If you are contemplating divorce, you likely have many questions, including what the process is like and how long will it take. The answers will of course depend on your family’s circumstances and the county in which you live and/or will file the divorce petition, but a brief overview of the process is helpful information to have.
Information Gathering. If you have an appointment with an attorney for an initial consultation, ask if he or she has a divorce questionnaire or information sheet for you to complete before the meeting. This will help you gather the necessary factual information, including biographical data about the parties and the children, assets such as financial and retirement accounts, real property and personal items, and debts such as credit cards and house and car notes. Biographical data includes, full names, social security numbers, contact information, both work and home and dates of marriage and separation if applicable.
Goals and Concerns. Divorce can be a difficult process, fraught with emotional issues. It is important to take a step back and think about what your long-term goals are for you and your family. Consider living and visitation arrangements for children, which party will stay in the home, who will be responsible for certain debts, whether your or your spouse may want to move out of the area in the future, and if so, how will this impact arrangements with the children.
It is also critical to identify concerns, the earlier the better, so that your attorney can advise you on the best way to deal with these issues. If there are issues such as domestic violence, drug or alcohol abuse, child neglect or abuse or threat of child abduction or asset destruction, discuss these with your attorney. This information may impact the grounds for the divorce included in your original petition, what relief you ask the court to grant you and even the way the proceedings begin. For example, if emergency circumstances exist, you may be able to obtain a restraining or protective order at the time the initial divorce is filed.
Prepare and File the Petition. Your attorney will meet with you and discuss your goals and concerns and review the information you have gathered in order to prepare the original petition for divorce. This is the document that initiates the divorce proceedings with the court. The original petition contains information about the parties and children, specifies the grounds for divorce, and asks the court to grant your divorce, make orders regarding children and property and change your name back to your maiden name if you desire. The original petition may also ask the court to enter temporary orders governing the parties until the final divorce is granted. Once the petition is drafted, review it carefully for factual accuracy and to ensure it asks the court to grant you the relief you are seeking. The petition is then filed with the clerk of the appropriate county; your attorney will help you determine which county is the appropriate county. You will be required to pay filing fees, approximately $250 depending on the county.
Service of the Petition. Once the petition has been filed, your spouse is entitled to receive official notice of the lawsuit and a copy of the petition. If you and your spouse are in agreement about obtaining a divorce and/or are on civil terms, your spouse may agree to accept the papers and will sign a document indicating he or she has accepted service. In other instances, it may be necessary to have the papers personally served on your spouse via constable. The fee for service by constable is usually about $70. Your spouse is entitled to a certain amount of time to review the papers and file an answer. If personally served, in Texas, this time period ends on the Monday at 10:00 am following 20 days after service.
Temporary Orders. Unless there are domestic violence or other issues, a divorce must be on file for 60 days before a final decree of divorce will be granted. Sometimes it will take much longer than 60 days for the divorce to be finalized. This may be because the parties are engaging in discovery, discussed below, due to the appointment of a guardian ad litem to interview the children and conduct home visits or various other reasons. It is often helpful therefore, to ask the court to enter orders governing the parties until the final divorce can be granted. Temporary orders can include provisions about children, finances, counseling and drug testing, which party stays in the home and many other issues. Temporary orders can either be agreed by the parties or decided by a judge after a hearing. The temporary orders remain in effect until further orders are entered by the court.
Standing Orders. Many counties in Texas have standing orders. Standing orders are orders that generally become effective when the original petition is filed and are required to be attached to the petition when served on your spouse. They govern the conduct of both parties automatically, without either side specifically asking for them. The Travis County Standing Order can be found here. The purpose of standing orders is to keep the status quo until a judge can enter additional orders, and generally prohibit either party from concealing or destroying property, leaving the jurisdiction with the children, canceling insurance and turning off utilities at a residence. It is important that you familiarize yourself with the standing order in your county to ensure you do not engage in any prohibited conduct.
Discovery. Discovery is the process in which the parties can request information and documents from each other. This process is helpful in identifying financial information and resources, potential witnesses, obtaining other important documents and learning more about claims or defenses your spouse may assert during the proceedings. A party has 30 days to respond to discovery requests.
Final Hearing or Decree. After any temporary orders hearings and discovery has been completed, the parties are moving towards finalizing the divorce. You and your spouse may agree on all of the issues. If so, one of your attorneys can draft a proposed final decree of divorce. Review this carefully with your attorney and make sure you understand all of the provisions. If both sides and their attorneys are in full agreement with the proposed final decree of divorce, it can be signed by a judge without a hearing. If there are issues still in dispute, it may be necessary to have a final orders hearing where a judge will decide the issues. In addition to the final decree of divorce, other documents may need to be prepared and signed such as documents transferring title to property and a withholding order so that child support can be automatically deducted from the obligor’s paycheck.
The actual course of your divorce will be greatly influenced by your ability to reach agreements with your spouse and the nature of your family and financial situation. Hopefully however, this general overview provides you with a big picture view of the process.
Texas Family & Divorce Law Blog 