We’ve gotten to the point that we think we can do just about anything ourselves – after watching a YouTube video or two. When it comes to divorce, however, it’s in your best interests to have skilled legal representation backing you up.
The bottom line is that your parental and financial rights are on the line, and even if you and your divorcing spouse agree on every term and are proceeding civilly toward divorce, you owe it to yourself and to your future to consult with an experienced Round Rock divorce attorney early in the process.
Your No-Fault Divorce
If you’re in the market for a do-it-yourself divorce, it very likely means that you’re pursuing a no-fault divorce, which the vast majority of divorces are in the state of Texas and across the country.
In Texas, a no-fault divorce is based on what is called insupportability, which basically means you and your spouse have irreconcilable differences. While the no-fault classification makes the divorce process sound like a light divorce, you shouldn’t be fooled by the title.
What Makes It a No-Fault Divorce?
A no-fault divorce simply means that neither of you is basing the divorce on the other’s fault, such as adultery or cruelty. It doesn’t mean that neither of you engaged in wrongdoing but that neither of you is focusing on that as a reason for the divorce.
No-fault divorces are typically resolved out of court, which means they’re uncontested. Fault-based divorces, on the other hand, are nearly universally contested, which means that they proceed to court.
The spouse who seeks a fault-based divorce has the challenging burden of proving the other’s wrongdoing. Unless the spouse who is accused of being at fault wants to own that and negotiate their divorce terms accordingly, the matter will go to trial.
The Matter of Fault
It’s important to note that either spouse’s wrongdoing can affect how your divorce terms are resolved, even if the divorce itself is not your fault. For example, if your spouse spent a good deal of money on an extramarital affair during your marriage, it can affect how your marital property is divided and work in your favor.
Your Uncontested Divorce
If you are thinking about a DIY divorce, it is – as mentioned – likely to be an uncontested divorce, which simply means that you and your divorcing spouse are ultimately able to resolve each of your divorce terms – regardless of how you get there, and many couples find that the getting-there part can be exceptionally challenging.
With an uncontested divorce, you don’t need the court to resolve any of your divorce terms on your behalf, which most couples value. As adults with children of your own – potentially – it’s difficult to allow someone else to sit in authority over you and to make primary decisions regarding your financial future and your parental rights.
Your Commitment to Friendly Terms
Many couples who share your vision of a fairly painless, speedy, and relatively inexpensive DIY divorce begin on friendly terms that they believe will serve them well throughout the divorce process, which is a great place to start. It’s important to understand, however, that the stress of divorce and the reality of the consequences can derail even the friendliest divorce.
Your Well-Considered Plan Could Go South
Ultimately, a divorce is an immense transition that involves your primary legal rights as a parent as well as your financial standing, but it also incorporates an immense amount of emotion, and sometimes, all that emotion comes out in surprising ways. You’re facing the breakdown of your family as you envisioned it, and letting go of all that promise and hope can be tough.
As your divorce proceeds and the reality of what is happening sinks in, it’s not unusual for one spouse – or both – to lose interest in playing nice and to dig their heels in regarding their rights.
Full Steam Ahead
Even if you and your divorcing spouse remain on your path toward an amicable divorce without wavering, you are basing your divorce terms on what seems right or – perhaps – on what your divorcing spouse tells you is right.
However, divorce laws in Texas are very complicated, and you may be entitled to more than you realize in relation to property division, spousal support, parenting time, and child support.
Failing to protect your rights at this juncture can leave you with no future legal recourse to right any wrongs you’ve suffered. When you work with a trusted divorce attorney from the start, you’re afforded the peace of mind that comes from knowing that you’re in good legal hands and that your rights are well protected.
Working with an Attorney Doesn’t Have to Mean a Long, Drawn-Out Battle
If your interest in a DIY divorce is based on your desire to move your case quickly along, you may be in for a surprise. Every divorcing couple in Texas must wait at least 60 days after filing for divorce before their case can be finalized.
In theory, you can be divorced in as few as 61 days, but even if you resolve each of the terms of your divorce within this timeframe, finalization will depend on when the court can squeeze your case into its docket.
The Cooling Off Period
During this cooling off period, you and your seasoned divorce attorney can carefully analyze the terms of divorce that you’ve resolved between yourselves to ensure that your rights and best interests are well supported. If they are, great – you’ll require minimal legal assistance. If there is a discrepancy, however, now’s the time to negotiate corrections.
Your Priorities Are Your Attorney’s Priorities
Your practiced attorney is invested in moving your case effectively and efficiently forward with as little legal finagling as necessary and appreciates your desire to speed things along and keep your legal bills manageable. If the divorce terms you’re ready to sign off on don’t support your rights, investing in the legal counsel that you need now can pay off very well in the long run.
Ultimately, your attorney wants what you want, which includes honoring your divorce priorities. They also, however, want to make sure that you are well aware of your rights and that you have the legal resources to pursue more favorable terms if you choose to.
The Terms of Your Divorce
In your quest to effect a DIY divorce, it’s important to keep in mind just how important each of the terms that you’re attempting to resolve is to your future. Underestimating the impact that any one of these terms can have on you and your children’s future can leave you wishing you’d worked more closely with a focused divorce attorney from the outset.
Your Child Custody Arrangements
If you and your divorcing spouse share children, the matter of your child custody arrangements is paramount. In Texas, child custody is addressed in terms of legal custody and parenting time, or physical custody.
Legal Custody
When you and your ex are no longer together, you’ll need to address the matter of how you will make primary decisions on behalf of your shared children moving forward. Your options include:
You and your ex will continue making them together.
You and your ex will continue making them together, but one of you will have the authority to break a tie if it comes to that.
You and your ex will divide these decisions between yourselves according to category.
One of you will have sole legal custody and will make each primary parenting decision on your own.
The kinds of decisions involved include all the following:
Where your children make their primary home
The medical care your children receive
The school or daycare your children attend
The religious education your children receive
The extracurriculars and travel that your children participate in
In an emergency situation, the parent who is most readily available is called upon to make the required decisions, and those parenting decisions that crop up around the clock on a daily basis are left to the parent whom the children are with at the time.
Parenting Time
There are two primary options when it comes to parenting time, and these include one of you taking on the primary custodial role while the other has a visitation schedule or you and your ex dividing your parenting time more evenly.
Texas courts are guided by the best interests of the children involved, and the presumption is that children are best served when they’re allowed to spend a considerable amount of time with each parent. In other words, one parent won’t be cut out or won’t receive very limited parenting time unless there is a very good reason for such a ruling.
Many factors go into parenting time decisions, but one you may not have considered is the status quo, which refers to the children’s current living situation and how well it serves them in terms of each of the following:
Their home
Their school
Their community
If the status quo is serving them well, the court may be hesitant to make a serious change. This means that if you move out while your amicable divorce is pending – in preparation for moving back into the family home with your children when your divorce is finalized, your strategy can backfire.
If your spouse changes their mind – or if they had it planned all along – and takes you to court for primary custody, their maneuver could work in their favor. As mentioned, divorce is complex, and when you’re in the middle of it, it's no time to try to handle it on your own. Your spouse could be making a range of moves to pad their divorce terms, and protecting yourself is key.
This is not to say that your divorcing spouse is devious and is scheming behind your back. They very well may not be, but divorce can push otherwise reasonable people to act in ways you’d never expect. Further, even if your spouse is on the up and up, going over the matter with a dedicated divorce attorney helps to ensure that your rights aren’t being trampled.
The Division of Marital Property
All the assets that you and your spouse – whether together or separately – came to own while you were married are considered marital property, and upon divorce, they must be divided between you fairly. This can mean evenly, but it may not.
Anything either of you owned prior to marriage and kept separate during will remain your own, but there is often room for interpretation – especially when separate and marital finances were intermingled.
Child Support
Child support is determined according to state guidelines that are rarely deviated from – unless there are extenuating circumstances involved. In general, the higher earner has the child support obligation.
Alimony
Alimony – or spousal maintenance – is only appropriate when the divorce leaves one spouse unable to provide for their own reasonable needs while the other has the financial ability to help. If you’re entitled to alimony, it can make a significant difference in your financial future and is not something you should ignore.
An Experienced Round Rock Divorce Attorney Can Help
Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard is a compassionate Round Rock divorce attorney with more than 20 years of impressive experience. While he appreciates your desire to manage your divorce on your own, he also wants you to know that your rights are well worth protecting.
Learn more by contacting or calling us at 254-781-4222 and scheduling a free consultation today.