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Understanding the basics of a Texas divorce is essential before your case begins. So many people wander into a divorce who do not know the basics of a case. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to wander out of a divorce while accomplishing any significant goals. As a result, finding a place where you can learn these basics of divorce is important. Fortunately, the attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan have you covered.
In today’s blog post, we will cover many of the most important, basic elements of divorce that you may encounter in Texas. Once you have learned more about these divorce basics it is appropriate to try and learn how they impact your particular case. This is where our attorneys come into play.
The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan offer free of charge consultations six days a week in person, over the phone, and via video. After reading today’s blog post, please reach out to our office. We can answer any questions you may have about the material we write about. From there, we can provide you with an overview of how the law in Texas interacts with facts and circumstances in your life. We appreciate you being with us here today on our blog.
Do you need a reason to file for divorce?
One of the most frequently asked questions that the attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan receive is whether a party can file for divorce based on no specific reason. The answer to this question is that yes, you can file for divorce with no specific reason in mind. This is known as a no-fault divorce. In a no-fault divorce, you do not need to cite a specific reason for wanting the divorce. Rather, you need only allege insupportability as your grounds for the divorce.
However, it is also possible to allege fault grounds for divorce. Being able to successfully prove fault grounds for divorce means that you make it possible to win a disproportionate share of your community estate. Additionally, more favorable results on the child custody side of things become an option, as well. Examples of grounds for divorce include adultery, cruel treatment, abandonment, and financial impropriety.
The bottom line is that you do not need to prove a fault ground for divorce in Texas. However, doing so allows you to potentially receive a better outcome in your case. An experienced family law attorney can assist you in preparing for and proving fault grounds in a divorce.
How do you initiate a divorce in Texas?
The first document filed In a Texas divorce case is the original divorce petition. In the original divorce petition, you introduce the court to you, your spouse, and your children if you have any at home. You can allege the fault ground for divorce, if any that you would like to provide the court with. Finally, any information about your case or relief requested should be specified in your original petition for divorce.
This is not an overly complex document. Rather, the original petition tends to be only a few pages long. What the original petition does is provide you with a case number from the family court in your county and begin the divorce process overall. Many of you reading this blog post have likely been delaying a divorce for some time. However, by filing for divorce you get the ball rolling positively.
One of the great misnomers of a divorce is that by filing an original petition you have set a timer in motion for your spouse to respond. This is not entirely true. While you must file an original petition if you want to get divorced that does not mean that your spouse must do anything just because you have filed for divorce. Rather, the obligation of your spouse to respond to your divorce petition only comes into focus once he or she has been served with notice of the lawsuit.
Providing notice of the divorce lawsuit to your spouse
Once you have filed for divorce the next step in the process is to serve your spouse with notice of the lawsuit. This makes sense when you stop to think about it. Your spouse would not automatically know anything about you filing for divorce unless you provided him or her notice of the lawsuit. Therefore, your spouse is under no obligation to do anything concerning the lawsuit Until notice is provided to him or her.
This is done by hiring a private process server or law enforcement officer to pick up the paperwork from the courthouse and serve it upon your spouse. Along with the divorce paperwork is a citation Which details the specifics of the lawsuit and provides your spouse with a deadline by which to file an answer. Your spouse may also choose to file a counter petition which allows him or her to cite specific fault grounds or request relief from the court.
Essentially, your spouse has up to 20 days after the date of service to respond to your petition with an answer of their own. The answer contains a general denial. This is an even shorter document compared to your petition for divorce. It is critical to bear in mind that providing notice to your spouse can be a challenge. Alternate methods of service are available but only after you have exhausted all resources attempting to serve your spouse personally.
Temporary orders mediation
At the beginning of a divorce, you and your spouse will have the opportunity to attend mediation. Mediation involves the two of you going to the office of a third-party mediator to oversee formalized settlement negotiations in your case. These formalized settlement negotiations allow the two of you to set aside your differences and focus on what matters most to the two of you. For some families that could mean putting your children first. For others that could mean looking at your lives in the future and attempting to build as constructively as possible.
Temporary orders are a phase that encompasses the majority of your case. Temporary orders are not permanent, as the name would indicate. However, temporary orders do lay the groundwork for final orders in your case. As a result, it is crucial to take seriously this opportunity to negotiate your case. The more you think about temporary orders the more likely you are to find that the orders suit you and your family quite well. Then you are better off for later stages of your case.
After temporary order mediation, a mediated settlement agreement is created if a settlement has been reached on any subject. The mediated settlement agreement forms the basis of temporary orders. Anything not settled in mediation will need to be determined through a temporary orders hearing. Rather than leave it up to a judge, it is better to take mediation as seriously as you can and to prepare thoroughly.
Temporary orders hearing
In a temporary orders hearing you and your spouse submit evidence and make arguments about the important issues in your case. By this time, you and your spouse would have had an opportunity to attend mediation. Anything that the two of you were not able to settle for in mediation needs to be decided in a hearing. Don’t let the name fool you. A temporary order hearing is a mini-trial. Being able to offer evidence and make arguments effectively will determine your level of success in temporary orders hearings.
For parents of minor children, a temporary order hearing allows you and your co-parent to begin to live under visitation and possession orders. This is a major change for you and your family. It is an adjustment to be told when and where you can spend time with your child. However, for families going through a divorce, this is one of the most pressing topics to determine. Co-parenting effectively and creating workable boundaries with your spouse must result from their temporary orders hearing.
Without a doubt, planning for a temporary order time and effort. There are specific techniques that I needed to be as successful as possible. Experienced family law attorneys are best equipped to handle matters related to family law. Courtroom behavior and technique are not something that can be learned overnight. rather, it is a skill developed only through I’m in the courtroom. The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan are happy to share with you more information about how our practice has developed in the skills we possess as experienced courtroom attorneys.
The basics of co-parenting
One of the most overlooked subjects in all of divorce is that of co-parenting. Co-parenting involves the relationship that you have with your spouse. Your relationship with your spouse is likely not all that strong now. This goes without saying considering you are in a divorce. However, that does not mean that the two of you will not be able to grow in your relationship and improve it over time. This is especially true after the emotions have a difficult divorce have subsided.
In the meantime, developing better co-parenting skills is a major issue in your divorce. Being able to work with your co-parent on raising children is an indicator of success in a divorce. If you can raise children with your spouse during a divorce and you are also able to negotiate with him or her. Learning to see a case from the perspective of your spouse is a handy tool to learn.
There are almost always two sides to every story in a divorce. As much as you would like to think your position is the only righteous one in the case that usually is not true. Rather, being fair to your spouse means trying your best to see things from their perspective.
Being good and coherent also means setting up appropriate boundaries. The best co-parents are ones who understand boundaries as well as the need to maintain inappropriate physical and emotional distance from your co-parent. Do not fool yourself into thinking that the only way to be a good co-parent is to be taken advantage of. Rather, co-parenting means maintaining appropriate boundaries and enforcing those boundaries whenever necessary.
Spousal maintenance
Many of us are familiar with the idea of alimony from movies and television shows. We see the wealthy socialite being paid alimony by being married to the rich businessman. However, how accurate is this situation? Do rich people always have to end up paying alimony? Is alimony easy to win in a Texas divorce?
The reality of the situation is that alimony cannot be awarded by a Texas court in a divorce. Rather, spousal maintenance can be ordered under specific circumstances. Typically, they involve a marriage that has lasted longer than 10 years. Additionally, evidence must be shown that spousal maintenance isn’t necessary for the receiving spouse to get by financially.
On the other hand, contractual alimony can be negotiated between spouses before a trial. Contractual alimony involves negotiating for a particular amount of money to be paid on a set basis for a specific period. Contractual alimony is not a part of Texas family law. Rather, it is a part of contract law and more closely resembles elements of that area of the law. As a result, if you negotiate for contractual alimony with your spouse expect to utilize those principles in a future enforcement case rather than family law.
Child support
Child support is intended to assist a primary conservator in paying for essential items on behalf of a child. In child support terminology, the parent at what time the child lives primarily is known as the custodial parent. The parent who pays child support is known as the non-custodial parent. This is an important distinction to draw. Determining which parent pays and which parent receives child support is a major component of many divorces.
Child support payments are made through the office of the Texas Attorney General. Their office administers and oversees the payment of child support. This way, you and your co-parent do not need to oversee that process yourselves. It becomes difficult to continually go through these issues with your co-parent. Also, a way for you to verify that child support is paid and received on the Office of the Attorney General’s website.
Finally, child support is calculated by determining the non-custodial parent’s net monthly resources. From there, a percentage of those resources is paid in child support. The percentage paid increases as the number of children increases. These guidelines are found within the Texas Family Code. However, it is the best interest of your children that ultimately determines the amount of child support that should be paid in your situation.
The best interests of the child’s standard
The last subject we are going to discuss in today’s blog post involves the best interest of the child. This is a standard utilized by courts across the United States. This standard attempts to look at the lives of your children now and in the future. From there, courts are better able to make decisions about what orders are in their best interests. The educational, emotional, and physical needs of your child are considered.
The best interest of the child standard relates to subjects such as possession, visitation, access, and child support. The naming of a primary conservator depends in large part on the best interests of your child. Families like yours need to prepare for child custody cases by looking at what is in the best interest of your child. This may contrasted with what is in your best interests. Being able to determine a difference may not be easy for your family. However, looking at the best interests of your children is a major component of a family law case.
Final thoughts on Texas divorce cases
There are important elements for you to learn when entering into a divorce. Certainly, learning about those elements through blog posts like this one is a good place to begin your education. However, you should not stop there. Learning more about how your case interacts with the law is where you can stand to benefit the most.
That is where meeting with an experienced family law attorney with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan can make a tremendous difference. Our experienced family law attorneys know what it takes to give our clients the best opportunity to achieve their goals. Thank you for choosing to spend part of your day here on our blog. We look forward to the opportunity of serving you and your family in the future.
Questions about the material contained in today’s blog post? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan
The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan offer free of charge consultations 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. Before signing a document or negotiating on a subject you do not know well, contact our office. We look forward to the opportunity of serving you during an important part of your life. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan is on your side.
