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Insupportability in a Texas Divorce

When divorce seems like the best option for you and your spouse then filing for divorce is not complex. You would need to specify that you are filing for divorce either for a specific reason or under the general grounds for divorce known as insupportability. This means that you and your spouse are not able to get along well enough with one another any longer to sustain the marriage. As a result, a divorce is on the horizon for your family, and you need to decide on whether to proceed with your case. This can take some time and soul-searching to determine what is in your best interests as well as that of your family and children if you have any.

When we talk about divorcing based on insupportability this means that you want to get divorced and that you think a divorce is necessary. However, what it also tells us is that you may not have a specific reason why your marriage can no longer be supported. It may be that you and your spouse no longer see eye to eye on an important subject like your children or your finances. Your spouse’s personality or habits may have changed over time leaving you unable to remain living in the same house as him or her. There are many reasons why a divorce may be necessary for people.

Insupportability is also known as a “no-fault” divorce in the world of Texas family law. A no-fault divorce means that you are not specifying in your Original Petition for Divorce because you need the court to grant your divorce request. Rather, you are simply stating to the court that your marriage is failing and that you do not see any chance of recovery. As a result, you are attempting to get divorced to mitigate the impacts on your family and to be able to move forward with your life as a single adult after the divorce comes to an end. No-fault divorces are common now, but it was not too long ago that there was no such thing as a no-fault divorce. Rather, if you and your spouse wanted to get divorced you would need to specify a specific fault ground for divorce to proceed with your case. Significant changes to divorce laws a few generations ago ended this, however.

Now, insupportability is the most frequently cited reason for filing for divorce in Original Petitions for Divorce across Texas. While many people may understand what it means that divorce is not sustainable any longer, the term insupportability is somewhat confusing. We don’t use this word very much in our day-to-day lives and may leave some thinking that it is something obscure or not relevant to a common divorce case. However, it is an extremely common item to include in a petition or counterpetition for divorce. As a result, I think that it is important for you to be able to understand what it means to get divorced based on insupportability.

What does it mean to go through a divorce?

On top of learning the specifics of filing for divorce in Texas, it is also important for you to be able to understand what it means to go through the divorce process. Many people who file for divorce do so thinking that they will be able to just figure out the process along the way. Meanwhile, the process is not very accommodating for people who are not well-acclimated to the divorce process. That is why I think it is incredibly useful for you to spend some time reading through blog posts like this one. You can gain an introductory level of knowledge because of going through one of these cases and eventually you can learn more readily the information needed for your specific divorce case.

Taking the time necessary to learn this information is key. This material may not be like trying to learn how to build a rocket from scratch, but it is fairly involved and not overly interesting. You are not going to just naturally sit down on the couch for some light reading on divorce. Rather, you need to be intentional about how you approach the subject matter and what you can do to learn how to get a divorce in the most efficient way possible. Going through blog posts like this one is a good start but it should not be where your journey for knowledge ends.

Rather, you should take the specific questions that you have and reach out to the experienced family law attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. Our licensed family law attorneys 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 and also about how your family’s circumstances may be impacted by the filing of a divorce.

Every divorce case is different. What your neighbor says about their divorce will be different than what your sister says and vice versa. This does not mean that either of their perspectives is necessarily right or wrong. What it means is that each person is coming at the divorce from a different starting point and has different circumstances that he or she will need to sort out during the case itself. Therefore, what you read here on this blog still needs to be taken with a grain of salt because I don’t know exactly what is going on in your life. For your unique circumstances, you need a unique perspective and information. That is where a free-of-charge consultation with one of our licensed family law attorneys comes into play.

We know that you are busy. You have a job, a family, a life, and interests beyond family law (we hope!). It may not be the first thing on your mind to set up a consultation with an experienced family law attorney so that you can become better prepared for your divorce. However, we are on top of that and have you covered. Consultations with our attorneys can be scheduled by phone or online. We have three Houston area office locations to meet with you. So, if your preference is to look at one of our licensed family law attorneys face-to-face then we have you covered. If you need to meet with an attorney but cannot make the dive out to meet with us in person that is why we have video and telephone consultations. We want to be flexible for you during a difficult time in your life.

On top of that, you may not know where to begin with your case. You know what a divorce is in a general sense but may not know what it means to file for divorce or even that it is necessary. There are many different viewpoints and levels of knowledge that a person can bring into a divorce scenario. We may assume that a person has a basic level of knowledge about divorce but that would be unfair considering we all come from different backgrounds and have differing levels of comfort when it comes to a divorce. If you don’t know where to start and can’t even find the starting position, then the Law Office of Bryan Fagan has you covered there as well.

E-books, divorce how to’s and “The Book” on Divorce

The Law Office of Bryan Fagan prides itself on being the most client-conscious family law firm in southeast Texas. As a result, we want you to know that there are resources made available through our law firm at no cost to you that may be able to assist you in becoming more comfortable with getting a divorce based on insupportability or for any other reason that may be relevant to your life and marriage.

First, we offer e-books and guides to divorce on our website that can be of help to you if you are just starting the divorce process. The last thing that we want to do is to assume that you have a level of knowledge in a divorce scenario that you do not possess. Rather, the material that we are going to cover today in this blog post is basic, but it does assume that you know the process of a divorce as well as the terminology. Our e-books and other materials offered through our website are a great place to begin if you have not been exposed to this material before. Our goal with the material on the website is to put the cookies on a shelf where everyone can reach them. You will not find us using big words, fancy jargon, or anything like that. We do not talk down to you and want you to know that we respect you and where you are coming from.

We do it yourself divorce guides are a great resource for anyone out there who may be interested in doing a divorce on your own without the assistance of an attorney. Many people do not know that it is not necessary to hire a lawyer for your divorce. People get divorced in Texas every day without the assistance of a lawyer. While it may be helpful to have the advice and perspective of an attorney it is not required. Therefore, if you are looking for help in filing a divorce yourself then you can start your search for information on our website.

The divorce process is not overly complicated but there are several steps that you need to become familiar with. Planning for a divorce, filing the divorce, serving notice upon your spouse, and then ultimately proceeding with the divorce steps are what you need to learn about. Not knowing these steps before you begin a divorce is a mistake. Many times, you would not even know where to begin with the divorce case. If you don’t know where the trailhead is how can you expect to be able to successfully begin your hike? The same principle applies to divorce.

We can also help you learn more about the divorce process as far as why having an attorney is especially important. Being able to navigate the sometimes-choppy waters of a divorce can be important if you want to be able to avoid mistakes. We know that in a divorce mistakes mean time and money lost. This is not the sort of process where you want to incur needless delays. Those delays end up costing you time away from your family and time away from your work. Having to go back and correct mistakes that were made previously means that hiring an attorney probably could have helped you a great deal.

Whatever you decide to do in your divorce case, from hiring an attorney to thinking up the specific reasons for your divorce and determining what to negotiate for during the case itself, we at the Law Office of Bryan Fagan want you to feel comfortable in those decisions. Divorce is so difficult for many people to get through that these people completely neglect coming up with goals or even being intentional with their decision-making during a case. In their mind, getting through the divorce “in one piece” is good enough for them.

We do not want this type of mindset to be one that you adopt as you enter a divorce. Having a mindset where you have set goals for yourself and a plan to achieve those goals is a much more desirable position to put yourself in. On top of that, if you can be intentional about making decisions in your case you will be even better prepared. Intentionality means having a purpose behind the choices and decisions that you make throughout your case. This is critical. Your attorney will help you to be able to understand better how your choices will impact your case and what you can do to maximize the various positions you take on behalf of yourself and your family.

What is insupportability?

Back to the central theme of this blog post, you can be granted a no-fault divorce in Texas if you or your spouse filed for divorce and your petition states that your marriage has become insupportable due to discord or conflict in personalities which destroys the legitimate ends of the marital relationship. Additionally, this basis for divorce would need to specify that there is no reasonable expectation for reconciliation. A no-fault divorce like this makes it much simpler for an average person to get a legal split from their spouse. You would not need to wait until a fault ground for divorce like adultery, abandonment, etc. becomes relevant in your life. You can divorce your spouse for any reason under the sun, essentially.

You do not need to provide the court with a great deal of evidence to support your case for insupportability. For adultery and the other fault grounds you need to build a strong case for these fault grounds to apply. However, insupportability is more general and you do not need much evidence at all to be able to sustain a divorce on these grounds. It is expected that one of you will need to appear at a final hearing with the judge to confirm that you all are going to get divorced for these reasons. As long answer “yes” then that should be the only proof that a court needs to grant your divorce.

What are some of the other grounds for divorce?

You can seek a divorce based on fault grounds if you believe that you have the evidence to back that assertion up. You would specify these fault grounds in your petition or counterpetition for divorce. The main purpose of specifying fault grounds for divorce is to be able to receive a greater than fifty percent division of your community property or to be in a better position when it comes to conservatorship rights and visitation time with the kids. You need to think about what you are trying to get out of a divorce when you specify fault grounds.

Being treated badly by your spouse forms the basis for most of the fault grounds for divorce in Texas. We have already talked about adultery and abandonment. Adultery is if your spouse engages in an extramarital affair and then that affair harms your marriage. Abandonment is when your spouse leaves the home for longer than six months with no apparent desire to return at any point. Next, physical, and mental abuse is grounds for divorce that you could specify. Finally, mental incapacitation and cruel treatment represent the final two fault grounds for divorce in Texas.

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. Our licensed family law attorneys 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 as well as about how your family’s circumstances may be impacted by the filing of a divorce or child custody case.

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Contact Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC Today!

At the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, the firm wants to get to know your case before they commit to work with you. They offer all potential clients a no-obligation, free consultation where you can discuss your case under the client-attorney privilege. This means that everything you say will be kept private and the firm will respectfully advise you at no charge. You can learn more about Texas divorce law and get a good idea of how you want to proceed with your case.

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