If you’re reading this, you’ve most likely decided that you are going to get a divorce. The hardest step is over, believe it or not. But you have some questions. How does a divorce actually work? What happens to your assets? How long is it going to take?
The good news is that divorce in Texas can be easier than people expect, specifically when both spouses can agree on how to divide property and debts, and if kids are involved, where they’ll live, how visitation works, and what child support looks like. Having an attorney who knows the local court system can make a real difference in how smoothly that process goes, how long it takes, and whether the final agreement actually protects you.
So often these days, people sit down (often with the assistance of AI) and try to work through these issues prior to speaking with a lawyer. As laid out below, speaking with an attorney before such a conversation with your spouse can really help you know what information and agreements need to be resolved thus saving you energy and making for a more productive early settlement conversation.
Step 1: Knowing Where and How You Can File For Divorce
You must file for divorce in the County in which you have lived for the preceding 90 days. You also have to have lived in Texas at least 6 months. We are happy to help you if you live within most North Texas counties including, Collin, Rockwall, Hunt, Kaufman, Denton, and Dallas Counties.
If your family has only recently moved to Texas, speak with one of our attorneys about when and where divorce may be pursued.
Step 2: Contested vs. Uncontested (not what most think)
Lawyers are constantly hearing people characterize their divorce as contested or uncontested but these terms really don’t have the importance given to them. While most attorneys charge on an hourly basis, costs and time involved in one’s divorce are directly tied to the level of conflict.
Accepting that the vast majority of divorces (estimated as high as 95%) end with some sort of settlement, parties naturally tend to reach an informed agreement at some point. The lower the degree of conflict and the more information both parties have, the easier the case will be to process and resolve.
However the labels “Uncontested” and “Contested” are far too general to have any real meaning to be useful. If your objective is to resolve your divorce as quickly and efficiently as possible with terms you can live with allowing you and your family to move on, seek the early direction and advice of a lawyer you are comfortable with who can guide you in this process and minimize the conflict while protecting your interests.
Step 3: Texas is a No-Fault State
Psychologically, the reason YOU feel is behind the divorce is important and something that you should process and work through both now and for your future relationships. However, for your divorce lawyer, the divorce really starts when either spouse has chosen (regardless of the reason) to seek a divorce. Once that decision is made, your attorney’s job is really just to guide you through the process to protect your interest and assets so complete the divorce preserving as much as possible. There is no requirement for either party to prove a reason they want to dissolve their marriage.
If either spouse feels the marriage just simply isn’t working anymore, that’s a valid legal reason.
In some situations, it may be tactically advantageous to assert and seek to prove a “fault ground.” Examples of these would include:
- Adultery — one spouse had an affair
- Cruelty — physical or emotional abuse that makes living together unsafe or unbearable
Fault-based grounds can sometimes affect the division of property. For example, a judge may award a larger share of the marital estate to a spouse who was the victim of adultery or cruelty. But pursuing fault also means proving it, which adds time, cost, and conflict to the process. Unless the circumstances are significant and clear-cut, most people are better served by filing no-fault and keeping things as straightforward as possible. An attorney can help you decide whether fault grounds are worth pursuing in your specific situation.
Step 4: Officially Filing For Divorce
There is no “papers to fill out” in a divorce; a divorce is legally a lawsuit. It’s not like filing your taxes, where you download a form and fill in the blanks. The forms that initiate the divorce need to be prepared correctly from the start.
The first thing you’ll file is an Original Petition for Divorce. This is the document that officially opens your case with the court. The most important thing to know about the petition is that it merely alerts the clerk’s office that a lawsuit has been filed and that it is a divorce rather than a breach of contract or personal injury lawsuit. It’s best to not overly read into the divorce petition whether you are the one filing or it was your spouse.
The lawsuit will eventually end with either an agreement between the spouses or a final trial being conducted by Court. Either way, the last act will be the Judge signing a Final Decree of Divorce. This is the order signed by the judge making everything official; it needs to be drafted very carefully by your legal team to ensure it tightly matches the agreement you think you have made or the Judge’s ruling (as applicable).
Should You Have an Attorney? Yes
Texas allows you to represent yourself, which is called going “pro se.” And if you’ve only been married a couple of years, have no kids, no real estate, and very limited assets, some people do manage to handle it themselves. There’s even a resource (https://texaslawhelp.org/) with Supreme Court-approved forms specifically for those situations.
But if any of those conditions don’t describe you, the risks of going it alone get serious fast.
A divorce is a lawsuit. You are held to the same legal standard as an attorney, even if you’ve never set foot in a courthouse. The clerk and the judge cannot give you legal advice; that’s not their job, and they’re not allowed to. And once a Final Decree is signed, fixing mistakes is limited and expensive. Judges are essentially left with two choices when someone represents themselves: refuse to sign the order without explaining why, or sign whatever’s put in front of them.
An attorney does a lot more than fill out forms. They make sure property is correctly classified (Texas is a community property state, which matters more than most people realize), that child custody and support language is airtight, and that you’re actually getting what you think you’re getting before it becomes a court order you’re stuck with.
Even if you’re sure about handling things yourself, at a minimum, have a lawyer review your documents before you take them to the courthouse.
You can try to do this alone. But the cost of getting it wrong almost always exceeds the cost of getting proper help upfront.
