Divorce is both a challenging legal process and a painful emotional journey, and it can be very difficult to separate one from the other. This makes each of the steps forward on the path toward completion that much more difficult. The one thing you can do that is universally beneficial is to retain the professional legal counsel of an experienced Woodway divorce attorney early on.

Understanding Divorce Basics in Woodway

There are several important divorce basics in Texas that you should understand from the beginning.

Your Parental and Financial Rights Are on the Line

In a divorce, your parental and financial rights are on the line in the form of all the following primary terms:

• Your child custody arrangements, which includes both conservatorship – or parental decision-making authority – and parenting time
• Child support
• The just and right division of your marital property
• Spousal maintenance, or alimony

Each of these that applies to your case will directly affect your future, which makes each well worth fighting for.   

Most Woodway Divorces Are Uncontested

Most divorces throughout the State of Texas are uncontested. This means that they are resolved through negotiations rather than in court. Your case is very likely to also be uncontested, and working closely with a persuasive divorce lawyer can help make that happen. 

The Benefits of Uncontested Divorce

The benefits of uncontested divorce are many, including that they tend to be less time consuming,  less costly, and less emotionally fraught. They also afford greater privacy. Finally, most divorcing couples would prefer not to have a complete stranger make primary decisions about key aspects of their lives. In other words, most parties to divorce are very motivated to keep their cases out of court, which can translate to more robust negotiations.

When a Contested Divorce Is a Better Option

A contested divorce goes to trial, which most people would prefer to avoid. There are, however, instances when it is the better option. A good example is if your divorcing spouse’s sole focus is on dragging you down rather than negotiating terms fairly.

Most Woodway Divorces Are No-Fault

Most divorces in Texas are also no-fault. This means that they are based on insupportability, which compares to the more familiar irreconcilable differences. In a no-fault divorce, neither you nor your soon-to-be ex needs to prove that the other’s wrongdoing caused your marriage to fail. 

While you can pursue a fault-based divorce in Texas, it comes with additional challenges. To begin, you will need to prove your spouse’s wrongdoing, which can take a considerable amount of effort. Fault-based divorces are contested divorces, which means they come with disadvantages built in. The grounds for fault-based divorce in Texas include adultery, abandonment, and cruelty. If you do obtain a fault-based divorce, it could potentially result in improved terms.

Your Divorce Terms

At the heart of every divorce case are the terms involved.

The Division of Marital Property

Those assets acquired during your marriage are marital, and the assets that each spouse owned prior to marriage are separate. Marital assets must be divided fairly in the event of divorce, and this means that a variety of factors will be taken into careful consideration. 

When separate assets are kept separate, they remain the property of the original owner. However, when marital and separate property are commingled, the line that separates them is weakened. Further, any increase in the value of a separate property over the course of a marriage is likely to be categorized as marital.

Child Custody Arrangements

In Texas, child custody is addressed in terms of conservatorship and parenting time. Conservatorship is legal custody, and it addresses primary parenting decisions that relate to the children’s schooling, medical care, extracurriculars, and religious education. Parenting time, on the other hand, determines when the children are with one parent or the other.

Child Support

Child support is based primarily on the amount of time the kids spend with each parent and on each parent’s income. Even when parenting time is shared evenly, the parent who earns more generally pays child support. 

Spousal Maintenance

Spousal maintenance is only awarded when the divorce leaves one spouse without the resources necessary to cover their own minimum reasonable needs. If the other has the financial ability to help, alimony may apply.

Turn to an Experienced Woodway Divorce Lawyer for the Help You Need

Trust an experienced lawyer to guide you through the challenging divorce process Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard is a well-respected Woodway divorce attorney who dedicates his long-standing practice to pursuing divorce terms that uphold our clients’ rights and serve them well into the future. Your case is important, so please reach out for more information about what we can do to help by contacting us online, or calling us at 254-781-4222 and scheduling a free consultation today.