Divorce
A Texas divorce decides how property and debts are divided and, if you have children, who makes decisions for them, where they live and what support is paid. Some couples agree on everything. Others need a judge to decide some or all of it. We handle both.
Who can file in Texas
Before a divorce can be filed here, you or your spouse must have lived in Texas for the past six months and in the county where you file for the past 90 days (Texas Family Code section 6.301).
The 60-day waiting period
A judge cannot grant a divorce before the 60th day after the petition is filed (section 6.702). Many divorces take longer, especially when property or children are in dispute.
If your spouse has been convicted of, or received deferred adjudication for, family violence against you or someone in your household, or you have an active protective order against your spouse based on family violence during the marriage, the court can grant the divorce without waiting 60 days (section 6.702(c)). If you are not safe at home, call 911 first.
Property and debts
Texas is a community property state. Property either spouse acquired during the marriage is generally community property, and property owned before the marriage or received as a gift or inheritance is generally separate property (sections 3.001 and 3.002).
Everything you have when the divorce ends is presumed to be community property unless separate property is proved by clear and convincing evidence (section 3.003), so records matter. The court divides the community estate in a way it finds “just and right” (section 7.001), which is not always an even split. Homes, retirement accounts, businesses, vehicles and debts are all part of the picture.
How a Texas divorce usually moves
A first conversation
We go over your goals, your children, what you own and owe, and anything urgent, like safety or money being moved.
The petition is filed
Your case starts in the county where you qualify to file. The 60-day clock starts that day.
Your spouse is notified
Your spouse is formally served with the papers or signs a waiver, and has a chance to respond.
Temporary orders, if needed
The court can set rules for while the case is open: who stays in the house, a schedule for the children, and who pays which bills.
Sharing information and working toward agreement
Both sides exchange financial information. Many cases settle through negotiation or mediation.
The final decree
The judge signs the final decree, by agreement or after a trial. That signed order is what both of you must follow.
Child custody
Texas law uses different words for custody. Conservatorship covers the rights and duties to make decisions for your child, like school, medical care and where the child lives. Possession and access is the schedule of when each parent has the child, what most people call visitation.
The child’s best interest is always the main question for the court (section 153.002). Texas starts from a presumption that naming both parents joint managing conservators is in the child’s best interest. That presumption can be overcome, and a finding of a history of family violence between the parents removes it (section 153.131).
Joint managing conservatorship does not automatically mean equal time. When the court names joint managing conservators, it also decides which parent has the exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence and usually sets a geographic area for it (section 153.134).
What we help with
- Parenting plans and possession schedules that fit your work and your children’s lives
- Who designates the child’s primary residence, and how far a parent may move
- Holidays, summers, school breaks and exchanges
- Protecting a child when there are real safety concerns
- Enforcing an order the other parent is not following
Child support
Texas sets child support with statewide guidelines. For most parents, support is a percentage of the paying parent’s monthly net resources, which starts with income such as wages, self-employment income and many benefits, minus items such as taxes and the cost of the child’s health insurance (section 154.062).
| Number of Children | Share of Net Resources |
|---|---|
| 1 child | 20% |
| 2 children | 25% |
| 3 children | 30% |
| 4 children | 35% |
| 5 children | 40% |
| 6 or more | Not less than for 5 |
The guideline amount is presumed reasonable, but a court can order a different amount when the evidence shows the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate, for example because of the child’s needs or how much time the child spends with each parent (sections 154.122 and 154.123). Real cases involve overtime, self-employment, other children and health insurance costs, so your number can look different from the table. We can work through it with you.
Modifications and enforcement
Life changes after a court order is signed. Jobs change, parents move, and children get older. A Texas order can be changed, but only on the grounds the law allows.
Changing custody or the schedule
A court can modify conservatorship or possession when the change is in the child’s best interest and the circumstances of the child, a parent or another affected person have materially and substantially changed since the order (section 156.101). The same section also allows a change when a child 12 or older tells the judge in chambers which person they would prefer to have the right to designate their primary residence, or when the parent with that right has voluntarily given up primary care of the child for at least six months.
Changing child support
Support can be modified after a material and substantial change. It can also be reviewed when three years have passed since the order was set or last changed and the amount differs from the current guidelines by 20 percent or $100 (section 156.401). A change in the amount generally reaches only payments that come due after the other parent is served or appears in the case, so waiting can cost you.
When the other parent is not following the order
If support is not being paid or you are being kept from your time with your children, the order can be enforced through the court. Keep a record of missed payments and missed exchanges, and bring it when we meet.
CPS cases
If Child Protective Services, part of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, has contacted your family, what you say and do in the first days can shape the rest of the case. We represent parents through investigations, removals and court cases, with the goal of keeping your family together or getting your children home.
Read about CPS cases and your rights as a parent. If CPS has taken your child, call us today. Texas law requires a full adversary hearing within 14 days, unless the court extends it (section 262.201).
Other family matters
We also handle these family cases. Ask us about yours.
- Adoptions
- Termination of parental rights
- Premarital agreements
- Spousal maintenance
- Paternity and parent-child suits
- Enforcement of orders
What to bring to your consultation
You do not need all of this to call us. Bring what you have, and we will tell you what else matters for your case.
- Any court papers you have been served with or have filed
- Any current custody, support or protective orders
- Recent pay stubs and your last two tax returns
- A list of property and debts: home, vehicles, retirement accounts, loans and cards
- Your children’s schedules, and who has been caring for them
- For a CPS case, any paperwork and your caseworker’s name and number
- A short timeline of key dates, written in your own words
- Your questions, so nothing gets missed
Please do not post about your case on social media while it is open. Texts and posts often end up as evidence.
