paperwork involved in child support cases. A lawyer can assist you in filing all the proper forms in the right way by the deadline.
Setting up a child custody order is only half the battle– the monthly payments also have to be made. If you are entitled to receive child support payments and you need help enforcing your court order, an attorney can help you navigate the process and offer advice along the way.
If you’re getting divorced and are caught up in a dispute about child support, your lawyer will be able to help. When you file for divorce in Texas with children, it’s a good idea to find a divorce lawyer that is experienced in matters of child support and custody.
If you believe you are entitled to more than what is outlined in the Texas guideline in order to properly support the minimum basic needs of your children, an attorney can assist you in the effort to prove that more support is necessary.
It can be tempting to try and avoid hiring a lawyer when you’re dealing with child support issues. After all, hiring attorneys can get pricey very quickly. However, having a lawyer can help ensure that your legal rights are protected throughout the process. This is incredibly valuable and worth considering when you decide whether or not to hire a lawyer.
There are a number of reasons that child support cases might be heard in Texas court. The website for the Texas Attorney General’s Office lists the following reasons for this type of case to be heard in court:
You’ll be informed that your case is set for court either by being formally served with notice paperwork or through the mail. The paperwork will outline the location, date, and time that your case will be heard.
When they arrive at court, the parties will meet with either an Assistant Attorney General or a Child Support Officer in order to try and negotiate an agreed order. If the parents can come to an agreement about the order’s terms, it will be presented to the judge to receive final approval. If the judge approves of the agreed order, he or she will sign it.
In the case that the parents aren’t able to agree to the order’s terms, the judge will be the one to make the final decision. He or she will do so after an Assistant Attorney General presents the information about the case to the court.
Sometimes, it can take more than one court appearance to resolve all of the issues in a child support case. If you’ve been scheduled for a court date that you can’t make, you’ll want to contact the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
This is an in-office administrative process on the part of the Texas Attorney General’s Office. The purpose of this process is to:
This review process usually takes place at a local office of the Child Support Division. This meeting usually involves both parents as well as a Child Support Officer.
These meetings usually run for about sixty to ninety minutes. How long the review process takes will depend on what needs to be addressed and a variety of other factors.
The order will be sent to the judge if both parents come to an agreement on the terms, who will review the order and sign it if he or she approves.
If both involved parents, however, can’t agree on the terms of the child support order, a court hearing will be scheduled for the case.
Child Support Review Processes are generally not included in cases where one party is a minor or the Office of the Attorney General is aware of family violence.
Individuals involved in child support cases that are concerned about their or the child’s safety should contact the Attorney General’s Office.
Now that you have a sense of the child support process and what a child support lawyer can do for you, let’s take a look at some of the steps you’ll want to take to pick the best lawyer for your situation.
Understanding the family laws in Texas surrounding child support and custody will be a big help when it to picking a lawyer. It will also help you feel more confident as the process goes on because you will have a better sense of what to expect.
The internet can be an incredible resource for learning about child support laws in Texas, but it’s important to pay attention to where you are receiving the information from and whether it is a reputable source. You’ll also want to pay attention to which state the information is in regard to because child support laws differ depending on what state you’re in.
When you have a better sense of the child support process, you’ll be able to start thinking about what types of issues you’ll want to focus on with your lawyer. This can inform the questions that you ask when you interview lawyers down the road.
There are a number of different factors you’ll want to consider when you begin searching for a child support lawyer in Texas.
When you’re researching local lawyers for your child support case, you’ll want to find out about any prospective attorney’s credentials. Look for answers to the following:
An important part of your decision when you’re picking a child support lawyer is how comfortable you feel working with them. Ask yourself the following questions when you are making your final choice for a lawyer:
You’ll also want to think about the location of your child support lawyer. On the one hand, you want their office to be relatively convenient for you to visit. On the other hand, you want to make sure that the lawyer you hire is very familiar with the specific courthouse you’ll be dealing with in your child support or divorce case.
Of course, how much a lawyer will charge you is also an essential piece of information. You don’t want to hire a lawyer just because they’re the cheapest option, but you also don’t want to pay anymore than you have to for a great lawyer.
You’ll want to find out how the fees are structured by the different attorneys you’re considering. Some might charge a flat fee while others might charge by the hour.
A lawyer that is able to help estimate the cost of your case is preferable to one that won’t be willing to put a ballpark figure on their services. A good child support lawyer will help you understand how much cases like yours usually cost and what circumstances could make the bill run higher than expected.
Are you wondering how to keep the costs down when you’re getting divorced with children in the Lone Star State? This guide looks at the cheapest divorce options in Texas.
Some law firms are general practice firms, while others specifically focus on Texas family law. This can be a good starting point because you can expect that they will have experience with your type of case.
You can take a look at the lawyers that work at local family law firms and find individuals that specialize in child support and child custody. It can be good to find a lawyer that advertises their specialties are two closely related topics, which indicates that they are focused on their practice rather than being more of a jack of all trades.
Because the law is so complex in the United States, it’s increasingly common for lawyers to specialize in just a handful of highly related areas of the law. Generalists will typically be less experienced in your particular type of case, which increases the likelihood that your needs won’t be met in your case.
If you know any lawyers you know personally, consider contacting them to find out what they specialize in. If they aren’t family law attorneys or they don’t typically deal with issues of child support, ask them if they have any recommendations.
You can also ask your friends and family for advice if you know that they have had to go through the child support process before.
Even if you get a lot of recommendations through lawyers in your network or from your personal circle, it’s a good idea to broaden your search so you can know the full scope of options on the table.
You can use the internet to find local family law lawyers. Check out their websites, reviews, and any other information you can find about them.
When you’re proceeding with the following steps in order to decide which lawyer to hire, remember to incorporate the factors to consider listed above.
When you have chosen firms you’d like to work with or lawyers you’re interested in interviewing, you can request an information package. This will let you learn about each law firm from the comfort of your own home, rather than ending up in a situation where you feel pressured to make a choice in the lawyer's office.
These days, many attorneys will offer free initial consultations. In some cases, though, they will offer reduced rates or flat fees for an initial consultation.
You don’t want to delay the process of choosing a child support lawyer indefinitely, of course. But you also don’t want to rush the decision. Having information packets from various law firms can give you some space to think about what you’re looking for in a lawyer.
When you’ve narrowed your search down to three to five child support lawyers you think might be best able to help you in your child support case, make an appointment with each of them.
An in-person interview is really important when you’re selecting a lawyer. It is really impossible to get a full sense of how comfortable you’ll feel working with someone unless you are sitting in the same room.
You might even find that some lawyers are willing to meet you for an interview at your home if you aren’t able to make it to their office.
In one of the following sections, we’ll outline some of the questions you might want to ask a potential lawyer. In general, though, you’ll want to learn about how they handle child support cases and find out about their experience with cases like yours.
The lawyer you end up choosing should leave you feeling confident that your case won’t bring up anything they’ve never seen before.
It can be tempting to cancel your other lawyer appointments after meeting with someone who seems like they would do a fine job. It’s difficult enough to describe your child support issues with a stranger once, and you might not want to go through that again.
It’s really best, though, to meet with at least two or three lawyers before you make your selection. Different lawyers are going to have different ways of dealing with child support cases, and you might find that two different attorneys have very different perspectives on how to deal with your case.
The more lawyers you talk to, the more you learn about what your options are.
When you’re meeting with a lawyer to discuss your child support case, bring any documentation that will help you describe your situation. This might include:
It’s also a good idea to write out your general situation beforehand. It’s natural to get emotional when describing your child support issue in such objective details, and you might find that you aren’t thinking as clearly when you’re sitting in front of the attorney. Having an outline of the main points you want to mention can ensure that the attorney gets all the information they need to help you understand your options.
The entire child support process can be overwhelming, and you might not even be sure what to ask a potential child support lawyer when you meet with them.
Of course, the questions you ask will be particular to your case. In general, though, you’ll want to ask the following questions:
Before you meet with family law attorneys, think about your specific case and any additional questions you might have about the process.
It’s important that your lawyer is someone you feel comfortable working with and that you trust. Quite a bit of research is required to find the right lawyer for your circumstance, but don’t solely focus on credentials. Even if someone has all the experience in the world, you shouldn’t override a gut feeling if you simply don’t trust them or don’t feel comfortable with them.
Your child support lawyer is going to be guiding you through every step of the child support process. You’ll be discussing personal details about your life with them as a part of the case. It’s important that they are someone you believe is going to act in your best interest and that you feel you work well with.
You are usually not entitled to have an attorney represent you in a case of family law.
There are, however, two circumstances where Texas law does enforce a low-income individual to legal representation in a family law case. These are:
Are you getting divorced with children in Texas and you’re wondering what to expect when the bill arrives? Check out this guide to the cost of divorce in Texas.
A very low-income individual is not entitled to legal representation in the following kinds of family law cases:
Courts can appoint lawyers for very low-income people in private terminations of parental rights and private custody disputes. However, they are not required to do so.
It can be very complicated to ask the court to appoint a lawyer for you in these cases.
The more you learn about the legal system in Texas, the more prepared you’ll feel when it’s time to make decisions in your own child support case. While reading about family law usually isn’t anyone’s idea of a good time, knowledge truly is power when it comes to understanding your rights and responsibilities under the law.
Maybe your child support case is very straight forward and hiring a lawyer would be a waste of money. Maybe you’re already working with a divorce lawyer that has a ton of experience dealing with child support issues.
However, if you’re dealing with a contentious child support case and you aren’t already working with a lawyer, hiring a child support lawyer in Texas might be well worth the cost.
If you’re looking for more information about family law in Texas, you’ve come to the right place. Be sure to check out all of our articles about divorce, marriage, child custody, and support in Texas.
If you're getting divorced with children, there's a good chance you're trying to figure out how child support is going to factor into your life. If you live in the Lone Star State, the place to begin is by learning more about Texas child support laws.
So, what does the law say?
The laws surrounding child support can be found in Texas Family Code Chapter 154. In this document, the ability of the court to order either or both parents to support a parent is outlined, as well as when child support ends in different circumstances, and more.
Looking at this type of information can make it seem more complicated than it is, though. The guidelines outlining how much money a parent needs to pay for child support are actually fairly straightforward in Texas. Let's dive in and take a look at everything you need to know.
There are child support guidelines in Texas, just like there are in all U.S. states. These guidelines intend to determine how much child support should be paid by an unmarried or divorced parent.
The guidelines laid out by Texas law are pretty simple. The amount of money that is owed by the parent that is going to pay support is based on their net income. However, it can get a bit more complicated when you have to figure out what is included in net income for the calculation, and when departing from the guideline might be appropriate.
The reason for having these child support guidelines is so that both parents are held accountable for supporting their children and that the basic needs of children in Texas are met. However, in some instances, parents can agree that there isn’t a need for child support.
If parents choose to argue that child support doesn’t need to be paid one way or the other, a judge will consider a number of different factors. They will compare the incomes of each parent and look to see if they have similar resources annually. If this is the case, and parents can equally afford to pay for the expenses of the child and agree to split them, child support may not be ordered by the judge.
A judge might consider not ordering support if both parents have complete faith that the other parent will pull their way in supporting the child.
There are certain issues that can arise from this type of arrangement, however.
You can find the guidelines for child support in Texas Family Code Section 154.001.
The standard guidelines are based on a percentage of the monthly net resources of the person paying child support in addition to the number of children they are providing support for.
Here is the breakdown of what percentage of a parent’s net income will be paid toward child support depending on the number of children:
It’s worth noting, though, that these guidelines only apply in situations where the person paying child support has $7,500 or less in monthly net resources. This limit is revisited and readjusted every six years.
How much money a parent has to pay toward child support can be decreased if they already have children that they have to pay child support for.
If you're getting divorced and money is tight, you might not just be stressing about child support but also about the total cost of divorce. You can learn more about the cheapest options for divorce in Texas here.
The Texas child support guidelines are applied based on the paying parent's net monthly income. There are two standards that the court will apply after net monthly income has been determined.
The first standard applies if the net monthly income of the paying parent (or obligor) is less than $7,500. The second standard applies if their net monthly income is more than $7,500.
In cases where the parent paying child support makes less than $7,500 a month, the court will simply look at how many children need support and follow the guidelines listed above.
If the obligor makes more than $7,500 a month, the court will use the same calculations but only for the first $7,500 of the parent’s income.
However, if the parent receiving child support (the obligee) argues that the child needs more money per month to meet their monthly need, they will need to prove it to the court. If the court finds this compelling, they will order that more child support is paid by the obligor.
Some needs that might qualify in this regard include:
Because Texas law doesn’t specify how child support is used, however, an obligee could argue for necessary expenses beyond these examples.
How much money the court orders the obligor to pay in addition to what is outlined in the guidelines, will be directly related to the cost of the expense that has been proven to be necessary. For example, if the obligee can only prove that it would cost $250 extra a month to meet the needs of the child, the court will only award $250 more than the guidelines require.
Are you worried that your spouse is going to cause trouble during the divorce process? Are you concerned they will try to hide assets or make the process as agonizing as possible? Be sure to watch out for these sneaky divorce tactics.
In a child support case, a judge will start from the presumption that the amount of support dictated by the guideline will the amount that is in the best interest of the child.
In some circumstances, though, the judge might order a different amount of support. They will do this if they believe that applying the guidelines as they are written would be inappropriate or unjust.
The judge will consider a long list of factors when making this decision, including:
If the judge chooses to order a different amount of child support is paid, he or she is required to explain the reason that it would be inappropriate or unfair to follow the amount dictated by the guidelines.
If you and your spouse believe that a higher amount of child support is appropriate, you are always able to agree to such an arrangement. If you want to create an agreement where the amount of support is less than that outlined in the guidelines, however, you’ll need to prove to the court that it would be inappropriate to follow the guidelines.
In child support cases in Texas, the child’s best interest is the most important thing. If the judge doesn’t believe that a lower amount of child support would be in their best interest, they won’t approve your agreement.
If you and your spouse started the divorce process but aren't sure whether you want to try and work things out, you might be wondering if your divorce petition will simply expire. On the other hand, you might be worried that you've waited too long and you have to start the divorce process over again. Check out this article to learn about whether divorce petitions expire in Texas.
In Texas, either parent can pay child support. In most cases, though, the noncustodial parent will pay child support to the custodial parent.
The custodial parent is the person that has primary physical custody of the child or children. The noncustodial parent is the one who spends the least amount of time with the child or children.
The reason for this is that the law assumes that the custodial parent will be paying for the day-to-day expenses of the child while they are in their care. The idea isn’t that the noncustodial parent takes care of all of the child’s expenses, but instead, helps do their part and pays a fair amount.
Child support payments typically end when the child turns eighteen or graduates from high school, whichever event happens later. They will also end automatically if a child that had once been considered disabled is no longer considered as such, if the child gets married, or if they pass away.
There are some instances, however, where child support can be ordered indefinitely. The reason for this is if the court deems the child to be either physically or mentally disabled and therefore in need of prolonged care past the age of adulthood.
The Texas Office of the Attorney General (OAG) provides a helpful online Monthly Child Support Calculator that can be used to find a simple estimate for child support.
If you have more than one source of income, though, this calculator isn’t particularly useful. That’s because the calculator assumes that your resources are all coming from one place.
If you have more than one source of income, you’ll have to figure out what your net monthly income is and then use the guideline to get a sense of how much child support you will owe or be owed.
The first step is to find your gross income. For the purposes of calculating child support, you will want to add up:
Even if you’re unemployed, that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. For the purposes of calculating child support, some benefits, awards, and pay you receive are considered income. These include:
A judge can even decide to consider some of your assets to have income value, even if they aren’t active or currently producing income. A good example of this would be a second home. For instance, if the noncustodial parent is unemployed but has property that they could produce income from by renting it out or selling it, the judge might determine the market value of the property as income that the parent could be receiving.
Some parents try to avoid making money in order to avoid making support payments. This is known as being voluntarily underemployed or voluntarily unemployed. If this occurs, judges might determine how much child support is owed by how much money the parent could be earning, not by how much money they actually are earning.
Now that you’ve determined your gross income, it’s time to find your net income. Certain types of costs can be subtracted from your gross income, which are:
If you are already making child support payments for another child or children from a separate relationship, you can also subtract the monthly payments you make from your gross income.
It’s important to understand that the obligor will also have to cover the health and dental insurance for the child or children in addition to the support amount calculated under the guidelines. The law presumes that coverage will be provided by the noncustodial parent.
If it makes sense for the other parent to provide health insurance, however, this responsibility can shift. An example of this would be if the noncustodial parent’s employer doesn’t provide health insurance for dependents while the custodial parent’s employer does.
You might think that the hard work is over once child support has been established, but the next step is actually collecting (or paying) support. Parents are able to pay child support in several different forms unless it is otherwise specified by the order.
The forms of payment that are accepted include:
The reality is, though, that most Texas divorce decrees and custody orders contain language that specifically prohibits a parent from making direct child support payments to the other parent.
The reason for this is that direct child support payments are considered informal payments of child support. Most orders for child support in Texas will state specifically that informal payments are considered additional payments, not payments in lieu of child support.
What this means is that any money that one parent pays directly to the other parent is usually considered a gift.
You will want to stop immediately if you’ve been making direct payments to the other parent. In these instances, start making payments through the proper venue. You can go to the Texas Attorney General’s website to get a copy of an Affidavit of Informal Payment or you can work with a family law lawyer to help you get the forms you need.
The goal here is to get the other parent to execute an affidavit confirming that the child support payments were received.
If you are struggling to collect child support from the other parent of your children, you can apply for assistance at the Child Support Division website of the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
Getting divorced is likely one of the most stressful and difficult things you'll ever do. When there are kids involved, it can make the whole process more complex, overwhelming, and heartbreaking.
That being said, you've likely already spent countless hours thinking about how your divorce will impact your kids. You probably went back and forth trying to decide whether you want to try and "make it work for the kids" or if your children would be better off post-divorce.
When it comes to figuring out what the arrangement will be for child support, the ideal situation is for you and your spouse to come to an agreement that benefits the child and fulfills the Texas guidelines. Many people feel that the amounts outlined in the Texas guidelines are hardly ever sufficient in relation to how much it costs to raise a child, and two spouses in an amicable divorce might choose an arrangement where a larger amount is paid each month.
Regardless of how much you decide (or are ordered) to pay or receive, understanding the laws in Texas is essential if you're going through a divorce with kids. It isn't always a great time learning about the ins and outs of the legal system, but you'll find that your stress is inversely related to how much you know about Texas family law in the ways it pertains to you.
Are you looking for more resources to help you learn what you need to know during your divorce? Be sure to check out our library of family law articles at TexasDivorceLaws.org.
