Getting a divorce is not for everyone. Or, more accurately, getting a divorce at certain times may not be for everyone. This includes you. Where you are in your life may not be the most suitable time to get a divorce. A divorce touches on many different areas of your life, so much so that it is challenging to say where there are not; you are more impacted by the divorce than are your children, for example. Deciding on getting a divorce is one that you should not enter lightly. Most people in your shoes do give serious divorce thought. It is not something that you should rush into or consider without looking at the totality of your circumstances and deciding that way. However, I would like to spend some time talking with you today about different ideas to consider as you ponder a divorce. Finally, we can walk through what some alternatives are to divorce.
Is now the time for a divorce in your life?
There are some circumstances in which I would certainly argue that getting a divorce is necessary. For example, if you have been the victim of abuse or neglect, then a divorce is likely required for your circumstances. It would be hard to argue that any degree of counseling or therapy is going to solve the issues that are impacting your marriage period; instead, we can look to the violent history in your relationship and determine that more likely than not, this is going to be a problem for you and your spouse moving forward. When your physical safety is that daily risk, you need to consider the importance of but divorce immediately.
When it comes to getting a divorce, you should not stop there—requesting emergency temporary orders to protect yourself from your spouse in the immediate aftermath of filing for divorce. An experienced family law attorney can help guide you through this process. Once a judge has approved your temporary orders, you would have the law on your side where your spouse to try and do anything harmful to you. This is not foolproof, but at least it provides you with some degree of peace of mind. Eventually, your spouse will be able to attend a hearing where they will present evidence contrary to yours to have a protective order lifted. Still, when someone has unpredictable behavior, a protective order can be a great benefit.
Next, we can consider that situation in which your spouse is aware of the problems in your marriage but is not willing to work on them with you. This is a major red flag for any relationship. Especially so if you have communicated these problems to your spouse directly in that they are aware of those problems. Displaying a willingness to work on the issues is a minimum as far as I am concerned in terms of effort to make towards salvaging the marriage. Knowing that there is a problem in the union and refusing to take the minimum steps necessary to help save the relationship tells me that the end is near for your wedding. You are better off preparing yourself and your children for what is to come at that stage rather than attempting again to save the relationship.
At this point, I will note that it is essential before taking the next step in a situation like this that you should be clear with your spouse about what you see the problems as being and what sort of remedies there are to help save the marriage. Many people in your shoes run into the problem that they believe that they are transparent and communicative about these issues, but they have not been willing to share their opinions fully with their spouses. This means that you need to be sure that you are communicating clearly with your spouse. You do not need to be a marriage or family therapist to do this. All you need to do is make a concerted effort and speak honestly. Once you have done this, the rest is in the hands of your spouse.
Finally, I think that circumstances that involve Infidelity on some level require serious thought about an end to the marriage. That is my opinion, and you may know people who have worked through these types of issues and have built strong marriages on what had been a rocky foundation. However, I have also known people to try their hardest at reconciliation in the circumstances like this, only to find that they have been unable to get past the grief and hurt brought about by Infidelity. Whether we like to admit it or not, Infidelity cuts to the core of our relationships and can damage the foundation that you and your spouse are built over many years.
When it comes to physical Infidelity, then it is obvious what I am talking about. There is almost always an emotional as well as physical component to this type of cheating. When you get into a circumstance where your spouse is spending money or excessive time with another person, you know that there is an emotional aspect to the relationship that goes well beyond the physical. This would tell me that there is reasonable cause for a divorce to be considered.
Another type of Infidelity that is less commonly discussed in our culture but is damaging would be fidelity related to finances. Financial Infidelity can run the gamut of dishonesty about your work and how much you earn, refusing to combine your finances with your spouse, or not being clear about losing your income or having a reduction in your income. These types of offenses can occur to avoid having much more complicated discussions about temporary changes to lifestyle and things of that nature.
Next, we can consider situations that involve problems with overspending, taxes, and even using your spouse’s identity all that frequently, and divorce is on a historical basis; the fact is we do see them more and more these days. With the pandemic and all the changes that many of our households have undergone in this time, I would expect situations like this to occur even more frequently. Suffice it to say; these are circumstances that cannot be remedied with a simple conversation. If you have had text issues confront you before, then you know what I am talking about. It can be tough to work with a person in a marriage context when they have continually had opportunities to come clean and confess to you about financial wrongdoing in your relationship. However, their refusal to do so can be a huge problem both now and in the future for your family.
Ultimately, only you know the appropriate limits to accept the apologies of your spouse in to determine what can be done to repair broken bonds of trust. This is an intensely personal subject that I would never try to offer you specific pointers on only because I don’t know exactly what is going on in your relationship. However, I can tell you that a genuinely remorseful person will have the courage to come forward. While you have no responsibility to accept their apology, you may be well-served to consider their position and at least to listen to what they have to say.
After that, you should pay attention to their actions much more so than their words. A listing out of their transgressions does not have to take a long period; in all actuality, we’re talking about a few minutes. However, working to regain the trust of your spouse can take a lifetime to achieve. Even then, you may find that a new relationship is never the same. Even so, you and your spouse may believe that even an imperfect marriage is preferable to a divorce. With that said, let’s talk about circumstances where you may consider staying in a bad marriage due to other considerations.
A child or a spouse with a disability
One of the first situations that come to my mind, as far as one where you may not have immediately considered, would be if your spouse has a physical or mental disability. In situations like this, your spouse may be reliant upon you for care, health insurance, therefore, a range of other means of support. Again, this is not a blanket statement I’m telling you, but you should never consider divorcing your spouse if they have a disability. However, I think this is a circumstance where you should consider the nature of the disability and the type of care required in your role as a caregiver. Staying in a marriage for no other reason than to provide care for someone is not necessarily a good idea. However, this would be the kind of extenuating circumstances that I may consider when pausing a divorce.
Additionally, suppose you and your spouse are raising a child together who has a disability. In that case, this may also be a rather extreme circumstance that you could consider before filing for divorce. Again, it is not uncommon for divorced people to raise a child with disabilities together. However, if you thought that raising a child with disabilities was difficult before divorce, you should consider a few different aspects of your life once you get a divorce. For one, conservatorships rights and duties R part of parenting. Conservatorships rights and responsibilities refer to the rights and responsibilities you have is apparent about your child. As such, you will be expected to negotiate these subjects with your spouse in the divorce. The right to make decisions for your child regarding their mental health, physical health, and overall well-being are important aspects of this discussion.
While we don’t think about these rights and duties every day as parents, you have already been utilizing these rights in your everyday life. After a divorce, the only difference is that their rights and responsibilities will be spelled out in black and white. Sometimes this reality is enough to make a spouse challenging to deal with or even approachable when it comes to learning how to raise a child in separate households. It would be best if you talked to an experienced family law attorney with the law office of Brian Fagan before considering a divorce in your circumstances. If for no other reason than to learn what you are going to have to work through in your divorce negotiations and how that could particularly impact your child.
Next, depending on your specific circumstances, a divorce may be especially difficult for your child. Having both his mother and father at home with him can provide a significant number of advantages. A divorce can throw a child’s life entirely out of whack. This can be even more true for a child with a disability. This does not mean that you should put off getting divorced forever. It does mean that you should take steps to minimize the disruption to your child’s life and make plans for how to adjust your child’s new life to the realities of your divorce.
Another circumstance that should give you some degree of pause when filing for divorce will be entirely reliant upon your spouse for income. These situations are somewhat every day for both younger families who may have just experienced the birth of a child. As for older families where the husband has always worked, the wife’s estate is known to raise children and tend to the household. If this sounds familiar to you, you should consider one of the most reasonable times for you to get divorced. Absent other circumstances, it may make sense for you to know what kind of spousal support or maintenance you may be entitled to because of your circumstances and the length of your marriage. Money alone should certainly not prevent you from getting a divorce. However, it is something for you to think about what the next steps are going to be for you after the divorce.
Think about it in terms of leaving you. If you had been pursuing a small business on the side part-time but wanted to make it your full-time occupation before you jump ship from the corporate job, you would like to make sure that your entrepreneurial activities can sustain your basic needs. Can you devote more time to the business and generate more income as a result? Or would you be reminding me that is more he comes you could earn, how much in your business? These will be relevant questions to ask as you consider whether to leave a somewhat reliable corporate job for a less reliable income stream as an entrepreneur. Again, this is not to warn you against making decisions of this sort. What I do want to do here is talk to you more about strategic planning with a divorce based on your specific circumstances.
Planning for divorce
Jumping into a divorce headfirst is not a good time. Divorce is not the backyard pool. Instead, a divorce is a serious life event that requires some degree of planning before you start the process. For example, you should investigate hiring an experienced family law attorney before beginning your divorce. No, a divorce attorney is not required to get a divorce in Texas, but it is highly recommended for you to have one. The fact is that you should not expect to succeed in a divorce without a plan.
Once you have decided what attorney you would like to hire for your case, you should work with your attorney to determine what goals you would like to set in your case. Those goals can vary a great deal depending upon your life circumstances. That reason, you should not listen only two the advice of other people who have gotten a divorce. Their perspective is going to be significantly impacted by their only experience having gotten a divorce. A family law attorney will provide you with a better view, given that they have years of experience working with families of all different types and needs.
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 post, please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. How are licensed family law attorneys offering free of charge consultation six days a week in person, over the phone, and via video? These consultations are an excellent way for you to learn 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. Thank you so much for being so interested in our law office. We hope that you will join us again soon.
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Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC | Houston, Texas CPS Defense Lawyers
The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC routinely handles matters that affect children and families. If you have questions regarding CPS, it’s important to speak with one of our Houston, TX CPS defense Lawyers right away to protect your rights.
Our CPS defense lawyers in Houston TX are skilled at listening to your goals during this trying process and developing a strategy to meet those goals. Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC by calling (281) 810-9760 or submit your contact information in our online form. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC handles CPS defense cases in Houston, Texas, Cypress, Klein, Humble, Kingwood, Tomball, The Woodlands, the FM 1960 area, or surrounding areas, including Harris County, Montgomery County, Liberty County, Chambers County, Galveston County, Brazoria County, Fort Bend County, and Waller County.
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.
