Updated on March 6, 2023
Making the life-altering decision that you need a divorce is never easy, but it is sometimes necessary. If you have come to the difficult conclusion that divorce is the right choice for you, better understanding the divorce process and moving forward with purpose is well advised.
It’s a new year, and if you are planning to seek a divorce, the most important first step you can take is reaching out to an experienced Killeen divorce attorney for the legal guidance you need.
Understand Divorce Before Jumping In
Divorce is a serious challenge and a major transition that you are well-advised to prepare yourself for. The terms of your divorce will directly affect both your parental rights and your finances, and protecting yourself from the outset is in your best interest.
Changes Ahead
Even if you and your divorcing spouse agree on your need for a divorce, divorce is a serious transition that can lead to serious complications in even the most amicable circumstances. Consider all the following essential points:
The stress of divorce can push otherwise thoughtful, reasonable people to react in unpredictable ways, which means that your divorce could go south in the blink of an eye, and being prepared to pivot on a dime may be necessary.
The terms of your divorce are interconnected, which means they need to be considered in their totality – rather than solely on their own merits.
Even straightforward divorces in which both parties are committed to engaging in fair negotiations and moving the process forward can drag on, which may require you to modify your expectations about how long it will take to finalize your divorce.
Divorce Tensions
While divorce is hard on everyone, children can have the most challenging time with it, and keeping your divorce as amicable as possible for the sake of your children is a worthy goal. This does not mean you should sacrifice your rights in order to obtain a friendly divorce, but there are things you can do to help turn down the heat:
Know your divorce priorities and let them guide you. Not every divorce matter carries the same weight for you personally, and when you recognize which issues take precedence, you will be in a far better position to negotiate effectively.
If your divorce is too emotionally painful for you and your divorcing spouse to negotiate with one another effectively, allow your respective divorce attorneys to negotiate on your behalf.
If you and your divorcing spouse hit a snag and cannot move negotiations forward, remember that alternative dispute resolution (ADR) options, including mediation, are available to you.
Base your divorce decisions on the facts involved – instead of on your emotional reactions. Your divorce attorney will help you make the right decisions for you.
It’s important to note here that if your soon-to-be-ex chooses to make your divorce as contentious as possible, fair and effective negotiations are very likely out of the question, and proceeding to court might be your best option.
The Court’s Role
If you and your divorcing spouse are able to negotiate each of the divorce terms that apply to you, the court is very likely to incorporate these terms into your final divorce decree.
If there are one or more terms that you and your divorcing spouse are unable to resolve between the two of you – after exhausting your negotiation options – the court will make the necessary determinations on your behalf.
There are a variety of reasons why couples generally prefer to settle their divorces out of court:
If your divorce goes to court, it becomes a matter of public record, which means you will have little privacy.
If you go to court, you surrender your decision-making power on primary matters such as your parental and financial rights.
While the court bases every decision that relates to children on the best interests of those children, the judge in your case cannot possibly know your children and their unique needs as well as you and your divorcing spouse do.
Going to court – because you are at the mercy of the court’s clogged docket – is almost certain to be more time-consuming, and you can count on it also being more costly.
In general, you are better off if you can settle your divorce terms between yourselves – with the skilled legal guidance of your respective divorce attorneys.
Fault vs. No-Fault Divorces
When Texas divorces are predicated on fault, they typically go to trial. There are several fault grounds in the State of Texas:
Cruelty
Adultery
Felony conviction
Abandonment
Fault-based divorces are typically more time consuming and more costly than no-fault divorces, and it is important to know that the spouse who charges the other with fault must have evidence to back his or her claims up (the burden is on the spouse who charges the other with being at fault).
The vast majority of divorces are based on what the state calls insupportability. Insupportability amounts to what you likely think of as irreconcilable differences – and neither spouse is deemed at fault in the matter. These divorce cases generally don’t go to trial.
Even if your divorce is no-fault, your spouse’s misconduct can still affect the outcome of your case.
Divorce Requirements
You should be aware of several legal requirements before beginning the divorce process. If you have questions about your specific circumstances, ask a knowledgeable Killeen divorce lawyer for help.
Duration Requirements
To obtain a divorce in the State of Texas, couples must wait a minimum of 60 days after filing for divorce before the divorce can be finalized. However, divorcing couples often need considerably longer than 60 days to resolve all of their divorce terms.
While you may be tempted to rush through the process, remember that allowing the amount of time necessary to negotiate terms that uphold your parental and financial rights is generally far more important than obtaining a speedy divorce.
Residency Requirements
To obtain a divorce in Texas, there are several basic residency requirements that must be taken into consideration:
At least one of you must have been a resident of the state for at least six months preceding the divorce filing.
At least one of you must have been a resident of the county in which you file for at least ninety days prior to filing.
In other words, even if you do not live in Texas, you can file for divorce in the Texas county in which your spouse lives – as long as they have lived in Texas for at least the past six months and in the county for at least the past ninety days.
Divorce Terms
While every divorce is very personal and unique to the two people involved, the basic terms that must be resolved remain consistent across all divorces:
The division of marital property
Child custody arrangements
Child support
Alimony
While your divorce terms will be unique to you and your situation, these basic categories will guide your negotiations.
The Division of Your Marital Property
One of the primary factors of every divorce is the division of your marital property, which refers to those assets that you and your spouse acquired while you were a married couple (regardless of who did the purchasing or whose name is on the deed). The two exceptions to this rule include the following:
Any gifts that either of you received in your own name
Any inheritances that either of you received in your own name
Those assets that were yours prior to marriage will remain your separate property if you were able to keep them separate throughout the course of your marriage, which can be a tall order.
In Texas, marital property is divided equitably rather than necessarily equally, and this means that it is divided fairly in the context of all relevant factors, including these factors and many more:
Your and your divorcing spouse’s overall health and well-being
Any disparity between your and your divorcing spouse’s earning potential
Any significant age difference between you and your divorcing spouse
The size of your marital estate and the amount of separate property owned by each of you
Whether either of you spent down, gave away, got rid of, or otherwise wasted marital assets
Any future inheritances anticipated by either of you
The tax considerations of a proposed division of assets
Whether fault played a role in the breakdown of your marriage
Any child support or spousal support (alimony) obligations either of you has
The legal fees involved in your divorce
Any other factors the judge presiding over your case deems relevant
As such, the division of marital property can be one of the most complex – and contentious – terms of divorce.
Child Custody Arrangements
Upon your divorce, you and your ex will need to divide the time you spend with your children, which is physical custody, and will need to determine how you are going to address primary parenting decisions, which is legal custody.
Because your ongoing relationship with your children and your parental rights are paramount, child custody arrangements tend to be one of the more challenging divorce terms to reconcile. As such, it’s essential to work closely with a Killeen divorce lawyer.
Legal Custody
Legal custody relates to how you and your divorcing spouse will address the matter of making important parenting decisions on behalf of your children as you move forward. There are several kinds of decisions included under the umbrella of legal custody:
Decisions related to your children’s healthcare
Decisions related to your children’s primary residence
Decisions related to your children’s extracurricular activities, travel, and vacations
Decisions related to your children’s religious upbringing
You and your ex can make these decisions together, but you can also divide them according to the kind of decisions that are being made. Further, one of you can take on sole legal custody, or – if legal custody is shared – one of you may be awarded tie-breaking authority (for those decisions in which you find yourselves deadlocked).
It is important to note that the everyday decisions that parents are required to make on a regular basis remain the responsibility of the parent who has the children at the time they come up. These decisions are not affected by legal custody.
Physical Custody
Physical custody refers to your children’s visitation schedule. While you and your divorcing spouse can negotiate an elaborate parenting schedule that suits your family’s unique needs, all such schedules fall into two basic categories, including:
You and your ex split your parenting time relatively equally.
One of you takes on the role of the primary custodial parent (with whom your children spend the majority of their time).
If you need the court’s intervention when deciding physical custody, you can expect to receive one of its standard parenting time schedules.
Best Interest Factors
The court bases decisions about child custody arrangements on the best interests of the children, which take into account factors such as the following:
Each child’s unique physical and emotional needs and each parent’s ability to adequately address these needs
Each parent’s level of stability
Each parent’s overall involvement with each child
Each parent’s ability to ensure that the children maintain a healthy relationship with the other parent
Each child’s level of adjustment to his or her current living situation, school, and community
Each child’s preference (if he or she has reached an age and level of maturity that leaves him or her capable of weighing in meaningfully)
Each parent’s preference
Whether domestic violence, child neglect, or child abuse plays a role in the case at hand
Any factors that could endanger the children
Any factors the judge deems relevant in the case at hand
Child Support
Child support is generally calculated by plugging specific variables into the state’s child support guidelines. The calculation of child support takes all the following factors into consideration:
The age and specific needs of each child, including any special needs
Each parent’s financial ability to contribute to the children’s support
The number of overnights each child spends with each parent
Overall childcare expenses
Health insurance expenses and out-of-pocket medical costs
Travel costs if parents live a considerable distance from one another
While a wide range of factors can play a role, the primary concerns include each parent’s income and the amount of time each parent has with the children. Generally, the parent who is the higher earner typically pays child support – even if parenting time is split down the middle.
Determining Child Support
The child support calculation process involves several primary steps.
Determining Gross Income
The gross income for the parent who will be paying child support (generally the parent who is the non-custodial parent) is calculated. This involves tallying all of his or her income, including the following sources:
All wages, salaries, commissions, and military pay
Any overtime and bonuses
Any gifts, prizes, and alimony
Even if the parent who shoulders the child support responsibility does not work, all income in the form of severance, unemployment benefits, retirement, social security, or workers’ compensation is included in the tally of gross income.
It’s important to point out that the state does not take kindly to parents who purposefully engage in underemployment or unemployment to get out of paying child support.
Calculating Net Income
Once a parent’s gross income is established, calculating his or her net income amounts to subtracting expenses such as the following:
Social security taxes and any mandatory contributions to a retirement plan
Federal income taxes that are based on the rate for a single person who claims one exemption
Any union dues
Any payments related to health insurance premiums for the children in question (if ordered to carry this coverage by the court)
This net yearly income is divided by twelve to produce the parent’s monthly net income, and from here, the amount of the payor’s child support payments is determined.
Calculating Child Support
The amount of child support that the payor is required to pay is determined by the number of children involved. Consider the following regulations:
If you share one child, child support is 20 percent of the payor’s net monthly income.
If you share two children, child support is 25 percent of the payor’s net monthly income.
If you share three children, child support is 30 percent of the payor’s net monthly income.
If you share four children, child support is 35 percent of the payor’s net monthly income.
If you share five children, child support is 40 percent of the payor’s net monthly income.
If you share six or more children, the amount of child support must at least reach the level that would be paid for five children.
Alimony
Alimony, or spousal maintenance, refers to payments made by one spouse – who has the financial ability to provide support – to the other – who is adversely affected by the divorce. Alimony is generally intended to allow the recipient the funds necessary – for a specific duration – to become more financially independent via one of the following means:
Through further education
Through job training
Through the acquisition of job skills
Through the acquisition of experience
Turn to an Experienced Killeen Divorce Attorney for the Legal Help You Need
Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard – proudly serving Killeen, Texas – is an accomplished divorce attorney who cares about your case and has the experience and legal insight to help.
To learn more, please do not hesitate to contact us online or call us at (254) 781-4222.