It used to be the case where a person would only be able to file for divorce if they were able to prove fault in the breakup of the marriage. What is known as fault grounds had to be specified by someone interested in getting a divorce. Without specifying fault grounds for divorce, a judge would not legally be able to grant your divorce. Among other reasons, this was a fundamental reason why divorce cases were much less common years ago than today. As such, fewer people got divorced, and law practices that focused on family law were also less common.
Fast forward to today, and you likely knew this wasn’t the case without having to read this blog post. Long since gone are the requirements that you must specify a particular default ground for a divorce to have your case granted by a judge. Rather, no-fault divorces began to become more commonplace in the 1960s, and every state in the US has adopted no-fault divorces throughout the past few generations. Not coincidentally, I believe, divorce rates have increased dramatically, and most everyone moving in this country knows a handful of people have gotten divorced.
However, that does not mean that fault grounds do not play a role in divorces to this day. On the contrary, fault grounds can play a significant role in different areas of a divorce case. Specifically, fault grounds can play a notable role in how child custody is determined if you have children and how Community property is divided between spouses.
While most Texas divorces do not specify fault grounds leading up to the beginning of a case, I believe it is important for you to know what it means to file for and obtain a divorce based on false grounds. Specifically, I would like to talk about what consequences certain fault grounds can have in determining the outcome of a divorce case from the perspective of Community property division and child custody.
In today’s blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, I would like to share my thoughts on the subject of fault grounds poor divorce and their potential impact on a case. While no two divorces are exactly alike, I can tell you that certain conditions are often in play when it comes to alleging fault grounds and ultimately proving fault grounds. We will walk through what it means to alleged particular fault ground in a petition for divorce as well as the kind of impact a fault ground can have when it comes to child custody and Community property division matters.
What is a fault ground for divorce,e and what are some examples?
This seems like as good a place as any to begin our discussion. When it comes to getting a divorce, you have options when it comes to alleging the reasons why you and your spouse ended up where you are now on the precipice of no longer being married. Common fault grounds for divorce include adultery, abandonment, impotence, wasting of community assets, and domestic violence allegations. These are a few of the many fall grounds for divorce. You can walk through different blog posts on the website for the law office of Brian Fagan to learn the rest. An all-encompassing list is included online for the Texas family code.
When you allege a fault ground for divorce in your original petition, you say that your divorce became necessary to do to this particular fault ground. Probably the most common fault ground for divorce is adultery. When you allege that your divorce was necessary due to adultery, a certain degree of expectation comes with this type of allegation. From having worked with people for many years in divorce cases, I can tell you that the expectation is that alleging adultery means that you will get whatever you want in the divorce that you are asking for.
We need to examine whether or not this is true in today’s blog post. I think movies and television shows have led us to believe that alleging false grounds based on adultery in a divorce is a silver bullet or magic word in terms of actually accomplishing your goals in a case. For example, I’ve had many more than one person walk into our office for a free of charge consultation to tell me that because their spouse cheated on them that this person believes sole custody of the children, as well as most if not all of the Community property being awarded to them, is what will result from the divorce case.
Based on this, I have I’ve been led to believe that people, in general, have a tremendous belief that adultery under the worst offenses can be outlined in an original divorce petition. Even the evidence that needs to be presented to substantiate this type of allegation need not be considered. Simply telling a family court judge that you were cheated on is enough to tip the scales of justice in your favor and put you in a position where you can be awarded whatever you ask for in your petition for divorce. However, we need to ask ourselves the question of whether or not this is true.
Adultery is taken seriously by family court judges. The same can be said for any fault ground alleged in an original divorce petition. Of course, it is incumbent upon you as the petitioner or counter petitioner to prove that adultery did occur and lead to the filing of a divorce. If and when you can successfully prove this thing,s the next question you need to ask yourself is what impact will adultery or any other fault ground have on your case.
There is a difference between a courtroom and a court of public opinion.
You may have been very upfront with friends and family about the issues that have led to your filing for divorce. It takes a great deal of fortitude to walk away from marriage,e even if there are warning signs that your marriage is failing. However, those same issues that led to your divorce may not be viewed in the same light by a family court judge that you and your friends and family view them as. Again, let’s take up the example of adultery to see how a judge’s view of this fault ground may be different from your own.
Suppose that you allege in your original petition that you are filing for divorce because your spouse cheated on you. The reality of the situation is that not all infidelity is created equally. By this, I do not mean that infidelity in your family may not be hurtful or have violated all the trust in your marital relationship. I do mean that even if the infidelity and adultery badly hurt you, that does not mean that it will necessarily impact your divorce that you may be anticipating.
For example, let’s suppose that the adultery that you are alleging in your original petition for divorce occurred a minimal number of times many years ago. He found out about the adultery, but you and your spouse attended counseling and stayed married for years after the adultery came to light. This may tell the judge that the nature of the adultery in your situation was not as severe or significant as it could have been at the adultery went ongoing or had other circumstances surrounding it. As a result, I do not believe that a judge would agree with your assessment that adultery was a direct cause of your divorce.
On the other hand, let’s suppose that adultery was a behavior engaged in over many years and impacted many other areas of your family. For example, if the adultery took place over a long enough period,d it could have been that your spouse ended up spending money on their paramour on weekend trips, presence, meals, or simply on things like hotel stays. Additionally, your children may have even been exposed to what she did to a point where they knew it was going on.
This is a much different scenario than a one or two-time incident. Not only were your children negatively impacted by the extramarital affair,r but there was also a wasting of community assets in that your spouse spent money on this other person on an ongoing basis. This is extremely troublesome not only on an emotional level but on a financial level as well.
What can a substantiated fault ground for divorce mean for your case?
For starters, when you allege a fault ground for divorce, they can significantly impact your case. Nice examine those potential impacts as we finish off today’s blog post. When it comes to the division of your marital property, it is important to note that you can expect the property to be divided nearly right down the middle in a typical Texas divorce. This is based on the presumption that all property owned by you and your spouse at the time of your divorce is Community property. This means that not only must the property be divided in your divorce but that because it was likely accumulated during your marriage,e it should be divided up in a fairly equitable fashion.
There are several reasons why your Community property may be divided up disproportionately, meaning to say that the property may end up being awarded in a greater than 50% share to either you or your spouse. One of those circumstances that could lead to a disproportionate award of the Community property is proving a fault ground that led to the end of the new marriage. Based on principles of equity and fairness, your family court judge could determine that because your spouse cheated on you, you deserve the greater share of the property than had the cheating not occurred.
This is especially true if the cheating involved wasting your Community’s property. In a circumstance like this, your spouse may not only be awarded less than 50% of the Community property as a whole but may be ordered to reimburse the community estate out of their separate property for any money spent on their Paramore. If you can obtain a record or proof of how much money was spent on this person over time and strengthen your case and put yourself in a position to have your community estate reimbursed.
Consider that Community property division can be an extremely complicated and complex subject,t especially if you all have a large community state. For that reason, you or your spouse can use any additional circumstance to your respective advantage. A circumstance involving infidelity and the wasting of community assets is a solid path towards having the division of Community property impacted. I will say that this is certainly a stronger position for you to be in than had the infidelity occurred on one or two occasions with no impact on the Community property owned by you and your spouse.
While no instance of infidelity or adultery can be completely disregarded,d family court judges typically view infidelity cases on a case-by-case basis. This means that you should not assume or presume that because her spouse cheated on you, you will automatically be awarded a disproportionate share of the Community property or simply have all the debts in your community estate awarded to your spouse. It would help if you worked with your attorney better to understand the nature of infidelity in your life before you proceed in your divorce case.
Grounds for divorce regarding child custody
Finally, I wanted to say a word about how particular pool grounds for divorce can impact how child custody issues are decided in your divorce case. Let’s assume that your spouse is an addict to drugs and alcohol in that you allege fault grounds based on these circumstances in your original petition for divorce. Furthermore, you can successfully prove that these conditions have and would likely continue to hurt your children. The question we need to ask ourselves then is to what extent fault grounds like these would impact the child custody determination for your family.
For starters, child custody is shoes are not always about visitation time and things of that nature. Rather, child custody issues cut to the core of what is in the best interest of your child and what is in the best interest of our child’s safety. A circumstance involving your spouse where they cannot show that they can keep your child safe while in possession of your kids is not a strong place to start from as far as negotiations are concerned over child custody. Rather, you need to be aware that both you and your spouse will be graded against each other when it comes to child custody.
So, if there is no evidence that you are a threat to the safety and well being of a child and there is a simultaneous concern that you’re spouse is, that puts you in a strong position in terms of being able to negotiate for superior conservatorships rights and more time with your children as far as possession is concerned. Alleging and proving fault grounds for divorce can mean that your spouse is awarded less visitation time with the children than you are and that they may even need to have supervised visitation. I see supervised visitation as a more likely outcome for parents who have addictions to drugs or alcohol. Additionally, parents have a history of domestic violence also R assessed supervised visitation at least initially after her divorce.
Finally, making decisions for yourself that is wise is important to have the right to make decisions for your children. If your spouse cannot make good decisions about keeping himself or the kids safe from exposure to drugs or alcohol, then it is very likely that they would have minimal rights to make decisions for your children regarding medical or educational decisions. This is a somewhat underreported but very significant way that fault grounds for divorce can impact child custody determination’s in a case. No matter what side of a fault grounds case you are o,n having an experienced family law attorney to guide you through the process is extremely important.
Questions about the material contained in today’s blog post? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan
if you have any questions about the material contained in today’s blog postcontact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. Our licensed family law attorneys offer free of charge consultation six days a week In person, over the phone, and via video. These consultations are a great way for you to learn more about the world of Texas family law and how your family circumstances may be impacted by the filing of a divorce or child custody case.
Bryan Fagan, a native of Atascocita, Texas, is a dedicated family law attorney inspired by John Grisham’s “The Pelican Brief.” He is the first lawyer in his family, which includes two adopted brothers. Bryan’s commitment to family is personal and professional; he cared for his grandmother with Alzheimer’s while completing his degree and attended the South Texas College of Law at night.
Married with three children, Bryan’s personal experiences enrich his understanding of family dynamics, which is central to his legal practice. He specializes in family law, offering innovative and efficient legal services. A certified member of the College of the State Bar of Texas, Bryan is part of an elite group of legal professionals committed to ongoing education and high-level expertise.
His legal practice covers divorce, custody disputes, property disputes, adoption, paternity, and mediation. Bryan is also experienced in drafting marital property agreements. He leads a team dedicated to complex family law cases and protecting families from false CPS allegations.
Based in Houston, Bryan is active in the Houston Family Law Sector of the Houston Bar Association and various family law groups in Texas. His deep understanding of family values and his professional dedication make him a compassionate advocate for families navigating Texas family law.
