Overcoming Uncertainty and Taking Action in a Texas Divorce

Every divorce is unique, but every divorcing couple must ultimately negotiate certain terms between themselves or turn to the court to decide.

Even if you know you need a divorce, taking the first steps can be difficult. Divorce presents uncertainty, which leaves many people afraid to pull the trigger. If you’ve done the work necessary to determine that divorce is the right choice for you, knowing divorce basics and working with an experienced Texas divorce attorney can help you proceed with confidence.

Get Your Bearings 

Once you’ve decided on divorce, it’s a good idea to get your bearings and gather important documentation. The more information you can share with your legal team, the better prepared they’ll be to protect your financial and parental rights. 

Do your best to gather any information you can about these kinds of assets:

• Your mortgage
• You and your spouse’s paychecks
• Your household bills 
• Your credit card bills
• Your investment portfolio
• Titles for real estate, vehicles, recreational vehicles, boats, and other property
• An inventory of your valuables, including jewelry, art, heirlooms, collections, or other assets
• Debts

The higher your assets, the more important and challenging documentation becomes. Further, if you own a business or real estate, obtaining valuations will likely come into play, but your attorney will help guide that part of the process.

Once you have this information, you’ll be prepared to consult with a divorce attorney. If gathering this documentation isn’t possible, your dedicated attorney will get it in the discovery phase of your divorce. Either way, it’s in your best interest to call a seasoned divorce attorney early.  

Face Your Demons

With divorce comes emotional upheaval that can come out in unpredictable ways and harm your relationships, job, or children if unaddressed. If you’re having trouble coping with your divorce-related emotions, try these outlets:

• Sharing your feelings with trusted family members or friends
• Joining a divorce support group
• Seeking guidance from a leader in your religious community
• Working with a counselor or therapist

You’ll need strength for your upcoming divorce, so getting help early in the process is an excellent plan. 

Know the Basics

When you’re starting a divorce, there’s a lot to learn. If you stick to the basics, it can help make the path forward less daunting without confusing you in the process. 

Residency Requirements

If you want to divorce in Texas, you or your spouse must have lived in the state at least six months before filing. Additionally, one of you must have lived in the county that you file in for at least 90 days. If you qualify in two counties, you can choose where to file.

The “Cooling Off” Period

In Texas, divorcing couples must wait for 60 days from their filing date before their cases can be finalized, and while it means that a divorce is possible within 61 days, the court’s docket must align before this can happen. Generally, divorces take considerably longer.

The following factors tend to lengthen the divorce timeline:

• High conflict
• Business ownership or high assets
• Filing for bankruptcy

Even if you’re trying to get through your divorce as soon as the cooling-off period ends, it’s important to take your time. Don’t rush your divorce settlement just so you can be done. Such a course can lead to a disadvantageous settlement that will affect your post-divorce future.

The Terms of Your Divorce

Every divorce is unique, but every divorcing couple must ultimately negotiate the following terms between themselves or turn to the court to decide:

• Child custody
• Child support
• The division of marital property
• Alimony

Most divorcing couples in Texas reach agreements on each term between themselves and their attorneys. Another option is mediation, when a neutral third party helps both spouses and their divorce attorneys negotiate a mutually acceptable resolution.  

The Nature of Your Divorce

Your divorce, like most divorces in Texas, is likely to be no fault and uncontested. A no-fault divorce is based on insupportability (irreconcilable differences) rather than fault. Most no-fault divorces are also uncontested because the terms are generally resolved outside of court. 

Occasionally, a divorcing couple can’t find middle ground on one or more terms, regardless of their effort. These cases become contested divorces that require the court’s intervention.

Protect Your Parental Rights

When it comes to your parental rights, your child custody arrangements are paramount. Texas courts are committed to supporting the best interests of children in child custody determinations, and this generally translates to maximizing the amount of time they spend with each parent. However, one of you may become the primary custodial parent while the other has a visitation schedule. 

You must also address legal custody, which determines each parent’s authority for making decisions for their children about schooling, healthcare, extracurriculars, religious education, and other important matters.

When there’s no serious reason that supports ruling otherwise, both parents generally share legal custody. One of you may have the right to break a tie when your genuine efforts to reach a consensus fail. You can also divide these decisions between you according to the topic at hand, and when called for, one parent can be awarded sole legal custody. 

Protect Your Financial Rights

Your financial rights break down into three basic categories, all of which should be protected.

The Division of Your Marital Property

As a married couple in Texas, everything that either one of you comes to own is considered marital, with the exception of inheritances, gifts, and some personal injury awards. These marital assets must be divided between you in a manner that is considered “just and right,” which doesn’t always amount to a 50/50 split.  

The following factors can directly affect the division of marital property:

• The length of your marriage
• The size of your marital estate and your and your spouse’s separate estates
• The tax implications of the proposed property division
• Whether fault played a role in the breakdown of your marriage, which can sometimes have an effect even in a no-fault case
• Whether either spouse committed fraud on the community (artificially decreasing the value of the estate or of the other spouse’s share)
• Domestic violence
• Each spouse’s income and earning power
• Each spouse’s age and health
• Any additional factors the court finds relevant

Any assets that either of you owned prior to marriage and that you kept separate during your marriage are considered the separate property of the original owner. However, Texas courts presume that all assets are marital unless proven otherwise. Finally, any intermingling of marital and separate assets can smudge the line that separates them. 

Child Support

Child support melds parental and financial rights, and it can play a very important role in your post-divorce future. The amount of child support is generally calculated according to state guidelines. Parents with child support obligations pay a specific percentage of their net income set by the number of children who are being supported. 

• For one child, child support is 20 percent of the paying parent’s net resources. 
• For two children, child support is 25 percent of the paying parent’s net resources. 
• For three children, child support is 30 percent of the paying parent’s net resources. 
• For four children, child support is 35 percent of the paying parent’s net resources.
• For five children, child support is 40 percent of the paying parent’s net resources.
• For six or more children, child support is at least 40 percent of the paying parent’s net resources. 

The court may vary from these guidelines if there is a significant reason for doing so.

While a range of factors go into determining who will pay child support, the parent who earns more is more likely to have the child support obligation—even when parenting time is divided evenly. 

Alimony

In Texas, alimony (or “spousal maintenance”) is reserved for highly specific cases that leave one spouse unable to cover their reasonable needs while the other has the financial means to help. The following factors tend to play a critical role when making alimony determinations:

• Each spouse’s income
• Each spouse’s age and overall health
• Any extenuating circumstances, such as if one spouse stays home to care for a child of the marriage with special needs
• The length of the marriage
• The financial disparity between both spouse’s incomes
• The contributions the spouse seeking alimony made to the other’s earning power
• Whether or not wrongdoing is involved

The longer your marriage and the greater the gap in your earnings, the more likely alimony is. Alimony is generally intended to give the recipient time to gain greater financial independence through job training or education. 

For example, if you’re a stay-at-home parent going through divorce who has been providing childcare and supporting a working spouse for over 10 years, alimony may be an option to help you get training to re-enter the workforce.

Turn to an Experienced Texas Divorce Attorney for the Help You Need

Divorce is extremely difficult, but knowing where to begin and working with an experienced Texas divorce attorney can empower you to navigate your divorce with confidence. Call us at (254) 566-3358 or contact us online for a FREE consultation.