How to File for Divorce in Texas

This video features Erin Leake, a Family Law attorney based in Texas.

Attorney Erin Leake | 888-981-0085 | Schedule Your Consult Today

“Texas is a community property state; this means that anything that is earned or required during the marriage except for specific circumstances is going to be considered community property.”

If you are considering getting a divorce in Texas, do you know how to go about the process? How long will the process take? According to Texas divorce law, does it matter who files first?

This interview features Erin Leake, a family law attorney with Vaught Law Firm in Austin, Texas. She focuses her practice on divorce, child support, child custody, and marital agreements.

In this interview, she explains how to file for divorce in Texas and what you can expect if you are considering going through the process.

To learn more, contact the attorney directly by calling 888-981-0085 or by submitting a contact form on this page.

Key Takeaways From Erin Leake:

The first step to filing for divorce in Texas is to file an Original Divorce Petition with the court. This petition will detail what you are asking the court for, including child custody, child support, and property division.

A common misconception is that filing first may have some bearing on the outcome of the divorce for that person; this is not true. The only way in which filing first may affect the process is that the initial filer may be permitted to go first in the trial.

Temporary orders refer to the ground rules both parties are required to follow during the divorce process.

These orders will govern elements of daily life such as who remains in the home, pays the bills, as well as deciding how child custody will be shared until the divorce process has been concluded.

After temporary orders have been established, the discovery part of the divorce process can commence. Discovery refers to the information-gathering portion of any divorce case. In this step, both spouses will be required to provide information regarding their finances, children, and other elements necessary to the completion of the case.

There are two types of discovery: formal and informal.

Formal discovery involves official requests sent out by each party’s legal team in the form of documentation requesting answers to the attorneys’ questions. Informal discovery generally refers to an agreement between the two parties in which both agree to provide the answers that otherwise would have been sought through formal discovery without the hassle of the formal process.

Child custody and support is a many-faceted process and is handled the same in divorce as it would in a basic child custody case.

Child custody and support decisions that will need to be made in a divorce involving children include establishing joint or sole managing conservators of the children, possession of and access to the children, and the actual child support itself. Each of these decisions decides in part what kind of rights and responsibilities each parent has toward their children respectively, with the goal to make whatever decision is in the children’s best interest.

Texas is a community property state, and property division decisions are often left up to the court.

The way Texas handles division of property in divorce is to ensure a fair outcome for both parties; this is a little vague, and Leake explains that this leaves the decision up to the courts regarding what a fair division of the couple’s property would be.

Seeing as Texas is a community property state, most of the finances and property accumulated during the marriage is considered property of both parties and can be divided by the court. This property is often divided in a share somewhere between 45%-55% between parties.

Certain funds and benefits may also be subject to division, depending on whether they fall under the definition of community property. For example, retirement funds accumulated after the marriage are considered community property and can be divided in the court, whereas retirement funds accumulated before the marriage are considered separate property and will remain with the retirement account holder.

Divorces generally take four to six months to reach a conclusion, and cannot be completed any sooner than 60 days from the original filing.
To learn more, contact Erin Leake directly by calling 888-981-0085 or by submitting a contact form on this page.

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