If you're getting divorced in Texas and you're starting to research child support, you might find yourself stumped. What is included in child support in Texas, anyways?
Navigating the divorce process is difficult enough when you don't have children, but it can reach an entirely new level when there are kids involved. During this time, you're likely working out a custody agreement or parenting plan, figuring out where everyone will live, and trying to determine how to reduce the negative impact divorce has on your kids. When you add in the complexity of what child support can and can't be used for, it can all feel like a bit much.
In Texas, child support is intended to be used to help cover the cost of a child's basic needs. Beyond that, though, they don't particularly specify what is and isn't considered an acceptable expense. That being said, a person who is using child support to pay for things that don't benefit the child could be considered to be misusing the funds.
Let's take a look at what you need to know about what is and isn't included in child support payments in Texas.
Child support is money that one parent pays to another in order to help supplement the expenses associated with a child’s care and household expenses. In Texas, these payments are typically made by the noncustodial parent to the custodial parent. The idea is that the custodial parent already contributes to the costs of raising the child from his or her own income, so the noncustodial parent chips in to help take on some of the responsibility for expenses related to having a child.
Texas has child support guidelines, like all states, to help figure out how much money an unmarried or divorced parent should contribute for their child or children.
The guidelines are based on the net income of the individual that will be paying child support. Figuring out exactly what should be factored into your net income, though, is a little less straightforward.
Texas law does not clearly define what child support is intended to cover. In general, though, these funds are meant to help cover the cost of a child’s basic needs. These include:
The parent receiving child support, however, ultimately has the discretion to use the money in a way that they feel is appropriate. For example, it is admissible for a parent to use the money to help pay their mortgage or rent if the child is living with them.
The standard set by Texas law comes in the form of a minimum rather than a maximum standard of support. When considering child support cases, the state “presumes” that these guidelines are in the best interest of the child.
Parents are free to agree (either voluntarily or through a decree) to a different amount of child support so long as it is more than the minimum outlined in the state guidelines. It isn’t uncommon for parents to feel that this minimum standard amount is not sufficient for fairly handling the expenses related to raising a child.
Most people pay child support in installments that are taken directly out of their paychecks by their employer and submitted to the state to be distributed to the other parent. However, depending on the agreement reached between the two parents, child support can also be paid in the form of:
During the period of time when a divorce is pending, a temporary child support order may be in place. This is a child support arrangement that will only last for a specific period of time before the divorce has been finalized and the more permanent child support orders are made.
Are you wondering whether you can save money during your divorce by representing yourself? Is it a good idea to get a DIY divorce? Check out this article to learn what you need to know about getting divorced in Texas without a lawyer.
Retroactive child support is child support that might be legally due by one parent even though they were never ordered to pay in the past. It’s important to note that there are limits on how long you can claim that you should receive retroactive child support and also limits on how far back in time you can go.
In some cases, retroactive child support decisions will involve the Texas Office of the Attorney General.
Medical support must be provided to children by Texas parents. For custody cases and divorce cases beginning September 1, 2018, or later, parents are also required to provide dental support.
Here are some important points about the laws regarding medical and dental support in Texas:
Parents have the right to come to an agreement that is different from the specifications of the law regarding medical and dental insurance policies and premiums.
Texas law does not outline the specifics of what child support payments can and cannot be used for. However, the purpose of child support in the Lone Star State is so that the child’s minimum basic needs are met. Child support is paid until the child graduates from high school and turns eighteen, unless the child becomes emancipated, gets married, or passes away.
Basic needs include:
Bills including the mortgage or rent and utilities can also be paid for using child support payments. This is because they are necessary expenses in order to provide housing for the child in question.
Child support payments can also be used toward education fees such as buying textbooks, tutors, and school lunches. If your child attends private school, you might want to work out an agreement where tuition and additional costs are factored into the child support agreement. However, if you ask the court to include private school tuition in a child support order, they might not approve it.
Another purpose child support costs can be used for is childcare. Whether this means using a local daycare service or hiring a babysitter occasionally, this is an expense that is understood to benefit the child.
Child support payments can also be used toward travel and entertainment, as well as other items that are deemed reasonable and fair given the specific circumstances.
As mentioned above, Texas requires medical child support. You can find the details of who is expected to cover the cost of health and dental insurance in the previous section.
There are a number of expenses that are not typically factored into the calculation of child support. These include:
If there is enough money from child support payments beyond meeting the child’s basic needs, however, the receiving parent can use child support payments towards these costs. It is not a misuse of funds so long as the money is going toward benefitting the child.
Child support will most likely not be approved for activities or expenditures that are considered unnecessary. Your circumstances will dictate what is considered necessary. In general, a court might not approve child support for:
Parents can choose to ask the court to include arrangements for these additional areas or work out arrangements on their own. Either parent also has the ability to ask the court to change child support payment orders when the circumstance changes.
Some changes in circumstance that might qualify for modifying child support payments include:
If you have reason to believe that the child support payments you are making aren’t going towards the care of your child or children, you will likely want to talk with a family law or divorce lawyer. It’s important to note, though, that family law courts typically consider a wide range of expenses to be acceptable when it comes to using child support so long as it is benefiting the child.
The custodial parent can use the payments for basic needs, and household necessities, save them for emergencies, or save them for the cost of education in the future.
If your ex is spending money on him or herself, however, or is spending the money on things that don’t have to do with the benefit, welfare, and support of the children and the household, you might want to take action.
If you choose to inform the authorities about the misuse of child support payments, it’s worth noting that you will need to prove that the payments are being spent in a way that is harmful to your children or illegal or provide evidence of abuse or neglect.
Judges typically see extracurricular activities as a valuable and healthy part of the social development of a child. For this reason, courts often approve requests for reasonable costs of extracurricular activities.
Some of the activities that child support may be applied to include:
If you and your spouse are informally married, you might be wondering what it means for the two of you to get divorced. Because Texas law sees informal marriages as just as valid as formal marriages, the process you will go through will be the same, so long as you can prove that a marriage existed. You can learn more about common law marriage in Texas here.
If you want to question the expenditures of child support in Texas, you will want to go through the proper channels. There are serious and severe consequences to violating child support orders. This means that you should file the proper paperwork rather than refusing to pay or otherwise breaking the court order.
Once you file the paperwork, the court will review how child support funds are being used. After looking at all of the relevant factors, a judge will make a decision about whether child support payments are reasonable and in the best interest of the child.
If the parent that is supposed to make child support payments fails to do so, the receiving parent can go to the court to seek enforcement of the order or agreement. There are a number of different methods that are used to enforce child support payments, including:
If the paying parent continues to not make payments, they could be held in contempt of the court. This could result in jail time.
If you're concerned about the ongoing cost of child support, you're also likely thinking about how much the entire divorce process is going to cost. You can read more about what to expect when it comes to the cost of a Texas divorce here.
Child support commonly ends when the child either graduates from high school or turns 18– whichever occurs later. If a child is disabled, however, the court can order that child support payments continue to be made indefinitely.
If a child gets married, they are automatically ineligible for child support. This is also the case if they pass away or if a court order removes them from disability status.
Another reason that child support can be terminated early is if they become emancipated before they turn eighteen. Emancipation is something that happens if a child enlists in the military, gives birth to a child of her own, or gets married.
Probably the most common issue that parents face when dealing with child support is not having a clear sense of what the payments are intended to cover. Since the law doesn’t make specific guidelines about what child support precisely covers, it is somewhat common for parents to undergo mediation to help work out the details of their arrangement.
If the parent that is supposed to pay child support stops paying, a judge can choose to enforce the order in the state of Texas. They can do this by imposing a fine, holding him or her in contempt, and, eventually, ordering jail time.
The state might also choose to withhold income from the paying parent in order to garnish the appropriate amount for child support owed. On top of that, they can suspend various state-issued licenses including driver’s licenses, professional licenses, and hunting licenses.
It doesn’t matter if one parent disapproves of the way that the other is using the money– they are not allowed to simply stop making child support payments. If you want to change the child support order because of a change in circumstances, you will have to go through the courts. The punishments for not paying child support can be quite severe.
A change in the amount of support given can be changed under Texas law for the following reasons:
If both parents agree to the change being made to the child support order, it is just a matter of filing the proper paperwork (assuming that you are not changing the amount to less than the guideline dictates.) Though this is the simplest way to change child support payments, it’s important to realize that ultimately only the court can modify the child support order.
If the reason for changing the order is because of a substantial and material change in circumstances, the person that is requesting the change will need to prove that this change occurred after the most recent child support order was initiated or the most recent modification. Or, they will have to prove that it was after the date that a collaborative law agreement or mediated agreement about child support was signed by both parents, whichever date is earlier.
The judge will ultimately decide in these cases if the changes in circumstance warrant changing the order.
The three-year rule is outlined by the Texas Attorney General’s Office as follows:
“Grounds for a modification include a material and substantial change in the circumstances of a child or a person affected by the order, or the passage of three years since the last child support order and a difference in monthly payment by either 20 percent or $100 from the child support guidelines. A parent subject to a child support order may request a review of the ordered child support amounts every three years by contacting the Office of the Attorney General.”
It can be incredibly frustrating to feel like your co-parent is using child support payments for things you don't feel are appropriate. At the same time, it can be equally aggravating to feel as though your co-parent is hyper-critical of how you are using the money.
It's worth knowing, though, that it's generally difficult to identify misuse of funds because of the broad purpose of the child support laws. Courts typically do not see funds as being misused unless the basic needs of a child are not being met.
Understanding how child support in Texas works can help you come to terms with this new financial arrangement, whether you're the payer or the payee.
Are you getting divorced in Texas? Are you trying to figure out what your post-divorce life is going to look like and what to expect from the divorce process? Be sure to check out the rest of our library of Texas family law articles.
Family law courts in Texas always encourage divorcing couples to reach agreements on any and all issues whenever possible. When the two of you are able to agree to the same terms in regards to property division, spousal support, child support, and more, it means you can maintain some control over the outcome of your post-divorce life. If you don’t reach a divorce settlement agreement in Texas, however, the court will decide on any contested issues for you.
The average length of a marriage that ends in divorce is a little short of eight years. If a couple accrues property and debts during this time and starts a family, all of these issues will have to be dealt with in a divorce settlement agreement to avoid them being determined by a court.
Couples are even more incentivized to come to a settlement on their own in Texas because the Lone Star State is a community property state. This means that, in many instances, marital property and debts will be split 50/50.
Let’s take a look at what you need to know about divorce settlement agreements in Texas.
A divorce settlement agreement is a document that memorializes an agreement that is made between divorcing spouses. These contracts might cover issues including division of property, alimony, and more. In Texas, these documents are referred to as divorce settlement agreements. You might come across these agreements being referred to by a number of variations of this name, including:
The state of Texas doesn’t recognize legal separation. Couples that want to separate in Texas might choose to create a separation agreement, as it outlines requirements for property rights, financial support, or visitation and is therefore similar in concept to a legal separation.
Couples that undergo mediation in Texas will, if all goes according to plan, create a mediated settlement agreement, while couples that go through the process of a collaborative divorce will create a collaborative settlement agreement.
When you get a divorce in Texas, there’s a good chance that you and your spouse don’t agree on absolutely everything when it comes to dividing property, spousal support, and other issues. However, going through divorce litigation can be incredibly costly both financially and emotionally. If you and your spouse are willing to come to an agreement through a written divorce settlement agreement, you can significantly reduce the negative impact that divorce has on your wallet and your mental health.
When you create a settlement agreement in Texas, you are required to resolve all issues related to alimony and asset division. If the two of you have minor children, you will also need to resolve all matters related to child support and custody.
If you and your spouse can agree on all of the relevant issues, your divorce settlement agreement will usually be reviewed by a court. It is required that the terms of the contract do not result from duress or fraud and that they are fair and just.
Your Texas divorce settlement agreement will be approved if the court doesn’t find any issues when reviewing your agreement. It will then be incorporated into the final decree of divorce.
You are allowed a lot of leeway and discretion in the way you create your divorce settlement agreement in Texas. Your settlement doesn’t have to mirror what you would expect a judge would award you in a hearing, and, so long as your agreement doesn’t violate public policy or law, you can agree on whichever terms suit you both best.
One of the major benefits of a divorce settlement agreement is that it can save you the time, expense, and grief of going through a litigious, adversarial divorce. When you work to create a divorce settlement that fits the needs of everyone involved, it can also help encourage a healthy transition to post-divorce life.
Another huge perk of going this route is that you and your spouse get to decide how you will deal with alimony, child custody, child support, and property division. These incredibly intimate of your life aren’t left up to a stranger (in the form of a judge) to decide.
Your communication after divorce can also be improved by creating a settlement rather than taking a divorce through litigation, particularly if there are children involved and you have to cooperate for parenting purposes.
The risk of future conflict is also reduced by creating a settlement rather than battling it out in court. When you sign the agreement, you are agreeing to abide by its terms. Through the process of negotiation and creating the final settlement, you have the opportunity to think through how you really want your post-divorce situation to play out. When it’s decided by a judge after an adversarial trial, there’s a lot more room for bitterness, resentment, and hard feelings.
Lastly, creating a divorce settlement agreement means that you and your spouse can keep sensitive personal information from becoming a part of the public record. When you go to trial, just about anyone can access information from your case if they want to.
When you want to sort out the details of your divorce in the least combative way possible, a settlement agreement is a way to go. In some situations, though, this simply might not be possible. Here are a few examples of instances where a settlement agreement might not be appropriate:
It’s also important to not allow yourself to be so cooperative and open-minded that you end up getting a raw deal in a divorce settlement. It’s great to have an amicable divorce, but you don’t want to be so committed to that outcome that you create negative outcomes in your post-divorce life.
For example, a husband that is deeply upset by a divorce might choose to just “give her everything.” The prospect of going through the negotiation process might feel impossibly painful, and the instinct is to just get it over with. However, it’s important to remember that once the grief of divorce has passed, the conditions of the agreement will still be in place. Make sure you aren’t sacrificing essential needs for the sake of being a “good sport” or not wanting to seem confrontational.
Are you worried that your spouse is going to play games when it comes to divorce? Check out these sneaky divorce tactics to watch out for.
All of the primary issues in a divorce can be dealt with in a divorce settlement agreement in Texas. These include property division, spousal support, child custody, and child support.
If you and your spouse don’t reach a settlement agreement, how your marital assets and debts are divided will be determined by a Texas divorce court. They will do so based on the community property laws in the state.
Usually, this will mean that everything acquired during the marriage will be split 50/50 except for separate property owned by each spouse.
The following items are considered separate property and won’t be subject to division in a divorce trial:
When you create a divorce settlement agreement, you can divide your property and debts in any way that you and your spouse choose. You can resolve a number of issues in your settlement, including:
While you have a lot of leeway in terms of how you divide your assets in a divorce settlement agreement, it’s important to remember that courts must still approve the document. If the court finds that the agreement isn’t fair or reasonable, it will probably be sent back to all involved parties in order to be revised.
You can also outline the terms of any spousal support that will be paid from one spouse to the other. This might be a temporary arrangement to help a lower-earning spouse find the means to support themselves financially on their own, or it might be a longer-term or even permanent arrangement. In most instances, it is used as a way for an economically dependent spouse to have the opportunity to become self-sufficient.
If there are minor children in your family, you’ll also have to come to an agreement on the issues of custody, visitation, and child support. In the state of Texas, legal custody is referred to as conservatorship, and visitation is referred to as possession.
Just like property settlements, the court will look closely at the agreement you and your spouse come to about conservatorship and visitation to make sure it is fair to all parties involved, including the children.
The court will always act from a place of what is in the best interest of the children involved. You also won’t be able to limit the child support obligation of one parent if the proposed amount is less than the amount Texas law would require.
When you sign a divorce settlement agreement, you are signing a legal contract. This means that the document has the force of the court behind it.
If your spouse doesn’t abide by the agreement outlined in the settlement, it can feel incredibly distressing. You’ll want to consult with your lawyer to determine what the right steps are in your situation. In general, though, you might want to:
Divorce is a deeply emotional process, and you might find that, with a little space and perspective, the ways in which your spouse isn’t complying with the document are not realistically harmful or problematic. For example, it might be irritating for your spouse to be five minutes late to pick up your children, but it probably isn’t enough for a judge to grant a motion for contempt of court.
On the other hand, if your spouse is drastically not abiding by the contract, such as not transferring property to you that was identified in the settlement agreement, or not allowing you your allotted custody time, it’s possible that taking it to court would be successful.
Are you wondering how much a divorce is going to cost you? This guide goes over the cost of divorce in Texas.
If you're beginning the divorce process, it's totally natural to have a lot of questions. Let's look at some of the most common questions about divorce settlement agreements.
It is generally recommended that individuals hire an attorney in order to prepare the divorce settlement agreement. If your spouse has hired a lawyer and they’ve already drafted an agreement, it’s highly advised that you hire your own attorney to help you review it. They will be able to help ensure that essential legal provisions are present, removed, or corrected in order to make sure your rights are protected.
When you aren’t a lawyer, it can be difficult to understand the full weight of what legal terms can mean. For example, “timely indemnify and hold harmless” might just sound like flowery legal terminology, but they have very important meanings that will impact your life.
Divorce is a complicated process, and without a lawyer, you can overlook something that will have a real impact on your post-divorce experience. You also might not know what words you will need to include in order for your interests to be fully protected.
Hiring a lawyer is expensive, and, for that reason, many people try to avoid doing so. If you end up in a situation where you lose important rights or the divorce settlement isn’t actually something that works for you, though, you’ll wish you had been willing to hire a legal professional to assist your navigation of the process.
Are you interested in whether or not you're a good candidate for a DIY divorce? Check out this article about divorce in Texas without a lawyer.
If you don’t like what your spouse (and their attorney) proposed for a divorce settlement agreement, don’t sign it. This is just a starting point in the negotiation, not a done deal. You don’t even have to respond by a deadline set by your spouse and their attorney if you don’t want to. You cannot be forced to sign a settlement agreement until you are ready and willing to do so.
That being said, waiting too long can cause practical problems. If you won’t sign anything as a power play or refuse to negotiate in good faith, there’s a reasonable chance that your spouse will get frustrated and remove themselves from the negotiations altogether. If you are committed to reaching a settlement so the case doesn’t have to go to trial, you’ll need to be open-minded to compromising and working towards an agreement you can both live with.
It’s always a good idea to have a lawyer review a proposed divorce settlement agreement. Your attorney can help you negotiate a better deal if you aren’t happy with the proposal.
Even if the settlement proposal looks great to you, you still want to have your own attorney review the settlement. Sometimes, a spouse or their lawyer might try to pressure you into just signing to keep the process simple. However, having someone that is working to protect your interests is very important during this process.
Your spouse's attorney might be very cordial towards you, but that doesn’t mean they represent you. They fundamentally don’t care if you receive a fair deal in a settlement, as their client is your spouse.
Even if you and your spouse agree on everything and the whole process is amicable, it’s usually not a good idea to write your own settlement agreement. It’s possible that you will miss important legal provisions or your agreement might not be as specific as Texas law requires.
If there ends up being a conflict about the contract later on, you could end up having to hire lawyers to fix or clarify the agreement down the road.
That being said, you and your spouse might choose to avoid hiring lawyers and pursue an agreed divorce if your circumstance is fairly simple. You aren’t required to have an attorney to file or respond to a divorce case, but the more complicated the case, the more advisable it is to hire an attorney.
Hiring one lawyer to draft a settlement agreement can seem like a good idea, but it's typically not recommended. To be clear, though, you certainly can do this if you want to.
The reason it might not be the best idea is because one attorney can't represent both of you. That means that you don't have anyone working on your side to look out for your interests. It also leaves things a bit open-ended, as either spouse could end up claiming that they didn't know what they were signing because they didn't have a lawyer.
When you and your spouse have decided to get divorced, (or, if only one of you has made this decision,) it can be hard to imagine coming to an agreement about anything. Getting divorced can be incredibly emotional, and the prospect of cooperating with your soon-to-be ex might seem impossible.
In reality, though, it is almost always favorable to reach your own settlement agreement rather than letting a judge decide your fate. Remember, even if you take the case all the way to trial, a divorce case isn’t an opportunity for you to prove that your spouse deserves to be punished for their actions. If you go into the process with the desire to make them pay, you’ll likely spend a lot in legal fees without even receiving the outcome you desire.
Getting divorced can be confusing and completely overwhelming. In many cases, it’s a good idea to work with a lawyer. However, doing your own research can help you get a grasp of what the process will look like and what to expect at every step along the way.
Are you looking for more resources about divorce in Texas? Check out the rest of our articles at TexasDivorceLaws.org.
Every state has child support guidelines to help determine how much support a parent should pay for a child or children after divorce (or in the case that the parents are unmarried.) If you’re getting divorced and you have children, you are likely trying to figure out what your financial future is going to look like. How does child support in Texas work, and how much is it?
A number of different factors will influence how much child support is paid in your case, including the income of the noncustodial parent and how many children require support.
While there is a general cultural assumption that child support is paid by the father to the mother, this isn’t always the case. In fact, Texas law states that child support should be determined without regard to the sex of the parent making payments, the parent receiving payments, or the children.
Understanding which spouse will be more likely to pay child support in a Texas divorce and how much these payments will be can help you plan for your future post-divorce. Let’s take a look at everything you need to know about child support in Texas.
Child support is a payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child after the end of a marriage. These payments are periodic and ongoing.
This issue can be one of the more contentious and stressful topics in a divorce. Child support is taken very seriously by Texas courts, and the focus is always on the best interest of the children.
If a court orders one parent to pay child support, this is not optional or voluntary. The parent that is ordered to make child support payments has a legal duty to do so.
In the state of Texas, the person that is obligated to make child support payments is referred to as the obligor. The obligee, on the other hand, is the person that is entitled to receive child support. In almost all cases, the obligee will be the parent that has primary possession of the child. This means that the child lives with them and they pay most of the living expenses for the child.
As you might imagine, the person that doesn’t have primary possession of the child is typically the obligor. These individuals may or may not have partial possession or access to the child.
Who makes child support payments in Texas is almost always determined by physical custody. Physical custody refers to how much time a child spends with each parent.
A judge has the ability to order either parent to make child support payments. In almost all cases, though, the parent that spends the least time with the child (the “noncustodial parent”) will be the one that pays child support to the other spouse.
Of course, simply because the noncustodial parent usually pays for child support, that doesn’t mean the other parent isn’t dealing with the expense of raising their children. Texas law assumes that the custodial parent is spending money supporting the children directly through the daily costs of having children.
Are you wondering how much your divorce is going to cost? Take a look at this guide to the cost of divorce in Texas.
How much money the obligor has to pay to the obligee each month will depend on a number of factors. The guidelines set forth by Texas law are as follows:
There are limits set to how much child support can be paid, however. For example, if the obligor has a net monthly income that is higher than $7,500, the calculations for child support will only apply to the first $7,500 of their income each month.
If the obligee believes they require more child support, they will have to prove this need to the court. If the court agrees that the need exists, they can order the obligee to make larger child support payments.
Some of the needs that an obligee might have that could serve as proof to the court include:
If the obligee is only able to prove that their children will require an additional $400 a month, for example, the court will only order the obligee to pay $400 beyond the minimum guidelines.
The Texas Office of the Attorney General offers an online Monthly Child Support Calculator that you can use to get a simple estimate of child support in your case. When using this calculator, though, it’s important to understand that it was designed for circumstances where the custodial parent has only one income source. If this isn’t your situation, you’ll have to identify both net monthly income and how that relates to the amount of support outlined in the guidelines.
For the purposes of calculating income, child support includes:
A person that is unemployed might still be considered to have some sources of income. Sources in these cases might include:
In certain cases, if deemed appropriate, a judge might assign a specific income value to the assets that a parent owns when they aren’t currently creating income. For example, this could be the case if a parent owns a second home.
Let’s say that a parent is unemployed but they inherit property that they could rent out or sell. The judge might assign a value to this asset and consider it a portion of their income.
Sometimes, a parent will be underemployed or voluntarily unemployed with the express purpose of avoiding making child support payments. If a judge infers that this is the case, they might choose to impute (or attribute) income based upon the expected earning of that individual.
In order to determine the net resources that a parent has for paying child support, there are a number of costs you’ll want to subtract from the total gross income you calculated early. These are:
A parent can take credit for child support payments they are already making for another child or children from a separate relationship.
At the point when you’ve figured out the net monthly income of the noncustodial parent, you can multiply that number based on the percentage outlined below depending on how many children require support. If you found the annual net income of the noncustodial parent, you can divide this number by twelve to find the net monthly income.
When a noncustodial parent doesn’t have $1000 in net monthly resources, it reduces the percentage of child support owed by five percentage points. This means that the support payment for one child would be 15% instead of 20%, and the support payment for five children would be 35% instead of 40%.
A judge might decide to increase the amount of support children receive depending on both the needs of the children and the income of both parents. If a noncustodial parent surpasses a specific threshold for net monthly resources, the judge also can increase how much support is owed.
Every six years, the threshold is revisited and altered to account for changes in inflation over time.
The presumption is generally that the noncustodial parent will provide health care coverage for the children. If it makes more sense for the custodial parent to provide this insurance, however, the responsibility can change easily.
An example of this would be if the custodial parent has a job where health insurance for dependents is provided through their employer while the noncustodial parent doesn’t have employment with this benefit.
Are you wondering how child support works if you are getting divorced from an informal marriage? Check out this article about common law marriage in Texas.
There are a number of instances when child support might end up being more or less than the amount suggested by the guidelines.
When a judge deals with a child support case, they will initially assume that the best interest of the child will be met by the guidelines. However, a judge has the power to change how much support is paid if they find that it’s inappropriate or unjust to simply follow the guidelines.
Judges will take a number of factors into consideration when making this decision, including:
A judge will have to be able to clearly state the reasons why it would be inappropriate or unfair to follow the guidelines as they are laid out in order to require a different amount of child support to be paid than what is stated in the guidelines.
It’s worth noting that you and your spouse are always free to agree to child support payments that are more than the amount listed by the guidelines. This is something you can work out in a divorce settlement agreement, for example. However, if the amount you agree upon is less than the amount suggested by the guidelines, the onus will be on you to explain why it would be appropriate to apply the guideline.
Remember, the judge is always coming from the place of protecting the best interest of the child. If they don’t believe your agreement is in the best interest of the child when you’ve agreed to child support payments below the guidelines, they won’t approve your agreement.
Are you a good candidate for getting a divorce without a lawyer? Take a look at this guide to DIY divorce in Texas.
If you and your spouse are engaged in an adversarial battle over child support, you might feel relieved once child support orders are established. However, collecting support is the other half of the battle. The obligor is required by law to pay the full amount of child support every month.
Typically, these payments are made through one of the following forms unless otherwise specified:
Parents can make support payments through the Child Support Division of the Texas Attorney General’s Office. There are a number of different methods to make these payments, including having wages withheld or paying an online payment.
If you have a child that requires “substantial care and personal supervision because of a mental or physical disability and will not be capable of self-support,” and the disability that they have was known to exist or existed on or before the eighteenth birthday of the child, then you can seek child support for an indefinite period.
If you are the parent that has physical custody or guardianship of a child or adult with a disability under a court order, you have the standing to sue for support under Texas state law.
You are allowed to request a modification to an existing child support order once it’s in place. In order to be granted this change, though, you will have to show that circumstances have substantially changed. This might mean that the amount of support your children need has changed or that your ability to pay support has changed.
The same legal requirements that applied to the original child support order will be used by a judge to make a decision regarding your request to modify child support orders.
You can spend time with your children unless there is a court order that restricts the time you spend with your children. In the eyes of the court, visitation rights and child support are two separate issues. That being said, both parents are legally obligated to obey both the possession portion of the order and the child support portion of the order.
A custodial parent is required to make your child available to you if your court order has a possession order. This is true even if you are unable to pay child support.
Even if you aren't paying child support, the custodial parent can't simply refuse to let you see your child if you are rightfully allowed to do so according to the possession order.
If you can't pay child support and the custodial parent is refusing your parenting time, you can file a motion to enforce the portion of your order that relates to possession and access.
When a parent doesn't obey court orders, there are potential legal consequences. That being said, not paying child support as you are ordered to do is a violation of the child support order and your spouse could choose to file a motion to enforce this order.
There are a number of different ways that conservatorship can be done in Texas. As a refresher, a conservatorship is the rights and duties of the parents (for example, to make medical decisions, make decisions regarding their education, etc.)
In some cases, one parent might have sole managing conservatorship, where they make all of the decisions. In others, both parents make the decisions about their children, which is known as joint managing conservatorship.
You and your spouse can come to a parenting arrangement that works for you in your divorce settlement agreement. If the case goes to trial, a court will decide what is in the best interest of the child.
If a child is at least twelve years old, the court is required to interview the child and find out what their wishes are about custody. This is required by Texas law. The court will still make a decision that they believe is in the best interest of the child, but children that are twelve or older have the opportunity to share their preferences.
When a noncustodial parent doesn't make the required child support payments, they are subject to enforcement measures by the Child Support Division of the Texas Attorney General's Office.
There are a number of different measures that the Child Support Division might use in order to enforce these orders. These include:
If a noncustodial parent owes more than three months of past-due child support, isn't in compliance with a voluntary repayment schedule or existing-court order can face license suspension.
In addition to the Child Support Division of the Texas Attorney General's Office, there are also child support offices, private collections agencies, private attornies, and county-operated domestic relations offices that provide some services for child support enforcement.
If you choose to use the service of a private agency in order to enforce child support orders, it's important that you read all of the fine print before signing anything.
In some instances, private agencies are able to process child support cases faster than the Child Support Division. According to the Texas Attorney General's Office, this is because many of the cases that come into the CSD don't have child support orders or established paternity. Most cases that are handled by private child support collection agencies or county domestic relations offices already have child support orders in place and established paternity.
Very few people find it interesting to page through state legal codes, but understanding the laws when you’re getting divorced is essential to ensuring that you receive a positive outcome after divorce. On top of that, it’s a lot easier to be anxious and stressed when you don’t understand something. The more you grasp the way that family law works in relation to a Texas divorce, the better able you’ll be to navigate the entire process.
Reading articles online should never serve as a substitute for working with a divorce attorney. If you’re unsure whether or not you need a lawyer in your case, it’s a good idea to at least meet with a few for a consultation. They will be able to help you understand what the process will look like depending on the specific factors involved in your case.
However, learning about the process on your own can help you regain control during a time that can often feel chaotic. If you’re looking for more easy-to-digest resources about Texas divorces, be sure to check out our library of divorce articles.
If you’re getting divorced, the topic of alimony might be on your mind. For example, maybe you’ve been in a one-income household in your marriage as one partner stayed home to raise the kids. What is the stay-at-home-spouse going to do financially after the marriage dissolves? Understanding Alimony in Texas is essential if you’re expecting to pay or receive spousal support, as Texas law is actually pretty unique in this regard.
When you’re thinking about alimony, there’s probably one question that’s particularly on your mind: how much is it?
The answer to that is: it depends. If you receive alimony that is ordered by the court, there are limits on how much alimony you receive each month and for how long. On top of that, there are strict qualifications you have to meet to even be able to receive alimony through a court order.
On the other hand, how much alimony you receive (or pay) through a contractual agreement isn’t limited by the law. Let’s dive into the world of Alimony in Texas to help you understand the most important aspects of spousal support in the Lone Star State.
Though alimony isn’t mentioned in Texas Family Law, the term is synonymous with spousal support. Receiving alimony in a divorce in the U.S. isn’t rare, but it also isn’t automatic and certainly isn’t ordered in the case of every divorce.
The basic definition of alimony is when one spouse pays another after a divorce or during divorce proceeding. Different states have different uses of the term, and it can be used to refer to court-ordered payments, voluntary payments made through an agreement between couples, or both.
In Texas, the term used for voluntary payments resulting from a contract between spouses is contractual alimony or spousal support.
In general, though, there are a few things you’ll want to know about what alimony isn’t:
Texas does have alimony, but Texas Family Law never uses this specific term. In general, the law favors spousal support payments that are decided as a part of divorce settlements in the form of private contracts rather than court-ordered spousal maintenance.
That being said, spousal maintenance can be ordered by a Texas court. The laws in the state are very strict in terms of who is eligible, how much can be awarded, and the duration of the payment period.
Texas law doesn’t provide for alimony as a right. That being said, it isn’t prohibited either. For a court to order alimony payments, specific qualifications need to be met. The other option is coming to an agreement with your soon-to-be-ex and including it as a contract in the divorce settlement.
The amount of alimony an individual receives after divorce will depend on a number of factors.
First of all, spousal maintenance ordered by a court is bound by a number of limits. Under Texas law, spousal maintenance payments can be no more than 20% of the supporting spouse’s average monthly income or $5,000, whichever is lower.
As an example, let’s say that you make $3,000 a month. This means that you cannot be ordered to pay more than $600 a month.
When it comes to contractual alimony, these rules don’t apply. Since this is a private contract between the parties involved, they can negotiate an arrangement that suits them.
In some instances, one spouse might negotiate for life insurance benefits or additional other protections in case the supporting spouse were to unexpectedly pass away.
When divorcing spouses agree to a contractual alimony arrangement, the obligation can be included in the Final Decree of Divorce.
Court-ordered spousal maintenance typically comes in the form of monthly payments.
When you agree to a contractual alimony agreement, though, there are additional options. Of course, monthly payments are one of the choices on the table. Because this is a private contract between the two of you, you have a lot of flexibility in terms of how the agreement is laid out.
It’s important to understand that there might be tax consequences to awarding and accepting a lump sum alimony payment as a part of a divorce settlement. However, whether or not this award is subject to tax can have to do with whether it is referred to as a “settlement” or “alimony” in your settlement. If you’re interested in a lump sum payment rather than monthly payments, talk to your divorce lawyer and a tax attorney.
It’s worth noting that the taxation of alimony recently changed, at least in the way you deal with it on federal tax returns. This is due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. While alimony once was seen as income that could be taxed and deducted depending on whether you received it or paid it, the tax implications are different for alimony for divorce agreements signed after January 1, 2019.
There are other ways that one spouse can be compensated by the other through the settlement other than alimony, too. Some of these include:
It’s a good idea to talk to your lawyer about what makes sense in your circumstance when it comes to alimony. If you are the spouse requesting alimony, you might find that your spouse is more open to offering a division of property that favors you rather than signing on for monthly alimony payments.
If you receive court-ordered alimony in Texas, there are parameters that set limits on the duration of the payments.
Judges are required to order the shortest duration necessary for support under Texas law. This is true except for instances that involve a mental or physical disability, custodial parent, or another exceptional and compelling situation.
Court-ordered alimony payments can end early if any of the following occur:
If you are trying to modify a court-ordered alimony arrangement, it’s important to understand that you have to follow the existing court order until the judge hears your request.
Are you wondering whether you can start dating again before your divorce is final? Take a look at what to watch out for when it comes to dating and divorce in Texas.
Contractual alimony agreements aren’t overwhelmingly common since both parties have to agree to the terms in order for them to be included in the Final Decree of Divorce. At the same time, the arrangement certainly isn’t rare, either. If a divorcing couple is able to come to this type of agreement, though, they have a lot of flexibility in what the terms of the arrangement are. They don’t have to deal with any limit on duration, a cap on the amount, or eligibility requirements.
Sometimes contractual alimony payments come in the form of a short-term agreement or a one-time fee. In other instances, it might be a specific amount of money every month for an extended period of time.
If you think you have the right leverage to negotiate contractual alimony under terms that are favorable to you, talk to your lawyer about what is possible in this regard.
In most cases, you have to have been married for ten years to receive court-ordered spousal support in Texas. The only exception for this is if the supporting spouse was convicted of family violence.
There are no restrictions on how long you’ve been married for contractual alimony. This is because this type of arrangement results from a voluntary agreement between the divorcing parties.
Texas is one of the hardest states to win court-ordered spousal maintenance. It is possible to win these cases in court. The court begins with the presumption that neither party should receive alimony, meaning that the need for spousal support needs to be proven. On top of that, there are very stringent qualifications that must be met to even be eligible for consideration. Even if you meet those criteria, receiving spousal support isn’t guaranteed.
However, a private contract created as a part of a divorce settlement is a much more straightforward path to take if possible.
In order to qualify for alimony that is ordered by the court (known as spousal maintenance in Texas,) a spouse has to fall within a number of fairly specific circumstances.
Divorcing couples are free to agree to a post-divorce alimony arrangement, however. They simply need to do so in a contract as a part of the settlement rather than through the court. It’s worth noting that going this route (taking the issue to court) will also likely be more expensive than drafting and signing your own private contract.
If seeking maintenance through the court is necessary, though, a spouse has to lack sufficient property once the divorce is final in order to meet his or her minimum needs.
On top of that, one of the three following circumstances must also be true:
As you might imagine, most court-ordered alimony payments result from the first option. A spouse that doesn’t meet any of these requirements isn’t eligible to receive alimony that is ordered by the court. That being said, couples can draft their own private agreement to create an arrangement for contractual alimony.
Unlike court-ordered spousal maintenance, there aren’t any conditions that must be met for someone to receive contractual alimony. This is because it is a voluntary agreement you are entering into rather than something that is ordered by the court.
The purpose of contractual alimony is to act as the primary means of subsistence of the supported spouse if they are disabled or care of a disabled child or to supplement their income.
Through contractual alimony agreements, couples can choose to create custom arrangements that suit their particular situation.
For example, maybe you are going to sell the marital home and move into an apartment, but you want to reduce the burden of transition on your children. In this instance, you might create a contractual alimony agreement where payments are made to you for a short period of time to help cover the additional living expenses of briefly managing two properties. This type of agreement can help to maintain a semblance of stability in the lives of children after the divorce.
In Texas, couples are allowed to create a binding agreement in regards to alimony in their prenuptial agreement. Prenups are a contract that soon-to-be spouses sign in contemplation of marriage. These contracts usually control how property will be divided in the case of divorce.
Prenups in Texas can include agreements between prospective spouses to:
Texas courts will enforce prenups so long as the contract is in writing, doesn’t have to be supported by “consideration,” and was created “in contemplation of marriage.” In order to be enforceable, these contracts also must have been signed voluntarily by both spouses and they must not be “unconscionable,” meaning it’s egregiously unfair.
The state of Texas recognizes common law marriage as being equally valid as a traditional marriage. This means that the divorce process is exactly the same whether you have a formal marriage or a common-law marriage. However, it is required that you can prove that the marriage actually existed.
Check out this recent post to learn more about common law marriage in Texas.
Spousal support is a term that can be used synonymously with alimony. You will also sometimes see it used to discuss court-ordered payments, which is technically called spousal maintenance in Texas.
Temporary spousal support is a type of alimony that is only paid during divorce proceedings. These payments stop after a specific period of time-based on how long the court believes is reasonable for the lower-earning spouse to find another means of financial support. A judge might choose to award temporary spousal support that continues on after a divorce is final for a period of time.
The lower-earning spouse has to file a Motion for Temporary Orders in order to receive this interim support. This type of order is reserved for cases where the court believes such action is fair and necessary. Much like spousal maintenance, it is not always awarded to those who request it.
Spousal support isn’t mandatory in Texas. If a spouse is requesting spousal support through the court, the judge has to follow strict guidelines as a part of his decision on whether or not to award maintenance payments.
Spouses have to meet a specific set of criteria in order to qualify for spousal maintenance in Texas.
The other option, though, is a contractual agreement made between the spouses as a part of the divorce settlement. These contracts aren’t bound by the same strict laws as court-ordered spousal maintenance.
Are you wondering how to keep costs down when you’re getting divorced in Texas? Check out the cheapest divorce options here.
Spousal maintenance is the term used in Texas to refer to court-ordered payments. As discussed above, awarding spousal maintenance in a divorce case occurs on a case-by-case basis.
The court will consider any and all relevant factors if a spouse is eligible for spousal maintenance. This can include factors such as:
Additional factors that can come into play include the age and health of the spouses, how long the marriage lasted, and the way that the spouses treated each other in the marriage.
In order to receive spousal maintenance, the spouse seeking support has to demonstrate that they have been searching for educational, training, and employment opportunities with diligence.
Depending on your situation, the decision to pursue post-divorce support in a Texas divorce might feel more or less optional. If it will be necessary for you to meet your basic needs, then there is certainly an argument for asking the court for spousal support. However, it’s important to weigh out the costs and benefits of doing so, as paying an attorney to attend court for spousal support matters will start to add up quickly.
If you don’t have a strong position when it comes to offering the necessary evidence to a judge, you could end up receiving little reward for having spent a large sum of money.
It’s a good idea to talk to your attorney about spousal support and your financial situation at the beginning of your case. They’ll be able to help you determine whether you have a good chance of receiving spousal maintenance through a court order. They can also help you in negotiating a contractual alimony agreement if that seems to be the better route in your particular circumstance.
Getting divorced isn’t cheap anywhere, and Texas is no exception. If you choose to take your battle over support to trial, you can expect the total cost to be much higher than if the two of you are able to come to an agreement without involving the courts. Take a look at this post about the cost of divorce in Texas to learn more.
Navigating the divorce process in Texas can feel like walking through a minefield. Not only are you dealing with the emotional and financial fallout of your marriage ending, but also the legal process itself is far from a walk in the park. When you and your spouse had widely different incomes, trying to figure out how you’re going to meet your basic needs after the divorce can be incredibly stressful.
The reality is that receiving court-ordered alimony in a divorce in Texas isn’t particularly easy. The court begins with the presumption that spousal maintenance isn’t necessary. If you haven’t been married for longer than ten years and don’t fit within specific requirements, you won’t be able to receive court-ordered spousal support.
That being said, contractual alimony agreements can allow you and your spouse to work out an agreement that is suitable for both of you. Of course, depending on how amicable the divorce is, it might be more or less difficult to get your spouse to agree to spousal support.
If you are the higher earner in your marriage, you might be glad to hear that Texas isn’t a particularly alimony-friendly state when it comes to creating court orders. That being said, you might feel that it is appropriate to offer short-term alimony or another suitable arrangement in order to ensure that your spouse isn’t left without any means to support him or herself after the divorce.
No matter where you are in the Texas divorce process, it always helps to have more information up your sleeve. If you’re searching for more resources about divorce in the Lone Star State, be sure to check out our library of articles about Texas divorce, marriage, prenups, and more.
Each state in the U.S. has its own statutes about how alimony payments are awarded from one spouse to another. If you’re getting a divorce and there’s a significant income difference between you and your spouse, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the laws surrounding spousal support in Texas.
When it comes to long-term spousal support, there are two primary types in the Lone Star State. Spousal support, or contractual alimony, is a voluntary decision made by the spouses as a part of the settlement negotiations. Spousal maintenance, on the other hand, is ordered by a court.
The laws surrounding spousal maintenance are a lot stricter in Texas than in other U.S. states. Depending on your situation, therefore, it might be beneficial to consider creating a contractual agreement.
Are you wondering how exactly spousal support and maintenance works in Texas? Let’s dive in and take a look at what you need to know.
The general definition of the term spousal support in the Oxford Dictionary is “financial support that a person is ordered by a court to give their spouse following a divorce.”
In Texas, though, court-ordered spousal support is actually referred to as spousal maintenance while a voluntary agreement between the spouses in regard to payment after a divorce is known as spousal support. You might also hear spousal support referred to as alimony. While there isn’t a difference in the meaning between these two terms, there is no use of the word alimony in Texas law.
Spousal support and spousal maintenance, however, are notably distinct terms. In the next section, we’ll explore the difference between them.
You’ll often hear the terms spousal support and spousal maintenance used interchangeably. Their definitions are not actually synonymous under Texas law, though.
Spousal support refers to voluntary payments made from one spouse to another after a divorce. Commonly, these support payments are agreed to by the spouses in their divorce settlement. Enforcement of spousal support involves the same methods that one would use to enforce any other contract in Texas.
Spousal maintenance, however, isn’t decided voluntarily and is instead ordered by the court in a divorce case. It is therefore enforceable as a court order.
There are three different types of spousal support worth understanding when you are getting divorced in Texas. These are temporary spousal support, contractual alimony, and spousal maintenance.
Temporary spousal support is exactly what it sounds like– spousal support that is only paid for a finite period of time. These payments are paid during divorce proceedings and don’t continue beyond a point in time when the court believes the spouse receiving support should be able to find another way to support themselves financially.
If you think you should receive temporary spousal support, you will need to file a Motion for Temporary Orders. Just because you file this motion doesn’t mean that you will be awarded interim support. Courts will only order this type of support if they believe it is both fair and necessary.
In some cases, a divorcing couple will choose to enter into a spousal support agreement voluntarily. Under Texas law, this is referred to as spousal support, but it is also sometimes referred to as contractual alimony.
In this instance, the spouse can choose how much spousal support is paid and for how long, and is typically created as a part of the divorce settlement. If the court accepts their contract then it will be enforceable as any other Texas and be included in the Final Divorce Decree.
Spousal maintenance is not voluntary but instead is ordered by the judge. Both parties in the couple don’t need to approve in order for the court to deem it necessary and fair. If one party in the divorce believes they should receive spousal maintenance, they will need to show the court that they won’t be financially able to fulfill their reasonable basic needs.
Spousal support is often one of the most divisive issues in a divorce. In many U.S. states, alimony is a major component of the property settlement judgment or agreement. Texas is quite a bit different from other states in this regard, as most divorces don’t include court-ordered spousal maintenance awards. The reason for this is that the requirements under the Texas Family Code are very strict.
We will discuss the qualifying factors a bit later on. However, the most common way that a spouse qualifies for court-ordered spousal maintenance in Texas is because they were married for at least ten years and lack the ability to earn sufficient income to take care of their basic needs.
It’s important to understand that the amount of money it takes to cover one's basic needs under Texas law is considered to be simply above the poverty line. In regard to this specific point, the matter of the standard of living that was maintained during the marriage is irrelevant.
Judges are required to award the minimum amount of money for the shortest period of time in order for a spouse to be able to meet these minimum reasonable needs.
Later on in the marriage, we will get into some of the specific nitty-gritty details about spousal support and maintenance in Texas. However, it’s worth understanding that some of the basic factors that can impact both the amount and duration of payments include:
Other than the point regarding spousal misconduct, these points all have to do with the supporting spouse’s ability to pay and the supported spouse’s financial needs. Considering that both of these circumstances can change over time, both the amount and duration of the payments can be modified at a later date by the court. In order to modify a court order of this type, the requesting party usually has to prove that financial circumstances have changed permanently, substantially, and materially.
In order to get voluntary or contractual spousal support in a Texas divorce, you and your partner will need to agree upon the terms and include them in your divorce settlement.
Court-ordered spousal maintenance, on the other hand, is decided on a case-by-case basis. There are four primary ways that a spouse can receive a spousal maintenance award, which are:
Either spouse has the option to request maintenance when they get a divorce in Texas. That being said, courts will only award support if the spouse requesting maintenance doesn’t have enough property to cover their basic needs. On top of that, at least one of the following circumstances also needs to exist:
There are a number of factors that the court will take into account in order to determine whether a spouse lacks the earning ability to provide for their minimum reasonable needs.
Some of the factors they will consider include:
The court will also look at additional factors, such as:
If you plan to ask for spousal maintenance in a Texas divorce, you will have to demonstrate that you have searched for training, educational, and employment opportunities diligently. In cases where the Affidavit of Support is being enforced, however, the due diligence requirement doesn’t apply.
It’s worth noting that Texas laws start every maintenance case with the assumption that it wouldn’t be appropriate to award spousal maintenance. The idea is that the requesting spouse will need to demonstrate that they have done their due diligence. This means showing that they have made a good faith effort to become financially independent by acquiring the necessary education or employment. The court will only move forward with the maintenance evaluation if this is shown.
Texas law limits how much support a court can order, which is actually fairly unique compared to other U.S. states. Awards for spousal maintenance must not be more than 20% of the spouse’s average monthly gross income or $5000 per month, whichever is less.
Judges will frequently order spousal maintenance in periodic payments. This commonly results in monthly payments.
Courts will sometimes issue an order to withhold income from the supporting spouse. In these instances, the employer of the paying spouse has to deduct maintenance payments directly from their paycheck and have it forwarded to the court agency.
Unfortunately, there is no quick-and-easy formula to help you figure out how much spousal maintenance you will receive, or if you will receive it at all. There are a number of different factors that they take into account in order to determine whether or not you receive spousal maintenance and, if so, how much.
In general, though, the supporting spouse may not be required to pay more than 20% of their gross monthly income or $5000 a month, whichever is less.
Until recently, spousal support payments were usually considered taxable income to the person that is receiving these payments. For the person that is paying the support, the payments were generally considered deductible.
However, this all changed with the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The way that spousal maintenance was taxed was significantly impacted by this, which went into effect on January 1, 2019.
Any maintenance agreements or orders that were finalized on or after this date aren’t considered income for the receiving spouse. At the same time, the paying spouse cannot deduct the payments from their income.
As you might imagine, this creates quite a bit of confusion for both parties involved. It might be a good idea to meet with an experienced tax attorney in order to make sure that you are dealing with spousal support payments in a way that is following the current tax laws.
If you’re awarded spousal maintenance payments by the court, the court might order that income is withheld from the supporting spouse’s paycheck which will then be remitted to the supported spouse. If you need to enforce an order for spousal maintenance, there are a number of different ways to go about it:
The decision regarding the duration of maintenance awards has to follow strict guidelines under Texas law. For example, if a spouse is ordered to pay support due to a specific condition such as a mental or physical disability, the payments can only continue to be made as long as the condition continues to exist. Courts have the ability to periodically review these support orders at a later date.
For maintenance orders that aren’t ordered due to a specific compelling reason such as that listed above, Texas law limits support in the following ways:
Judges are required under Texas law to order support for the short period of time necessary in order for the requesting spouse to be able to gain financial independence. This is the case except for those that involve a mental or physical disability, a custodial parent, or another compelling situation.
There are a handful of ways that maintenance orders can end before the initial termination date. These include:
Are you wondering if you should try and save money during the divorce process by representing yourself? You’ll want to read this article about getting divorced in Texas without a lawyer.
In most cases except for a handful of exceptional circumstances, you have to be married for at least ten years to receive court-ordered spousal maintenance in Texas.
If you and your spouse create a contract as a part of the divorce settlement that outlines spousal support payments, you are free to create whatever arrangement you can agree to so long as the court finds it isn’t unfair to one spouse.
The laws about spousal support and maintenance in Texas are quite restrictive compared to other U.S. states. Even if you do qualify for court-ordered spousal maintenance, the amount of money and the length of time will likely be stringent.
However, if couples are able to negotiate a contract for spousal support, they can create their own arrangement. This arrangement isn’t bound by the requirements outlined by Texas law. If the divorcing couple isn’t able to negotiate their own private contract, the fate of their alimony issues will be determined by a judge.
Are you worried that your spouse is going to be difficult during the divorce process? Make sure you check out these sneaky divorce tactics so you know what to watch out for.
If there has been a substantial and material change of circumstances since the first spousal maintenance order was issued, the court can change the order. The paying spouse has to keep meeting the requirements of the current order until the award has been formally changed, however.
If you made a request to modify spousal maintenance, you need to keep following the existing court order until a judge hears your request. It’s a serious offense to not comply with a court order. You could find yourself with bank liens, attorney’s fees, and even spending some time in jail.
If you are receiving spousal support from a contractual agreement and need to enforce the order, you can file a formal request with the court in order to seek help in enforcing the order.
Contractual alimony, or voluntary spousal support, isn’t bound by the same strict laws and qualifications as spousal maintenance in Texas. Depending on whether you are the supported or supporting spouse, and how you feel about spousal support being exchanged after your divorce, contractual alimony might be favorable or unfavorable to you.
Contractual alimony agreements don’t have to deal with any of the same rules when it comes to amount and duration as those for spousal maintenance orders. This means that you and your spouse can custom make an agreement that hopefully fits both of your needs.
For example, divorcing couples might want to create a scenario where one spouse can stay at home to take care of children after the divorce. Or, perhaps, a spouse requesting support might want to trade the interest they have in one asset to receive higher support payments. These agreements are voluntary contracts, rather than court orders, meaning that you can come up with terms that fit your needs without being bound by the same strict laws.
One major advantage of going this route when it comes to spousal support is that it doesn’t involve the courts. The more time you spend having a court decide your fate for you, the more money you will spend on lawyer’s fees and other costs.
To learn more about what to expect when it comes to your total divorce bill, check out our article on the cost of divorce in Texas.
Choosing to create a contractual alimony agreement also means that you aren’t risking an unfavorable outcome being ordered by the court. It keeps the decision about spousal support in the hands of both you and your spouse.
On the downside, contractual alimony is only enforced by the Texas Family Code to the extent that it aligns with the statutory requirements. This means that if one spouse doesn’t make the payments they agreed to in your settlement, you don’t have the same enforcement options as you would if it was court-ordered spousal maintenance.
For instance, let’s say that your spouse signed a contractual alimony agreement that said they would pay you spousal support for twenty-five years. However, given your situation, the court wouldn’t have been legally allowed to order spousal maintenance for a longer duration than ten years.
The court wouldn’t be able to hold your ex in contempt for failing to comply with the agreement’s terms if they stopped paying in year eleven after your divorce.
This doesn’t mean that the contract is completely unenforceable past this point. What it does mean, though, is you’ll have to take a different avenue.
This type of alimony contract is enforceable by contract in Texas. If your spouse wasn’t upholding their end of the bargain, you would be able to pursue a civil claim.
The state of Texas recognizes common-law marriages as being equally valid as traditional marriages. This means that the process for dissolving a common law marriage is the same as it would be if you had gotten formally married. However, in order to be able to get divorced when you are in a common-law marriage, you have to be able to prove that the marriage existed in the first place.
You can learn more about common law divorce in Texas here.
If you’re getting divorced in Texas, you might be overwhelmed by the complexity of the legal process. Of course, on top of that, getting divorced is probably also taxing both financially and emotionally. We believe that one of the best ways to get through a divorce in one piece is to arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible, as it can help to reduce stress and allow you to create a map of how the process will unfold.
At TexasDivorceLaws.org, we are committed to offering a library of resources to the people of Texas to help outline the most important aspects of Texas Family Law. If you’re looking for more information about divorce, marriage, and prenups, be sure to check out our vast selection of Texas Family Law articles.
Realizing that your marriage is over is difficult enough in its own right. When you add in the complicated legal process of dissolving a marriage, it can make the whole thing feel completely overwhelming. Once you learn more about the divorce process in Texas and how it works, though, it can help you understand the steps involved and the timeline that divorces typically follow.
Depending on whether you and your spouse agree on the terms of a divorce, whether you have children, and how substantial your assets and debts are, a divorce can be fairly simple or it can be quite complicated.
By planning ahead, though, you can work to avoid making the process any more stressful, time-consuming, or expensive than it needs to be.
Let’s dive in and take a look at how the divorce process works in Texas.
Your specific circumstance will inform the exact process that you go through when getting divorced in Texas. However, the average divorce process will follow the timeline outlined below.
Before you file, there are three basic steps that are necessary.
The first one might seem so obvious it’s not worth mentioning, but the first essential step in getting a divorce is making the final decision that you want to pursue a divorce. This is a serious decision, and depending on whether or not you and your partner are coming to this agreement mutually, something you will have to bring up with your spouse.
The second step is determining whether you want to hire an attorney or if you’re going to get a DIY divorce. Getting a divorce without a lawyer is really only recommended in certain circumstances, and it isn’t advised to get divorced without an attorney if you and your spouse are getting a contested divorce.
If you are going to hire a lawyer, though, now is the time to find one that you are comfortable working with and that you trust to represent you.
The third step is deciding on your grounds for divorce. You’ll need to choose the grounds you’re going to claim in your divorce papers before you file them. Your grounds for divorce are basically the justification that you are communicating to the court about why you want to dissolve the marriage.
Before you file for divorce, you can work with your lawyer to get your finances in order and do what you legally can to protect yourself before the divorce begins. You can also use this time to determine what your requests are when it comes to the final divorce settlement.
The first official filing in your case is a document known as the Original Petition for Divorce. If you’re working with an attorney, they will ask you for basic information about you, your spouse, your property, and any children you have in order to fill out this form properly. If you aren’t working with an attorney, you’ll need to fill out the form yourself.
Your divorce petition will be filed in a District Court or a County Court, depending on where you live. Your case will then be assigned to a specific judge by the clerk of the court.
Then, the case will be assigned a case number once your case is filed. At this point, a private process server or constable will be able to retrieve the documents in order to formally serve your spouse.
Your spouse has a constitutional right to be notified if there is a lawsuit being filed against them. Since divorce is technically a civil lawsuit, you are legally required to serve them with notice in the proper way unless they have signed paperwork waiving their right to this form of notice.
The easiest way to provide your spouse with notice is to have them sign a waiver of citation. However, if they aren’t willing to do this, they will need to be served by an individual that is authorized under Texas law to serve legal papers.
In Texas, only the people that are listed in the Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 103 are legally allowed to serve papers. This includes a sheriff, constable, or another individual that has been authorized by law or court.
Process servers are legally required to try and deliver papers in person or by certified mail before moving on to other methods. People often try and avoid having their spouse served at their place of work as this can be disruptive and embarrassing.
Almost everyone who gets divorced in Texas has to undergo a sixty-day waiting period as a part of the process. In order to determine when the waiting period is over, start counting from the day after you filed the Original Petition for Divorce and include weekends and holidays. If the sixtieth day ends up falling on either a holiday or a weekend, your waiting period will be over on the next business day.
The only two circumstances that allow the waiting period to be waived are:
This waiting period intends to give couples the opportunity to make sure that a divorce is something they really want to go through with. Divorce is a process that legally dissolves your marriage, and it isn’t something that should be taken lightly. By enforcing this waiting period, the hope is that couples can think about whether or not their marriage is really irreparable.
The divorce process doesn’t have to completely stop during this time, and you and your spouse can both work to come to an agreement on the terms of the divorce if you haven’t already while the waiting period is ongoing. The waiting period simply means that a judge cannot grant a divorce (except in the two exceptions mentioned above) until at least sixty days have passed from the filing of the petition.
It’s worth mentioning that you shouldn’t expect to be over and done with your divorce in sixty days, though. Courts tend to get backed up and where you’re filing for divorce will determine how long you have to wait for a hearing. How long your divorce takes will also have to do with the details of your case, as a contested, fault-based divorce will take a lot longer than an uncontested no-fault divorce.
Once your spouse has been served, the clock starts ticking on a deadline for when they must file an Answer to any allegations that were written in the divorce petition.
In some cases, you might not be able to find your spouse despite trying to track them down. If this is the case, a court order will be needed to provide service via publication in a newspaper or equivalent type of media. This should be a last resort option.
If your spouse doesn’t file an answer and chooses not to participate in the divorce, you might be able to pursue a default divorce. This means that you can basically create the terms of your divorce and carry on with the process without their input.
In most cases, your spouse will also hire an attorney if you already have one. For amicable, uncontested divorces with uncomplicated estates, a DIY divorce is possible where neither spouse hires a lawyer. This can save a lot of money overall, but you’ll want to make sure you’re not compromising your needs just to keep the cost of divorce down.
Once your spouse files an answer to the divorce papers, they are entitled to be present for all of the divorce proceeding court hearings.
Your spouse also has the opportunity to file a counter-petition at this time. Similar to the original petition, this is an opportunity for the Respondent to outline their grounds for divorce and any requests they have from the court.
A temporary orders hearing will be the first opportunity in your divorce to attend a court hearing. Temporary orders are basically the rules that will be in place during the process of divorce. These orders outline and dictate issues such as the following:
When you’re married, your lives become intimately intertwined. After divorce, you will have successfully separated your property and responsibilities. During this in-between period when you have started getting a divorce but it hasn’t been finalized, temporary orders help determine each spouse’s responsibilities.
Temporary orders can be set up by attending temporary orders mediation or by attending a contested temporary orders hearing.
Temporary orders mediation is an attempt to come to an agreement with your spouse on issues of temporary orders through negotiation.
A temporary orders hearing, on the other hand, is basically a mini-trial to determine the terms of the agreement during the divorce process.
Some Texas courts might require that you go to mediation before you are scheduled for a temporary order hearing. If you aren’t able to reach a settlement in regards to temporary orders through mediation, you will both attend a court date with a judge, where each side argues to the judge the terms they believe are fitting for the temporary orders.
You and your attorney can also choose to submit discovery requests and questions at this time. This is an opportunity to request documents, obtain information, and ask questions that are central to your spouse’s case. Your spouse, of course, can request the same type of information from you and your attorney.
This part of the process can actually benefit both parties in many instances. Because this is a chance to gather more information about where each spouse is coming from, it can help spouses reach a settlement without trial to go through this part of the process.
Almost all Texas divorces reach a settlement before going to trial. This is because there will be another mediation period in order to discuss long-term issues such as property division and visitation with children. It is common for most couples to be able to reach a settlement during this period before the case ends up in court before a judge.
If you aren’t able to settle your case in mediation, however, you’ll end up having to go to a contested trial. While some divorce trials in Texas might be heard before juries, they are most commonly heard before a judge.
During the trial, evidence and testimony will be submitted by both sides and a judge will inevitably determine the final orders in your case.
Some divorce trials might only last one day or they can last as long as one week. It is rare for the actual trial itself to last longer than a week, and they normally aren’t any longer than a few days.
The last step in your divorce is when you use your mediated settlement agreement or the orders from a judge in order to create the final divorce decree. This is the final order in a divorce case. The path of your post-divorce life will be dictated by this document in large part.
A number of decisions will be outlined in this document, including things like:
One of the involved attorneys will be tasked with drafting this document. Of course, everyone involved will have the chance to review the drafted document and make changes if necessary.
This part of the process is in and of itself a negotiation. It is very important that both you and your attorney thoroughly read through the final divorce decree and ask questions if there are parts of the document that you don’t understand.
Eventually, all parties and their attorneys will reach a point where they are comfortable with the document as it has been drafted. The document will be signed and there will be another brief court appearance.
This court appearance is sometimes referred to as a prove-up hearing. During this time, you’ll be asked brief questions about the divorce. These are usually simple yes or no questions, and your attorney can help prepare you ahead of time. The point of this part of the process is for the judge to make sure that the final decree of divorce is fair to both parties.
When your divorce is approved by a judge in a prove-up hearing, your final decree of divorce will be signed by them. This is when your divorce is official and you can begin to live your post-divorce life.
The timeline that your divorce follows might look quite different than the process outlined above depending on your circumstance. Let’s take a look at some of the most important things to understand about how the divorce process works in Texas to help you get a sense of what to expect.
When you and your spouse pursue an uncontested or agreed divorce, it means that the two of you both agree to get divorced and you agree on the terms of the divorce as well. The types of issues that you will need to have an agreement about include:
The term uncontested divorce can also refer to a default divorce. This is when the spouse that is served papers doesn’t respond to the divorce petition and the divorce is therefore granted by default without the involvement of the respondent.
A contested divorce, on the other hand, is when you and your spouse cannot agree on the terms of the divorce. These cases are often a lot more complicated than uncontested divorces. While it is possible to get an uncontested divorce without the help of a lawyer, it is generally advised that parties get attorneys when they go through a contested divorce.
If you and your spouse don’t agree on what you want to happen in the divorce, you can undergo mediation or a collaborative divorce. If mediation doesn’t result in a settlement, the case will go to trial. If a collaborative divorce doesn’t result in a settlement, the entire process starts over again.
While the best-case scenario is that you and your spouse can get an amicable divorce, sometimes one party is unwilling to cooperate during the process. If you worry that your spouse is going to be intentionally difficult during your divorce, you might want to check out some of the most common sneaky divorce tactics.
When you file for divorce, you have to tell the court the reason that the marriage is dissolving. There are seven grounds for divorce in Texas, some of which are considered no-fault grounds while the rest are considered fault-based grounds.
Getting a no-fault divorce is much more straightforward than getting a fault-based divorce.
If your spouse cheated on you or otherwise behaved in a hurtful way, it can be tempting to try and cause them financial and personal pain by filing a fault-based divorce. However, it’s important to understand that you are required to prove that your spouse acted in the way that you are accusing them of, which isn’t always that easy. This type of divorce is also more expensive and more time-consuming. Depending on your situation, you might choose to file for a no-fault divorce even if you believe they are at fault in order to prioritize finalizing the divorce sooner and being able to move on with your life.
The cost of a Texas divorce can range widely– from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars.
If you and your spouse do not have any disagreements and are able to pursue an uncontested divorce, you might choose to pursue a divorce without the help of any lawyers. This is the cheapest option for divorce unless you qualify for low-income divorce options. If the divorce is contested, you have children, or you have significant assets or debts, it is generally recommended that you speak with a family law attorney.
If you’re able to get a divorce without a lawyer, the whole process will only cost a few hundred dollars. You will need to pay the court filing fees and possibly a few other small, associated fees. Typically, this only costs between $250 and $350.
Getting an uncontested divorce in Texas usually costs between $250 and $5000. The lower end of that range refers to people who get divorced without hiring lawyers, while the higher end refers to spouses who have lawyers assist them in the process.
A contested divorce will cost more than an uncontested divorce, and a fault-based divorce will cost more than a no-fault divorce. This is because divorce gets more expensive the more time and energy a lawyer is putting in on your behalf. In these instances, the total costs per spouse can be tens of thousands of dollars.
Seeking divorce mediation in the case of a contested divorce is a good idea both to avoid trial and to keep costs down.
A Texas divorce almost always takes at least sixty days because of the mandatory waiting period. In most cases, though, you probably won’t be able to have your final divorce hearing on day sixty-one due to court scheduling.
Divorce in Texas commonly takes between six and twelve months from start to finish. There are a number of things that can impact how long it takes to get divorced in Texas, including:
The fastest way to get divorced is to get an uncontested, no-fault divorce. While the process still can’t occur overnight, it’s a lot more straightforward than getting a contested, fault-based divorce where there are significant assets involved.
The sheer number of unknowns can be completely overwhelming when you’re getting divorced in Texas. When you first begin the divorce process, you might find that you are dealing with a lot of anxiety and stress due to uncertainty. The combination of dealing with the emotional reality of ending your relationship and the legal and financial responsibility of the divorce process can seem like too much to handle.
Don’t worry– you’ve got this! The first step in dealing with the legal and financial side of things is to gather as much information as possible. The firmer grasp you have on how the process works, the less stressed you will feel about how it will all unfold.
While there are always going to be horror stories about nightmare divorces that drag out for months or even years, it’s worth remembering that almost all Texas divorces never make it to trial because a settlement is reached beforehand. If you and your spouse are able to collaborate and negotiate to reach a settlement, you can both save a lot of time, money, and stress.
If you’re looking for more information about getting divorced in the Lone Star State, you’ve come to the right place. At TexasDivorceLaws.org, we have a vast library of resources about Texas divorce, marriage, and more.
Getting a divorce is expensive, but with some careful planning and a mutual willingness to cooperate, you can keep your costs down. There definitely are cheap divorce options in Texas, but what this means in your case will depend on your particular circumstance.
For instance, if your case is fairly simple and you and your spouse are in agreement, a DIY divorce is an affordable option. If there are contested issues though, the most important thing will be avoiding going to trial if at all possible to keep costs down.
The looming reality of an expensive divorce can be extremely stressful, and you might find yourself lying awake at night wondering: what are my cheapest options for a divorce?
Tackling these questions in advance is the first step in saving money on your divorce. One way that people spend more than they need to on divorce is by hiring professionals before they try to work things out on their own. Let's take a look at what your cheapest options are so you can make a plan that fits your financial situation.
Depending on your particular circumstance, how much it will cost to get divorced in Texas can range enormously. Later on in the article, we’ll talk about what the cheapest divorce options are in Texas. First, though, it’s useful to understand exactly how much a Texas divorce costs.
A number of different factors can influence the cost of a divorce, but the average cost, according to one study conducted between 2015 and 2019, typically ranges between $11,000 and $13,000.
Another frequently referenced study found that getting a divorce in Texas is even more expensive than that. For divorces that don’t involve any children, this study found that the average cost is about $15,600. When there are children involved in the divorce, the average cost was found to be $23,500.
Texas is considered to be the fifth most expensive state in the entire country to get divorced, whether or not you have children.
While these numbers are probably a bit frightening to anyone other than those with the deepest of pockets, it’s worth understanding that you don’t have to spend this much on a divorce if you’re able to get an uncontested, agreed divorce.
When you get a divorce in Texas, the biggest expense by far will be the bill you get from a lawyer. Divorce lawyers commonly charge by the hour, which means that the legal fees you accrue will have to do both with their hourly rate and how much work they have to do in order for you to get the outcome you want.
It is possible to get a divorce in Texas without a lawyer, which we’ll discuss later. However, the more complicated your circumstances are, the more sense it makes to seek legal assistance. While it can be tempting to save money on your divorce, you don’t want it to be at the cost of undesirable outcomes in your settlement.
For more detailed information about how much you should expect to pay for a divorce in the Lone Star State, check out our complete guide to the cost of a Texas divorce.
When you’re getting divorced, the decisions being made as a part of the process can have an enormous impact on your life after divorce. This includes your relationship with your children, where you live, your finances, and more. For this reason, it’s important to not avoid hiring a lawyer just to save money when you really need legal assistance.
However, if your divorce is fairly straightforward, you might be a good candidate for a DIY divorce. If this is the case, it means that you can save thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars during the process.
Here are some of the criteria that can mean a DIY divorce might be a good option for you. The more of these boxes you can check off, the more likely it could make sense to go it alone without a lawyer:
If you and your spouse aren’t on the same page when it comes to divorce, it’s probably best to get a lawyer. If your spouse already has a lawyer, it’s generally advised that you should get one, too. It’s important to recognize that the decisions being made in the divorce will have a big impact on your life, and though legal fees can feel outrageous, you also don’t want to be left in a situation where you get an unfair deal in the end.
If you’re able to get divorced without a lawyer, the divorce will only cost a few hundred dollars. The only costs will be the filing fees and maybe a few other associated fees for the courts. The filing fees for Texas courts depend on which county you are filing in, but they typically range from $250 to $350.
The cheapest way to get a divorce in Texas is to get an uncontested divorce, just as it is in pretty much any other U.S. state. In order to get an uncontested divorce, you and your spouse will need to agree on all major issues involved.
Getting an uncontested divorce in Texas can range in cost from $300 to $5000. In order to get divorced for as little as $300, neither you nor your spouse has a lawyer, and you are dealing with filing the paperwork on your own.
On the higher end of that price range, it likely means that both you and your spouse are working with a lawyer. However, the costs aren’t nearly as high as they could be because you aren’t accruing the legal fees that come along with a contested divorce. In a contested divorce, lawyers will work to resolve the contested issues, which will increase the number of hours they work on the case and, therefore, your bill.
If you want to get a cheap divorce in Texas, you have a number of options. If you and your spouse are low-income, there will be additional options available to you. The criteria you need to meet to qualify as “low income” will depend on the organization you’re working with.
Getting a DIY divorce is the cheapest way to get divorced in Texas unless you are able to have your fees waived or otherwise qualify for a low-income legal aid program.
A DIY divorce is when you and your spouse file the paperwork without either of you hiring a lawyer to represent you in the case.
You aren’t legally required to hire an attorney to get divorced in Texas, and you can even choose to represent yourself in family court if the divorce goes to trial. In general, though, it is advised that you only get divorced without a lawyer if your case is fairly simple and all of your terms are agreed upon.
Getting divorced without a lawyer means that you only have to pay the court filing fees and maybe a few other small court fees. Each county has different filing fees, and you’ll file for divorce in the county where you reside. These typically range from $250 to $350.
If you can’t afford to pay these fees, you can ask the judge to waive the filing fee. To do this, you’ll need to fill out and file a form titled Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs.
If you aren’t sure whether getting a DIY divorce is a good idea, you might consider having a consultation with a family lawyer. They will often give free initial consultations, and it’s possible that they will be able to help you understand the process a bit better and get a sense of whether this is something you can handle on your own.
There are a number of factors that, if involved, indicate that you should work with a lawyer rather than getting a DIY divorce. These include:
If any of these are true for you, it’s important that you talk to a family law attorney rather than going it alone.
For more information about saving money on divorce by avoiding attorney fees, check out our recent post about getting divorced in Texas without a lawyer.
Even though getting a DIY divorce can be fairly straightforward if you and your spouse agree on everything, don’t have children, and don’t have much in the way of assets or debts, you still might find that navigating the situation is a bit over your head. The law is complicated, and legal forms don’t necessarily make it easy to feel certain that you’re filling in the right information in the right place.
In some circumstances, you might find that the best middle ground is enlisting a lawyer for certain services. Rather than hiring a lawyer to represent you and your spouse hiring a lawyer to represent them, you might find that a family law attorney is willing to look over your paperwork for a fee.
This can help give you peace of mind and ensure that you’re filling out the paperwork the right way. Most people want their divorce cases to move along as quickly as possible, and if you make a mistake in the paperwork, it can set the whole process back.
If you and your spouse have a complicated enough situation that it makes sense to hire a lawyer, i.e., you have children, you have complex finances, or you have a lot of assets in your name, you can still get a relatively affordable divorce so long as it is uncontested.
Once you involve lawyers, the total bill for the divorce will likely be in the thousands of dollars rather than hundreds of dollars. However, it’s important to factor in the cost of your time, how important it is to you that the settlement is fair, and what is at stake if the divorce proceedings don't result in an outcome you're satisfied with.
When you’re dealing with a complex financial situation, lots of assets, and shared debt, lawyers can help you navigate the process with less stress. Figuring out how to file for divorce when you have complicated finances can be a huge learning curve, and you might find that hiring lawyers is well worth the cost.
There are a number of different legal aid organizations that you can turn to if you need to get a divorce and you qualify as low-income. Each organization has its own eligibility guidelines, which can include how much income you earn, where you live, and the type of case.
It’s common for legal aid organizations to require that your household income level is somewhere below 125-200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Your percentage will be determined by how many people live n your house and your pre-tax household income.
You can use this chart from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to find out where your household falls in the Federal Poverty Guidelines.
If you still live with the person that you’re getting divorced from, you won’t want to count their income when you are determining your household income. You also shouldn’t count them as a part of the household.
The residency requirements for legal aid programs in Texas typically mean that you need to be a current resident of Texas.
For people who are in the Armed Forces and stationed elsewhere temporarily, their residence is considered the place where they normally live when they aren’t deployed. If you or your spouse usually lives in Texas but is deployed elsewhere, then you (or your spouse) are a Texas resident.
Some legal aid groups have additional eligibility factors as they are specialized for specific communities. These can include sexual assault survivors, veterans, people with disabilities, and seniors.
It’s worth understanding that qualifying for legal aid doesn’t mean that your case will be taken by a given organization. Because divorce is expensive, many people want to use these programs in order to obtain a divorce for free. This can mean that there are long wait lists, leaving you in a situation where you can’t even begin the proceedings for a few years.
If you and your spouse simply can’t agree on all of the involved issues, your next cheapest option is either going to be undergoing mediation or a collaborative divorce.
Mediation is typically less expensive than a collaborative divorce, but both of these options are usually cheaper than taking a case to trial. By far the most expensive way to get divorced is to get a contested divorce that goes to trial. It’s at this point that the legal fees can start to exponentially stack up.
Mediation is an alternative dispute resolution method that you can use in Texas. During mediation, both parties meet with a third party which is known as the mediator. They don’t make any decisions regarding your settlement but instead, work with the two of you to help reach an agreement.
There are a number of benefits to undergoing mediation if you and your spouse can’t agree on the terms of a divorce. It is typically a lot cheaper than going to trial, and it also allows the two of you to stay in control of the outcome. After all, if you take the case to court, a judge will ultimately decide on the issues you were unable to settle on your own. Mediation also keeps the matters discussed privately rather than entering the public sphere by going to court.
Collaborative divorce, on the other hand, is a form process under Texas Law. This is a non-adversarial process where both parties work to resolve the dispute without a judge involved.
You have to sign a collaborative family law participation agreement in order to engage in this process. The two of you also each have to have a collaborative family law attorney.
Mediation can be involved in a collaborative divorce, but it also can include other processes in an attempt to help both parties reach a suitable resolution.
Some law schools also offer legal clinics for low-income individuals. For example, The South Texas College of Law offers Family Law Clinics where students represent clients.
In this example, they do have an Advanced Clinic where students represent clients who have more complicated cases, including factors such as custody agreements, contested property, and other complex issues. They also have a Basic Clinic where students represent clients in divorces that don’t involve children and only minimal property.
In many instances, though, college law clinics might only offer this latter type of legal service. You’ll find that the wait list for these types of clinics can also be quite long because of the demand for divorces without the cost. However, this can be a valuable resource for people who don’t mind waiting longer for their divorce but can’t afford to pay.
How much your divorce costs is going to depend on the details of your case. While some of the factors that make a Texas divorce more expensive might not be avoidable, others might be. Here are some of the reasons that a divorce starts to get more expensive.
When you and your spouse have minor children, a divorce typically costs more money. This is because there are more issues to come to an agreement on. On top of that, it is often advised that people with children should work with a lawyer when getting a divorce. After all, the outcome of the divorce doesn't just affect you and your spouse but also your children.
A contested divorce is more expensive than an uncontested divorce. This is because you will likely enlist lawyers, mediators, and other professionals to assist you and your spouse in reaching an agreement. The longer it takes for a settlement to be reached and the more time you need from these professionals, the more your divorce will cost.
Typically the most expensive way to get divorced is to take a contested divorce to trial.
When you file for a fault-based divorce, you're accusing your spouse of behavior or actions that led to the dissolution of the marriage. You will need to prove this in court, and the process of collecting evidence, enlisting experts, and otherwise building a case will be much more expensive than filing for a no-fault divorce.
While divorcing couples can have intense disagreements over any of the terms of the divorce, one of the issues that conjures the most hostility is often child custody. While this can be a very meaningful fight indeed, having a long, drawn-out custody battle can get expensive quickly.
The reason for this is twofold. On the one hand, an intense custody battle will likely accrue a lot more attorney fees on both sides. On the other hand, the parents might also ask the court to appoint an attorney on behalf of the child, which is paid for by the involved parties.
Needing to divide assets is normal in a divorce, but the process gets more expensive the more complicated those assets are. If your marriage involves unusual, complex, or large amounts of financial assets, there is a good chance you will also need to enlist financial experts. On top of that, the negotiation process will probably be a lot longer when you have complex assets.
Some people misunderstand the role of the family court and expect that this is a venue where their spouses can be punished for their wrongdoing. The legal divorce process isn't an opportunity to exact revenge or to air your grievances. If you approach the process as a battle over who was a worse spouse in the marriage, you will end up spending a lot more money without receiving any additional beneficial results.
Sometimes, a spouse will essentially refuse to be fair, polite, or reasonable. Divorce can get expensive when one or both parties are intentionally difficult. Though it certainly doesn't always happen, sometimes people feel the need to turn their divorce into a fight.
If you have a child with special needs, there might be a need for additional child support, and they might require significantly greater care. On top of that, they might need a parent that has greater job flexibility.
Creating a parenting plan in this type of situation usually requires a lot of negotiation and also might need to involve the child's therapists and physicians.
Sometimes parties in a divorce case can get fixated on a certain outcome to the extent that they spend more money fighting over something than it is actually worth. While property can certainly carry a sentimental value that is difficult to value, it's important to weigh out how much something is worth before battling over it in court. You might find it would have just been cheaper to re-purchase the asset after the divorce.
Parties often have to disclose documents and information to the other side during a Texas divorce. If one or both parties are having difficulty during this part of the process, it can draw things out and make it more expensive.
Some people feel strongly that the most important thing is having their day in court so that a judge will ultimately decide who is right and who is wrong. This is related to the previously stated issue of people who misunderstand the role that the court plays in a divorce.
Usually, a party can gain the same results through negotiation as they can through a trial. Avoiding trials will keep the process less expensive. The reality is, that anything you want to say to your spouse about your marriage can be said without involving the lawyers, courts, and all the associated fees.
Even a vague thought about the cost of divorce can leave you feeling overwhelmed and stressed. When you hear about divorce cases that cost tens of thousands of dollars, it can make you wonder whether you can even really afford to legally dissolve a marriage, that is, by all other accounts. With some planning, organization, and, hopefully, some collaboration, you and your spouse can keep the cost of divorce down no matter what your situation.
Navigating the legal process can be daunting, but the more you learn about Texas family law the more you can have a firm grasp of which path is right for you.
At TexasDivorceLaws.org, we have an ever-growing library of articles full of information about everything you could ever need to know about family law in Texas. Be sure to check out the rest of our resources to learn more about getting divorced in Texas.
No matter how amicable your divorce is, it’s completely normal to feel angry, sad, frustrated, confused, and downright exhausted. Maybe you’re just ready for the whole thing to be over with so you can move on with your life. You might even be wondering about dating before divorce is final in Texas– after all, how could it hurt to go on a few innocent dates?
Although the temptation to meet someone new is understandable, it’s probably not a good idea to start dating before your divorce is complete. There aren’t just legal reasons why you might want to hold off until the Decree of Divorce is signed, there are also strategic and emotional reasons.
Are you curious what you should watch out for when it comes to starting to date again during divorce proceedings?
Let’s dive in and take a look at absolutely everything you need to know.
A common question that crops up in Texas divorces is whether or not it’s ok to date before the divorce is final. It is generally advised that you should wait until your marriage is legally dissolved before starting to date other people.
This can be frustrating advice to receive for someone that is ready to move on from their marriage. It might seem silly that your lawyer tells you not to go on a harmless dinner date with a friend of a friend. In reality, there are a number of ways that dating during a divorce could come back to bite you, and you might find that it’s better to just wait until the divorce is final.
To be clear, there isn’t a specific law that says that you can’t start dating before your divorce is complete. However, you’re opening yourself up to accusations of adultery and other negative outcomes. This could have a major impact on the entire process, and many attorneys suggest that you wait to date until you’re officially divorced.
Are you wondering if you should get divorced without a lawyer in Texas?
There are several different grounds for divorce in the state of Texas, some of which are no-fault grounds and others are fault-based grounds. One of the fault-based grounds for divorce is adultery.
What this means is that the court can grant a divorce in favor of the other spouse when a spouse commits adultery. Texas law defines adultery as a married individual voluntarily having sexual intercourse with someone other than their spouse.
In order for a court to grant a divorce in favor of the spouse that was cheated on, they will have to be able to prove that the spouse who committed adultery was unfaithful. They can do this by providing evidence such as:
It’s worth noting that Texas courts might consider evidence of adultery in instances where the relationship didn’t begin until the couple was already living apart.
Before you start the process of divorce, it's a good idea to become familiar with some of the sneaky divorce tactics people can use during the proceedings.
Even if you aren’t living with your spouse and you have separated in all practical ways, a court could view dating during a divorce as adultery. There is no such thing as legal separation in the state of Texas, and you are considered married until your divorce is finalized. This means that a court could still find you guilty of adultery even if you didn’t start dating until after you and your spouse were no longer living together.
It’s generally considered a good idea to wait until your divorce is finalized, therefore, to jump back into the dating pool.
Of course, dating doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve begun a sexual relationship with someone else. However, even if you’re doing everything by the books, you start dipping your toes into murky waters when you start dating. If your spouse accuses you of adultery and collects evidence against you that convinces a court that you had sexual intercourse with someone other than your spouse, it could leave you with very unfavorable outcomes in the divorce.
Curious to know how much it's going to cost to get divorced in Texas? Take a look at our complete guide here.
Yes, it can. It can impact a number of different aspects of your divorce, including:
Whether you’ve actually committed adultery or just gone on a few harmless dates, starting to date before your divorce is final can leave you in an undesirable position in divorce proceedings. In most instances, it is advisable to simply wait it out and only start dating once the Decree of Divorce has been signed.
Your spouse could potentially accuse you of adultery if you start dating before a divorce is final. If they choose to take this accusation to court, it’s possible that marital property could end up getting divided in a way that is in favor of your spouse.
In other instances, the community property that you receive in the case might not be affected. However, the court can also order that any money you spent on your affair will have to be reimbursed to your spouse before the divorce is final.
Getting an uncontested divorce is definitely preferable to getting a contested divorce. Contested divorces are more expensive, take longer to complete, and, typically, more stressful. If it’s possible to get an agreed divorce, it is usually the best option on the table to help you finalize your divorce and move on with your life.
If you start dating before your divorce is finalized, however, it’s possible that this will upset your spouse and create disagreements where there hadn’t been any before.
It’s important to understand that an uncontested divorce can be changed to a contested divorce at just about any time in the divorce proceeding. This means that you could be gliding down the path of a relatively painless divorce and have the rug pulled out from under you if your spouse decides that they actually don’t agree with you about all of the terms. When you start dating before a divorce is final, you are creating a potentially volatile situation that could lead to your divorce being more expensive, more time-consuming, and a lot more stressful.
If the court finds you guilty of adultery, even if you didn’t start dating until you filed for divorce, it could impact your ability to receive alimony. For example, if you were seeking alimony and the court believes you committed adultery, you might be denied spousal support entirely.
It’s possible that child custody could also be impacted by dating before divorce is final in Texas. If your spouse chooses to argue that your new romantic relationship has had a negative impact on the children or that you’ve acted irresponsibly, it could impact the amount of time you will be allowed to spend with your children.
However, it’s important to understand that judges aren’t permitted under Texas law to consider adultery when making a decision regarding child custody and visitation. The reason for this is that the primary focus of the court is the best interest of the children. That being said, child custody or visitation can be indirectly impacted by adultery if one spouse exposed the other to a dangerous individual or if a spouse abandoned the children while having an affair.
If you start a sexual relationship with someone that isn’t your spouse before your divorce is final, it is technically considered adultery in Texas. While you most likely wouldn’t be formally charged with the crime, it can definitely have negative financial repercussions and seriously complicate the arrangements surrounding custody.
When awarding disproportionate assets to a spouse, adultery is one of the factors that a Texas court might take into account. Starting to date before a divorce is final could also make it harder to agree on a parenting plan if you’re getting a collaborative divorce. Additionally, it can have a negative impact on the way that property is divided.
Beyond the legal reasons why you might not want to date before finalizing your divorce, there are some strategic reasons you should consider. Even the most mature and understanding spouse might become resentful if they find out that you’ve started to date other people before your divorce is complete. It certainly happens that one spouse decides that they want the other to “pay” both during and after the divorce because they started dating someone else, even the dating spouse is making a point to wait to start a sexual relationship before the divorce is final.
If you have children, it also might be very difficult for them to see you with someone else before your marriage is over. They might feel upset or resentful. It’s even possible that they will decide that they don’t want to spend time with you.
In the middle of a divorce, it really isn’t advisable to alienate either your spouse or your children. Though it can be difficult, it is really best to maintain an amicable relationship with your spouse and being extra considerate of the way that the divorce could be impacting your children.
Finally, there are also some reasons you might not want to start dating before your divorce is over that simply have to do with your own emotional state.
Getting a divorce is really, really hard. Whether you knew it was coming for years or it was a complete surprise, the process of dissolving your marriage is likely one of the most difficult things you will ever be through. This can leave you in an unusual emotional state, and starting to date before your divorce isn’t even complete might not be the best idea for your own psychological and emotional health.
You might think that dating during your divorce will help you avoid the pain associated with the divorce. Maybe you think it will help you feel better about yourself, too. It’s entirely possible that you’re right.
That being said, it really isn’t a good idea to try and avoid feeling the pain you’re experiencing. While it might make you feel better now, it isn’t psychologically healthy to suppress or avoid your pain. If you are avoidant of the pain of divorce, it will continue to pop up unless you let yourself feel the pain and figure out how to deal with it.
Additionally, you most likely need some time to process what it will mean to start a new life without your spouse. Most people won’t be emotionally ready to deal with all of the issues that are associated with starting a new relationship before the divorce has even been finalized.
You’ve probably heard of the concept of having a “rebound” relationship. These relationships rarely last.
It’s typically a good idea to spend some time (at least a few months) making sense of your new life before you jump into the dating pool. This is a great time to get in touch with yourself and think about what you would (and wouldn’t) want out of a new relationship. By taking time to reflect on your marriage and divorce, it can help you get a sense of what a healthy, happy relationship would look like in the future.
In order for one spouse to prove that the other is guilty of adultery, they will need to present evidence that infidelity occurred during the marriage. This means that they can provide evidence of adultery even if the spouse didn’t have sexual relations with another person until the divorce was underway.
Clear and positive proof is necessary to prove that a spouse committed adultery. This evidence can either be direct or circumstantial. However, mere innuendo or suggestion isn’t considered to be sufficient evidence of adultery.
A court may not necessarily require that you off proof that sexual intercourse took place between your spouse and another person. Circumstantial evidence can be presented, meaning that the evidence indicates the existence of a relationship even if they don’t serve as definitive proof of a sexual relationship.
Some of the circumstantial evidence that might be presented in court include:
When it comes to decisions related to alimony and division of assets, a family court judge in Texas can have a lot of discretionary power. This means that a judge could be significantly influenced by spousal adultery when it comes to property division and the other financial aspects of a divorce.
In short, yes. It can be difficult to prove adultery to a court. If you’re filing for divorce on the grounds of adultery, you will be required to provide the court with proof that the affair occurred. You cannot simply tell the court that your spouse cheated on you.
One of the reasons that it can be difficult to prove adultery is that it is, by its very nature, secretive. Since obtaining evidence that sexual intercourse actually happened is often nearly impossible, you can offer circumstantial evidence that points to the probable existence of an affair.
If your marriage is all but legally over, it can be frustrating to learn that you should probably wait to start dating until it is officially dissolved. You might think that you can simply wait to have sexual relations with other people until the Decree of Divorce is signed and start going on dates, but this probably isn’t a good idea.
Because it’s difficult to provide direct evidence of an affair, your spouse could present circumstantial evidence of adultery even if you haven’t actually cheated. In all honesty, there are just so many compelling reasons why you might want to wait to start dating until after a divorce in Texas that, when you add them all together, it just seems like a no-brainer to wait until you are legally single.
Though your final divorce hearing might seem far away, starting to date before a divorce is final really only increases the potential for your divorce to get drawn out further.
Once your divorce is finally complete, though, you can start dipping your toes back into the dating pool. We want to leave you with some things to consider before you get back out there.
The reality is: your marriage didn’t work. It can be a hard pill to swallow, but if you’re figuring out how to start dating after divorce, that’s simply a fact.
Take time to identify exactly where your marriage went wrong to the best of your abilities. It’s entirely possible that you are a victim in the situation– may be your spouse verbally and physically abused you, for example. However, even in such terrible instances, you can ask yourself: what could I have done differently to not have gotten into that situation? Why did I stay for so long?
In most cases, there is probably plenty of blame to go around. Though it can be incredibly painful, it’s essential to consider where your marriage went wrong (and while you’re at it, think about what did work in your marriage) before you start dating again.
Even if you are in some ways relieved to have your divorce finalized, that doesn’t mean you don’t have grief over the loss of the relationship. It can be totally devastating to have a marriage end, and it’s important that you give yourself the time and space you need to grieve.
It can be tempting to suppress your emotions in this type of situation, particularly if you have children. Don’t deny yourself the time you need to experience and express your grief, though. No matter how busy you are, there’s always a few minutes in the day to sit and feel your emotions.
It’s important to make sure that you’re ready to start dating again after a divorce. If your divorce is still a sore spot for you, (i.e. whenever it’s brought up you feel highly emotionally reactive,) you might simply need a little more time.
Now that you’re single again, you have an incredible opportunity to focus on your own personal growth and development. Jumping into a new relationship can feel good, but it can also distract you from important inner work.
There are tons of great books out there about personal growth that you can check out, and now might be a great time to do so.
Whether you’d prefer to see a therapist, a life coach, a priest, or someone else who is qualified to talk to you about your emotions, it can be a good idea to find someone you can talk to. Whether you’re struggling with open questions about your marriage or you’re dealing with overwhelming emotions, the ability to talk about it can make a huge difference.
When you start dating again, it’s important to both be honest with yourself and with any potential new partners.
Be honest with yourself about the level of commitment that you’re comfortable with at this stage. You’ll also want to be open about the type of relationship you’re looking for with anyone you dating. Share with them where you’re coming from and where you are in the process of dealing with your divorce.
It’s also a good idea to be balanced in your presentation of your marriage to new partners. In most cases, there’s plenty of blame to go around, and sharing the ways that you could have acted differently in a relationship can signal to other people that you’re willing to own the part you played in the divorce.
If you don’t know what your boundaries are, it’s probably a good idea to give yourself more time to figure them out before you start dating. Once you know which lines you don’t want to cross, there’s no need to make it a guessing game for your new partner. It can seriously help avoid problems cropping up down the road by being honest from the get-go.
What are your deal breakers? What are your standards? What do you want to do differently this time around?
Understanding what your standards are can make sure you don’t immediately hop into a relationship that isn’t right for you.
It’s easy to be overly rational when it comes to dating, but it’s important to trust your gut. Even if someone seems like a perfect match on paper, that doesn’t mean much if your instincts are telling you to run.
When you get divorced, it can be tempting to sprint to find a new partner to have a serious relationship with. Don’t get down on yourself if it takes a while before you meet someone that you are really interested in. This is the type of thing you really don’t want to rush!
Lastly, it’s also a good idea to be open-minded when you’re rejoining the dating pool after living the married life. You might have a sense of what your “type” is, but what if you went on some dates with people that fell outside of that category? You never know what might happen, and once you’re really ready to date again it can be a great exercise to work on being open to new possibilities.
When you’re getting a divorce, you’re probably dealing with a lot of different emotions. Often considered one of the most stressful life events that anyone can go through, it’s important that you take the time you need to heal from the divorce before dating again. Even if you feel fully ready to start meeting new people, it’s really not advisable either from a legal or from a strategic standpoint to begin dating until your divorce is final.
Understanding the laws in Texas surrounding divorce can help ensure that the process is as quick, inexpensive, and painless as possible. At the same time, having a firm grasp of your rights and responsibilities can mean that you actually get an outcome from the divorce that’s favorable to you.
Are you looking for more resources about getting divorced in Texas? If so, be sure to check out our library of articles.
Have you been trying to research your options when it comes to ending your marriage? If so, you’re likely interested in whether or not you can get an uncontested divorce in Texas. After all, going this route is often the simplest, least stressful, and least time-consuming way to get divorced.
There are two different types of divorce that fall under the umbrella term “uncontested,” which are an agreed divorce and a default divorce.
If you and your spouse agree on all divorce-related issues, including the division of property, spousal support, child support, and child custody, you might be able to file for an agreed or uncontested divorce in Texas.
Let’s take a look at everything you need to know to help you determine whether or not this option is available given your particular circumstance.
The term “uncontested divorce” can refer issue either an agreed divorce or a default divorce. In most instances, you will find that the term is used synonymously with the term agreed divorce. However, it is important to understand that an uncontested divorce can refer to either of these types of divorce to ensure that you are not receiving the incorrect information regarding your particular situation.
In relation to an uncontested divorce being understood as an agreed divorce, both parties agree on all of the terms of the divorce. In these cases, both spouses are willing to sign an agreement stating that they are willing to skip the trial process that typically occurs before a judge. If you are able to file for an agreed divorce in this manner, it can mean that your divorce can be more affordable and faster than going the traditional route.
Are you wondering how much it costs to get divorced in Texas? Take a look at this article to learn everything you need to know about the price of divorce in Texas.
In relation to the term meaning the divorce is granted by default, this means that the Respondent never filed an answer and the divorce was, therefore, granted to the Petitioner without the involvement of the Respondent.
It might seem like using the same term for these different outcomes in a divorce would create confusion. In reality, though, both agreed divorces and default divorces are technically uncontested. In the case of agreed divorces, you both agree on the terms and therefore don’t contest the divorce. In the case of default divorces, the Respondent does not respond and therefore doesn’t contest the divorce.
If you want to get an uncontested divorce because you and your spouse agree on all of the terms, there are some criteria you will need to meet. These include:
If there has been a final order issued by the court in regards to child custody and support, you can request an agreed divorce if you meet the following criteria:
You cannot get an uncontested divorce if you are filing for divorce on fault-based grounds. Instead, you will need to file using one of the two no-fault reasons for divorce under Texas law. These are insupportability or living apart.
You will need to file for a traditional divorce if you don’t meet the above criteria.
The terms “uncontested divorce” and “agreed divorce” are often used synonymously in Texas. In many instances, you will find that these phrases are used completely interchangeably. When this occurs, both phrases refer to the fact that the divorce occurred with both spouses agreeing on all of the divorce-related issues and are willing to sign an agreement in order to skip the trial process that occurs before a judge.
In the case of contested divorces, it's important to understand that people can be driven to extremes in stressful situations. If your spouse doesn't want to get divorced, for example, you may see a side of them you've never seen before when it comes to their attempts to sabotage the process at every turn. It's a good idea to be aware of some of the most common sneaky divorce tactics to help you know what to watch out for.
You will sometimes find the term “uncontested divorce” used in relation to a default divorce. A default divorce is when the Respondent fails to respond to the divorce petition. In these cases, the divorce can move forward without the input of the spouse that failed to respond.
In an agreed or uncontested divorce, both parties are able to come to an agreement on all of the terms of the divorce and can therefore go through a much simpler divorce process. A contested divorce, on the other hand, is when the spouses aren’t able to agree on one or more of the significant issues involved in a divorce.
For example, if spouses can't decide on how they are going to divide their property or whether one spouse should receive alimony from the other, they can’t proceed with the simpler uncontested divorce process. Instead, they will have to go through a traditional divorce where a judge will hold a trial and decide on the contested issues for the spouses.
However, contested divorces don’t necessarily have to go to court, either. If spouses are able to come to an agreement through mediation or other methods before it’s time to go to trial, they can avoid the outcome where a judge is making decisions for them.
No matter what type of divorce you are planning on filing for, in order to get a divorce in Texas you will need to meet the residency requirements of the state. This means that at least one spouse has to have lived in Texas for at least six months before filing the divorce petition. On top of that, you or your spouse will need to have lived in the county where you’re filing for divorce for at least ninety days before filing.
The court where you will file for divorce will be the district court in the county that you live in. If you and your spouse are living in separate counties at the time of filing, the divorce can be filed in either one of the Texas counties.
The first official step of the divorce process is filling out an “Original Petition for Divorce.” You will then need to file this with the county clerk as well as a number of other required forms.
Which forms are required in order for you to start the divorce process will vary depending on which county you’re filing in. If you’re unsure of which forms you’re going to need, it’s a good idea to ask your local court clerk.
There will be a filing fee that you have to pay at the same time that you submit your paperwork. The fees can also vary between counties as each county sets its own fee schedule. To find out how much you will need to pay to file for divorce, you’ll want to contact your local court clerk.
If you’re struggling financially and you’re worried you won’t be able to cover the filing fees, you might not be out of luck. You can choose to submit a fee waiver to the court asking them to waive all of the fees you would normally need to pay.
The next step after filing your divorce petition with the court is serving the papers to your spouse. It’s important to note that this doesn’t mean just walking up to them yourself and handing them over– there are specific rules about who can serve others in a lawsuit as well as how.
However, you can avoid this step in the process if you and your spouse are truly getting an amicable divorce. Instead of being served through a private process server or another authorized individual, your spouse can sign and file a Waiver of Service form.
The spouse who receives the divorce paperwork (known as the Respondent) will need to file an “answer” to the petition by a specific deadline. If they don’t file this response to the petition, the divorce can proceed without their participation in the form of a default divorce.
Once you have filed for a divorce in Texas, there is a sixty-day waiting period required by state law. This means that a judge cannot finalize your divorce until sixty days have passed even in the case of uncontested divorces.
Once your waiting period is over, however, you can have your final hearing set with a judge in order to finalize your divorce. If you have filed all of the documents and paperwork required by the court and your settlement agreement has been approved by the court, the next step is having a judge sign the Final Decree of Divorce.
Your divorce is not final until the final divorce decree is signed by the judge. It’s also worth noting that neither spouse can marry someone else until at least thirty-one days have passed since the final, signed documents have been received back from the court.
In order to get an agreed or uncontested divorce in Texas, you don’t have to hire a lawyer. In fact, you aren’t required to get a lawyer regardless of the type of divorce you’re pursuing. That being said, it’s generally only recommended to represent yourself in a divorce case if it is a simple agreed divorce.
It is often recommended that you only try to do a truly DIY divorce if you don't have children and if your finances aren't particularly complicated. Those considerations in addition to the divorce being agreed are often listed as the qualifications that make you a good candidate for a DIY divorce.
It's worth noting that you also might be able to hire a lawyer in an a la carte fashion-- meaning you are only hiring them for specific services. If you feel fairly comfortable going through the process on your own but you would like to be able to speak with a lawyer occasionally in order to ask questions and have them double-check your documents, this could be a good middle ground.
When you avoid hiring a lawyer, you can save a lot of money during the divorce process. However, sometimes the advice and guidance of an attorney is well worth the cost.
You and your spouse also might choose to work with a mediator in order to come to an agreement on all of the divorce terms in order to be able to file for an agreed divorce.
This article takes a deep dive into how a mediated divorce works in Texas.
In pretty much all cases, you will need to wait at least sixty days before your divorce can be finalized. There are only two exceptions to this waiting period:
What this means is that getting an uncontested divorce will take at least sixty days. However, you shouldn’t expect that you will be able to finalize your divorce on day sixty-one. Depending on the availability of the court, it could take several months to receive an agreed divorce.
The issues that you and your spouse have to work through in order to pursue an uncontested divorce will depend on your particular circumstances. For some couples, agreeing to the terms of the divorce might be quite simple, while others might have a much more complex task ahead of time.
If you and your spouse don’t have children, the main two issues that you’ll need to agree upon have to do with property division and spousal support. If you do have children, you’ll need to agree upon those first two issues plus the issues of legal custody, physical custody, and child support.
When you're getting divorced, you and your spouse will have to try and work out how you will divide your marital property. Texas is a community property state, which means that any property acquired during the marriage is assumed to belong to the two of you jointly. If you end up letting the court decide how your property is divided, it will be split up 50-50 or otherwise in a way that the court deems fair.
Also referred to as alimony, this is when one spouse makes payments to the other after divorce. You might want to set up this type of agreement if there is a big income gap between you and your spouse. In general, Texas law favors alimony payments that have been decided upon through private contracts rather than court ordered alimony.
It is ideal for you and your partner to be able to agree upon child custody rather than having to bring the issue to court. Otherwise, a judge will end up making this decision for you.
You can either agree upon child support in order to get an uncontested divorce or, if the two of you don't agree, pursue a contested divorce. When a noncustodial parent pays child support in Texas, they are required to make payments until the child graduates from high school (if they are enrolled and attend regularly) or once the child turns eighteen.
Are you interested in getting a DIY divorce? If so, check out our complete guide on the topic here.
Considering that you and your spouse agree to all of the divorce terms, you might be wondering why you would have to wait at least sixty days between filing the petition and receiving your final divorce decree.
However, the reason for the waiting period is to make sure that everyone involved has time to feel certain about the decision they are making. Even if there wasn’t a big blow-up fight that led to the decision to get divorced and you have both kept a level head through the whole decision-making process, the state of Texas requires that you go through a “cooling off” period.
The waiting period can feel particularly frustrating when you’re getting an agreed divorce. Even though you and your spouse are able to stay amicable during the process, it’s natural to want to be able to get the divorce over with so you can move on with your life.
That being said, getting divorced is a huge decision and there’s nothing wrong with taking some time to make sure you are both comfortable with that outcome. In some instances, the waiting period can actually give spouses the space and time they need to realize that they are willing to try and make the marriage work after all.
You certainly won’t be able to get an agreed divorce if your spouse doesn’t want to get divorced, but, depending on whether or not your spouse responds to the divorce paperwork, you might be able to get a default divorce which is technically an uncontested divorce.
Your spouse can’t stop you from filing from divorce. Only one spouse has to believe that a relationship isn’t salvageable in order for a judge to grant a divorce.
A common law marriage (also known as an informal marriage) is when two people meet a specific set of requirements, which are:
A common myth is that you are automatically common law married if you live together for a certain number of years. This is not the case.
If you want to end a common law marriage, you could choose to simply both go your separate ways without ever obtaining a divorce. However, this is only possible if no documentation was ever created regarding your common law marriage. Additionally, this can create problems down the road similar to those that can arise when couples separate rather than get divorced in other states.
If the two of you filed a declaration of informal marriage, however, or a court decided that a common law marriage exists, then you will need to get a divorce in order to dissolve the marriage.
In many instances, couples don't bother to prove that a marriage existed until they decide to get divorced. The reason for doing this is so that they can have their property and debts divided in the same way they would be if they had gotten formally married, or, similarly, for reasons of child custody or support.
If you can prove that you and your partner agreed to be married and a marriage existed, you can file for an uncontested divorce in Texas. It’s worth noting, however, that you only have two years to file for a divorce in the case of a common-law marriage after the two of you have separated. If you wait longer than two years to start dissolving the marriage, the law assumes that no marriage existed.
So long as your marriage is valid in the place where you got married and you meet the residency requirements, you can get an uncontested divorce (or any other type of divorce, for that matter) in the state of Texas.
In the state of Texas, there is no legal separation. However, there are some other options that can provide similar outcomes to the process of legal separation. These include protective orders, temporary orders, separation agreements, or suits affecting the parent-child relationship.
Same-sex marriage is treated exactly the same as marriage between a man and a woman in the state of Texas. If you’re married to someone of the same sex and you want to get divorced, you will follow the same process as any other married couple in the state of Texas.
If you are filing for an agreed and therefore uncontested divorce in Texas, you’ll be glad to know that you are getting divorced in the easiest way possible in the Lone Star State. While it will likely still be stressful and perhaps a longer process than you would like, you won’t have to deal with many of the most difficult parts of the process by avoiding mediation, trial, and a judge making decisions about your personal life for you.
When you decide that you’re getting a divorce, it’s natural to have a lot of questions and concerns. That’s why we’ve created an ever-growing library of articles to help the good people of Texas answer all of their questions about divorce, marriage, annulments, and more.
Are you looking for more resources about divorce in Texas? Be sure to check out TexasDivorceLaws.org.
If you’ve started researching the divorce process in the Lone Star State, you may have come across the term “dissolution of marriage.” What is a dissolution of marriage in Texas? Is it the same thing as a divorce?
It’s worth understanding that this term doesn’t mean the same thing in all 50 states. In some states, a dissolution isn’t the same thing as divorce. In these cases, couples are only allowed to use the process of dissolution under particular circumstances.
In most states, though, dissolution of marriage simply refers to the ways that a married couple can end their marriage permanently.
Let’s take a look at what you need to know about the dissolution of marriage in Texas.
In the Texas Family Code, the phrase “dissolution of marriage” is used interchangeably with the word “divorce.” A dissolution of marriage simply means that a marriage is legally over. It can, therefore, be used to refer to both divorce and annulment, as both of these are processes that legally end a marriage. The term can also be used to refer to the declaration that a marriage is void.
However, it's worth noting that depending on which sources you turn to, there is a bit of disagreement over whether or not an annulment and a declaration that a marriage is void constitute a dissolution of marriage. The argument here is that in both cases, the marriage is considered void and, therefore, technically, never existed. From this standpoint, the marriage cannot be dissolved because it never legally existed in the first place.
Even though dissolution and divorce are used interchangeably in Texas, it’s worth noting that this isn't always the way the term dissolution is interpreted in all states.
Because the term can mean different things in different states, it can create unnecessary confusion. Luckily, in Texas, the use of the term dissolution is fairly simple. Whether you are getting an annulment or a divorce, you are working towards the dissolution of your marriage in the eyes of Texas law.
There are three ways for marriages to end in the state of Texas: divorce, annulment, or death. If you (or your spouse or the two of you together) have decided that you aren’t going to spend the rest of your lives together, it means that you will need to pursue either a divorce or an annulment.
For most couples, the path to take will likely be that of divorce. However, if your marriage was never actually valid from the start, you might be eligible to get an annulment. Related but slightly different from an annulment is the process of declaring a marriage void.
To get a divorce in Texas, you have to meet certain residency requirements. Either you or your spouse must be a resident of:
The state of Texas allows you to pursue divorce on both no-fault and fault grounds. In general, most couples choose to pursue a no-fault divorce because it is less likely to produce the outcome of a long, drawn-out court battle and also doesn’t require a lengthy pre-divorce separation.
There are a number of important steps and milestones during the divorce process that you’ll want to know about if you are motivated to obtain your divorce as efficiently as possible. What these steps precisely entail will depend on a number of factors, such as whether the divorce is agreed or contested, whether you’re filing for a fault-based divorce or not, whether there are children involved, and much more.
Some of the basic steps you should expect to go through when getting a divorce in Texas, though, include:
There is a sixty-day waiting period in the state of Texas in order to get a divorce. In almost all cases, a court won’t grant your final divorce until at least sixty days have gone by since you filed the petition for a divorce.
There are only a handful of circumstances where the waiting period is waived, and these have to do with specific circumstances regarding an active family violence protective order or the respondent being convicted of a domestic violence crime against someone in the household.
When you get a divorce, you are ending a legally valid marriage. When you get an annulment, on the other hand, you are ending a marriage that never should have gone through and is, therefore, invalid.
In order to get an annulment in Texas, you’re required to prove that your marriage was never valid to begin with. In order to do so, you’ll need to be able to show that any of the following are true:
There are some additional requirements for some grounds for annulment as well.
If you are eligible for an annulment in the state of Texas, the whole process can go quite a bit faster than the standard divorce process. This is partly because there is no waiting period required between filing the annulment petition and the court granting an annulment, while there is a sixty-day waiting period in the case of most divorces.
That being said, you should still expect an annulment to take at least a few weeks.
Another benefit of an annulment vs. a divorce is that your marriage will be declared void as a part of the process. This means that you can legally say that the marriage never existed.
When you declare a marriage void, you are going through a legal process in which the marriage is found to have been void from the very beginning. Once the marriage is voided, it is as if the marriage never occurred in the first place in the eyes of the law. The spouses are not able to agree that it is a valid marriage in these instances, and the marriage no longer exists under Texas law, regardless of whether a court rules it so.
In most cases, the same courts that are able to decide divorce cases are also able to handle suits to declare a marriage void. If you are considering pursuing a suit to declare a marriage void, you can call your local district clerk to find out which of your county courts handle this type of case.
Though divorce, annulment, and a suit to declare a marriage void are all ways to dissolve a marriage in Texas, they all refer to slightly different processes that are pursued based on different circumstances.
When you get divorced, you are ending a marriage that is considered valid in the eyes of the law. It’s fairly to understand how divorce, therefore, differs from annulment and a suit to declare a marriage void, as in both of the latter cases, the dissolution focuses on the reasons why the marriage was never valid from the beginning.
However, an annulment and a suit to declare a marriage void aren’t exactly the same. There are separate grounds upon which people can file suit for each type of dissolution. The primary difference between these two forms of marriage dissolution is that a void marriage is automatically not a legal marriage, regardless of what the court decides.
When you realize that your marriage is no longer going to work, it’s natural to want the dissolution process to be over with quickly so you can get on with your life. In most cases, dissolving a marriage in Texas will mean filing for divorce. In some instances, though, spouses might qualify for an annulment.
In general, an annulment is a faster process than a divorce because there is not a mandatory sixty-day waiting period. However, it’s important to understand that there are a lot of factors that influence how long either process will take.
Due to the waiting period that applies in almost all Texas divorce cases, a divorce in the Lone Star State will take, at minimum, sixty days.
However, you shouldn’t assume that you can file for a divorce and have the entire process completed in two months. Even in the simplest of divorces, you will probably want to expect that your final divorce hearing won’t be able to occur immediately after your waiting period is up.
Divorces in Texas usually take about six months to one year or longer in order to be finalized.
There are a number of factors that will influence how long it will take to get divorced in Texas, including:
If you and your spouse agree on all of the terms of the divorce, don’t have children, and don’t have much in the way of assets or debts, you can expect your divorce to be finalized more quickly than if you and your spouse don’t agree on the terms of the divorce, have children, and have complicated finances.
If you are dissolving a marriage in Texas through an annulment, it can happen quite a bit faster than if you go through the divorce process. However, you have to fit very specific requirements in order to qualify for an annulment.
There is no waiting period required by the state when you get an annulment between the filing of the Original Petition to Annul Marriage and the moment when an annulment is granted by the court.
That being said, you shouldn’t expect an annulment to occur overnight. Courts tend to have their schedules booked out, meaning that an annulment will most likely take at least a few weeks to be finalized.
Unlike in cases of divorce, there is no waiting period in the state of Texas that is mandatory between the filing and the court granting the suit. Just like with annulment, however, you shouldn’t expect that the declaration of marriage being void is something that will happen instantaneously. Depending on the schedule of the courthouse, it can take a few weeks at the very least to have a court grant a suit to declare your marriage void.
There are nine states in the United States that are “community property” states. These are:
In addition to these states, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alaska are elective community property states. Puerto Rico and Guam are the two community property jurisdictions out of the five inhabited US territories.
In community property states, judges begin with the assumption that any property or debts acquired by either spouse during the marriage belong to both spouses (i.e., is community property.) In a divorce in a community property state, you will need to prove that something initially assumed to be community property is separate property if you believe that it shouldn’t be divided.
There are certain types of property that are automatically assumed to be separate property in Texas.
These include:
In general, community property in Texas will be divided equally between spouses, split 50-50. In some instances, though, a judge might change the distribution of property based on what they consider to be fair given the situation.
The primary consideration in any decision about child custody in the state of Texas is the child’s best interest. This applies to both legal custody and physical custody.
The presumption of Texas law is that both parents having managing conservatorship is in the best interest of the child. However, there are some specific circumstances that might lead a court to believe otherwise.
Divorcing parents can work to create a parenting plan. However, if they can’t agree upon one, the judge will issue a possession order and outline when the child will be in the care of each parent.
When it comes to child support, the parent who spends the least amount of time with the child is responsible for paying. Child support is generally based on the number of children being supported and a percentage of the parent’s net income.
The decision to dissolve a marriage is probably the most difficult choice many married couples face. When a marriage isn’t working out, there are likely a lot of different intermingled issues that lead to the decision to pursue a divorce. Some of the most commonly cited reasons for divorce in the state of Texas include:
For many couples, it might not be as straightforward as one isolated incident or problem in the marriage that leads to divorce, but rather a collection of interrelated problems.
Are you interested in learning more about why people get divorced? If you are determining whether or not your marriage is salvageable, sometimes it can be helpful to understand why most divorces occur. Check out our deep dive on why people get divorced to gain more insight into the matter.
The divorce rate has been steadily declining since around 1990 when there were about 5.5 divorces for every 1000 Texas residents. In 2019, this number had dropped all the way to 2.1 divorces for every 1000 Texas residents, and in 2020 there were only 1.5 divorces for every 1000 Texas residents.
However, it’s worth noting that 2020 was an abnormal year in many regards, and it’s possible that this number is lower than it would be otherwise if it weren’t for the major societal disruption of the pandemic.
The state with the lowest divorce rate in 2018 was North Dakota, clocking in at 8.7%.
The Lone Star State sits comfortably in the middle of the list when it comes to ranking the U.S. states by their divorce rate. Coming in at number 21, the divorce rate in 2018 was 16.8%.
Are you wondering if you can handle getting divorced in Texas without hiring a lawyer?
There are different grounds upon which you can dissolve a marriage in Texas. In some instances, you might be able to get an annulment or declare the marriage void. If you don’t qualify for an annulment or a declaration of marriage being void and you want to end your marriage legally, you will need to get a divorce.
In the state of Texas, there are seven grounds that can be claimed in order to file for divorce. Some of these grounds are considered “no-fault” grounds, meaning that you are not alleging that either of you is responsible for the dissolution of the marriage because of your behavior or actions. The others are “fault” grounds, meaning that one spouse is accusing the other of having behaved or acted in a way that led to the dissolution of the marriage.
Many people choose to file for divorce based on insupportability, which is sometimes referred to as “irreconcilable differences.” This is a no-fault ground for divorce, meaning that neither spouse is considered responsible for the dissolution of the marriage.
Insupportability refers to when there is so much conflict and discord in the marriage that it prevents “any reasonable expectation of reconciliation.”
If spouses have lived apart without cohabiting for at least three years, the court can grant a divorce in favor of either spouse.
A divorce can be granted in favor of one spouse if the other has been confined in a private or state mental hospital for at least three years. The mental hospital can be in Texas or any other state. In order to have a divorce granted based on these grounds, it must appear that it is unlikely that the spouse will recover from their mental disorder or that a relapse would be probable even if they did recover.
If one spouse is proven to have treated the other cruelly in a way that makes it unreasonable to expect that they can continue living together, the court can grant a divorce in favor of one spouse based on these grounds.
If your spouse is cruel or abusive to you, the divorce process is likely a lot more stressful. You should not assume that a spouse that has treated you poorly will play nice during the divorce process. For that reason, it's good to be aware of some of the most common sneaky divorce tactics in order to know what to look out for.
One spouse can be granted a divorce in their favor if the other spouse left with the intention of abandonment and was gone for at least one year.
If one spouse has been convicted of a felony, has been imprisoned for at least one year, and hasn’t been pardoned, all during the marriage, the court can grant a divorce in favor of the other spouse. However, these grounds cannot be used if the imprisoned spouse was convicted based upon the testimony of the complaining spouse.
If one spouse has committed adultery, the court can grant a divorce in favor of the other. However, it’s important to understand that with all of the fault-based grounds for divorce, you (and your lawyer) will need to prove that the other spouse committed the behaviors or actions you are claiming led to the dissolution of the marriage.
You can file for an annulment in Texas based on a number of different grounds, including:
If you are getting an annulment on the grounds that one spouse is under eighteen, a judge may grant the annulment if one spouse is between sixteen and eighteen and married without a court order or parental consent. The judge will take a number of factors into consideration, including the welfare of the spouses.
In these cases, the petition for an annulment can be filed by:
If you are trying to get an annulment based on the grounds that one spouse was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, a judge will decide whether or not they were under the influence to the extent that they didn’t have the ability to consent to the marriage. In order to receive an annulment based on these grounds, the petitioner must not have lived with the spouse voluntarily after the drugs or alcohol wore off.
There are a number of different grounds in the state of Texas under which an individual can file a suit to declare a marriage void. These include:
There are a number of requirements that must be met in order for a marriage to be declared void based on each of these grounds.
If you are ending your marriage in Texas, your mind is probably overloaded with questions and concerns. Regardless of how amicable the divorce is, it can be stressful and overwhelming to end one chapter of life and begin another.
At TexasDivorceLaws.org, we believe that the legal process becomes much more navigable when you understand what your rights and responsibilities are under the law. The outcome of a divorce proceeding can have a major impact on your life, and having a solid grasp of the process can help ensure that you receive a favorable outcome.
It’s for that reason that we’ve been building a library of resources for Texas residents about divorce, marriage, annulments, prenups, and more. If you’re dissolving your marriage in the Lone Star State, be sure to check out our articles here.
