Divorce is extremely difficult, but having the answers in hand can make the path considerably smoother.
If you are facing a divorce, you almost certainly have a long list of questions about the divorce process. While your divorce will be unique to the circumstances involved, the one constant in every divorce case is that having the skilled legal counsel of an experienced Texas divorce attorney can make a big difference in how well your parental and financial rights are protected.
Is Divorce My Only Option?
Divorce may not be your only option for ending a marriage in Texas. Some couples qualify for an annulment of marriage, which is a legal acknowledgment that a marriage was never valid. In other states, additional options, such as a separation agreement or a dissolution of marriage, may also be available.
What are my chances of getting full custody?
Texas doesn’t award what’s often referred to as full custody. Instead, the judge in your case will make a custody decision using the following guiding principles:
- Texas courts base their child custody decisions on the children’s best interests.
- Texas courts ascribe to the prevailing belief that children are better off when both parents remain in their lives.
- Texas courts will only implement restrictions or seriously limit the amount of time a parent is allowed to spend with their children if there are significant reasons for doing so.
In other words, you and your children’s other parent are very likely to each receive a generous parenting time schedule. One of you may, however, become the primary custodial parent while the other has what you may think of as a visitation schedule.
Your custody goals will best be served if you put forward a strong effort to be a supportive and effective co-parent.
Texas often implements a standard possession order, which reflects the standard parenting time schedule for the parent who is not the primary custodial parent:
- Having the kids the first, third, and fifth weekend of every month – starting at 6 PM on Friday and ending at 6 PM on Sunday
- Having the kids every Thursday during the regular school year from 6 to 8 PM
- Having the kids for alternating holidays
- Having the kids for 30 days during the summer
These standard schedules are the status quo, but if you and your divorcing spouse are able to negotiate a schedule between yourselves that works well for your family, the court is likely to accept it.
Will My Older Children Have a Say in Determining Parenting Time?
Texas courts take the input of children who are considered old enough to offer a reasoned preference into careful consideration. However, Texas courts do not base child custody determinations solely on children’s preferences. The child’s input affords the court additional insight into his or her best interests, but it is by no means the final say in the matter.
What Does Legal Custody Mean?
When you think of child custody, you likely think of physical custody, which addresses parenting time and where your children make their permanent residence. Legal custody addresses the decision-making component of parenting. When parents are no longer together, they must continue making the following kinds of primary parenting decisions for their children:
- Where the children attend school
- The health care that the children receive
- The religious education that the children receive
- The children’s participation in extracurricular activities and travel
Generally, parents share legal custody, which can mean one of three things. They may continue to make these decisions together, just like they did when they were married. Alternatively, one of the parents may be awarded the authority to finalize a decision when a stalemate is reached. Finally, the decisions can be divided between both parents according to category.
Who Will Pay Child Support, and How Much Will It Be?
The State of Texas has an exacting child custody calculation process in place with limited possibilities for exceptions. Generally, the parent who earns more makes the child support payments, even when parents share parenting time equally.
The amount of the child support obligation is based on the number of children involved in the order, which breaks down as follows:
- For 1 child, the higher earner pays 20 percent of their net earnings.
- For 2 children, the higher earner pays 25 percent of their net earnings.
- For 3 children, the higher earner pays 30 percent of their net earnings.
- For 4 children, the higher earner pays 35 percent of their net earnings.
- For 5 children, the higher earner pays 40 percent of their net earnings.
- For 5 or more children, the higher earner pays at least 40 percent of their net earnings.
How Will Our Marital Property Be Divided?
Marital property refers to all the assets that you and your spouse came to own during your marriage – whether you acquired them separately or together. Texas is what’s called a community property state when it comes to divorce. Under community property laws, marital assets must be divided fairly (with some exceptions).
The court can take a wide range of factors into consideration in the division of marital property, including things like the length of the marriage, whether there was any fraud on the community estate, the overall size of the marital estate, and beyond. When justified, the court can award a lopsided division of marital assets, which makes it that much more important to have trusted legal guidance in your corner.
If Your Divorce Involves a Business
Business ownership can quickly complicate the division of marital property in a divorce. While there are some steps you can take to protect your business during divorce, the following factors will often play a large role in determining how your business is handled:
- A spouse who runs a business without compensating himself or herself fairly fails to benefit the marriage, thus eroding the separate nature of the business.
- Using marital assets to grow the business can also blur the line between separate and marital property.
- Failing to keep marital and business financials distinct from one another can make it very difficult to claim a business as separate.
- Any increase in a business’s value over the course of a marriage is likely to be considered marital property.
- If both spouses are employed by the business, it can complicate the matter further.
What Is Separate Property?
Separate property refers to those assets that either of you owned prior to your marriage and that you kept separate throughout. However, any intermingling of marital and separate assets can erode the dividing line between the two. Further, the court begins with the assumption that all assets are marital assets, so if either of you asserts ownership of a separate asset, you’ll need to prove its separate nature.
Finally, the amount that a separate asset increases over the course of your marriage is very likely to be treated as marital property. For example, if you bring a retirement account into your marriage, it belongs to you alone. The amount that it increases during the years of your union, however, is marital property that belongs to both of you and must be addressed in your divorce.
Will I Receive Alimony?
In Texas, alimony is called spousal maintenance, and it is less common than you may realize. In order to qualify for alimony, your divorce must leave you without the resources to cover your reasonable needs, and your ex must have the financial means to assist you.
Even when you are in this scenario, there are restrictions in place. For example, you generally must have been married at least 10 years before you are eligible for alimony at all. When alimony is awarded after a marriage of 10 years, its duration is generally limited to five years.
Reach Out to an Experienced Killeen Divorce Lawyer Today
Divorce is extremely difficult, but having the answers in hand can make the path considerably smoother. Having an experienced Texas divorce attorney guiding you along the way can significantly impact the outcome of your case. Call us at (254) 566-3358 or contact us online for a FREE consultation.
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