“How much does a Texas divorce cost?” is a question we answer most every day. Not surprisingly, the answer depends on a number of factors.
While we work very hard to reduce costs to our clients and be as efficient as possible, a divorce is literally the transfer of ownership of every single asset and debt and the determination of when and how your relationship with your children will look for the balance of their childhood. These are monumental issues and not to just be thrown together “on the cheap.”
“Contested” vs. “Uncontested” are misnomers and misleading and are really a product of lawyer advertising used to shortcut around the real answer.
In a divorce lawsuit all your community property must be divided between the spouses and if you have children, provision must be made for their support, conservatorship, and possession. These are not simple issues and all have enormous consequences.
The vast majority of cases/lawsuits/divorces all end with an agreement of one sort or another. When and how complete such an agreement is can streamline the litigation into more of a transaction but the work remains to allocate those rights regarding children and property.
Everyone should have an attorney except in the very specific cases in which the spouses are living in a rented residence, employed, with a short-term marriage, and limited property. Unless all of the preceding matches your situation, you need an attorney.
You can assume that a straightforward divorce will cost $5,000–$10,000 per party. For a “normal couple” with a house, retirement, children — who cannot agree without court intervention — you can expect legal fees of $20,000 plus per party.
The old joke remains true:
Why are divorces so expensive? Because they are worth it!
For those who really want the secret to the quickest, easiest method to get divorced in Texas:
- Hire an attorney
- Provide all the information needed to make an informed decision.
- Formulate a proposal for your spouse based on the information you have.
- Have your attorney prepare a proposed draft final order that matches the proposal you wish to offer.
- Present the proposal to your spouse for considedation
- if they agree, have your attorney present it to the Court for signature and you are done.
- If your spouse wants changes, then you are negotiating around a draft final order.
This process works when you have the information needed to make a full offer (*values and characterization of Separate vs Community Property) are not really at issue and you can communicate in a healthy productive way. Most importantly, the inclusion of an attorney early on ensures your proposal include all that the Court will require, and that the deal you think you are making can actually be effectuated!
You are also protected if the deal you thought you and your spouse will be able to make isn’t really on the table and there are strong differences that need to be worked through.
