Even the smoothest, most amicable divorces are emotionally challenging. And while it’s difficult to predict how your divorce will proceed, many couples do manage to stay the course and keep their cases moving steadily forward in the style of a best-case scenario. A better understanding of how this works will give you something to aspire to in your own divorce.
Divorce, when both parties are in agreement and are committed to working together for the greater good, makes the process less costly, less time-consuming, and less emotionally draining, and an experienced Round Rock divorce attorney can help you reach this goal.
Before We Get Started
Before we outline a best-case scenario divorce in Texas, it’s important to point out that while a speedy divorce is a worthy goal, you shouldn’t sacrifice your parental or financial rights to achieve it. If you and your divorcing spouse have your sights on a divorce that runs smoothly until the end and are committed to the process, there is no reason you can’t make it happen.
However, if the stress of divorce prompts your soon-to-be ex to flip the script, your divorce may become contentious, and ignoring your rights to finalize your divorce quickly isn’t going to do you or your children any favors.
The Residency Requirements
In order for you or your spouse to file for divorce in the State of Texas, you must meet the state’s residency requirements. First, you must have lived in Texas for at least six months. From here, either of you can file in the Texas county that one of you has lived in for at least 90 days.
If you and your spouse aren’t living together and you’re both prepared to do what you can to make your divorce less – rather than more – difficult, you can choose the county that is most convenient for your family, in the context of all the following:
Your work schedules and the location of your jobs
Your children’s schedules and the locations of their schools and extracurriculars
The courthouse’s location
As a family, you have a lot going on, and it may be more convenient in the long run to file in one county over the other. If that’s the case, this is an excellent way to get off to a good start .
Who Files
In adversarial divorces, being the first to file can have advantages, such as allowing you to get your bearings and gather documentation before the battle begins. Because you and your divorcing spouse are in this together, there’s no need to get a jump on them in turns of filing. This is another situation in which convenience should prevail.
If it’s more convenient for one or the other of you to file, that’s a good enough reason for that spouse to begin the process. However, it’s important to understand that the sooner you file for divorce, the sooner your divorce can be finalized. In other words, you shouldn’t put off filing while you figure out the best way to go about it.
Your Divorce Timeline
Once you’ve filed for divorce, it can’t be finalized in the State of Texas until at least 60 days have passed. This means that the soonest you can possibly be divorced is on day 61. For this to happen, however, you must have resolved all the terms of your divorce between yourselves, and the court’s busy docket must accommodate you.
The terms of your divorce represent your financial and parental rights, which means they shouldn’t be an afterthought. Working closely with a dedicated divorce attorney will help to ensure that your divorce terms protect your rights and align with your divorce priorities.
Your Attorney’s Role
You may think you don’t need an attorney if you and your divorcing spouse are moving harmoniously, but this is a shortsighted approach. Even if you and your soon-to-be ex agree regarding every detail, it’s difficult, without the guidance of a seasoned divorce attorney, to predict what the choices you make now will mean for you and your children in the future.
Your divorce will have consequences, and your trusted attorney will ensure that you understand the repercussions of the terms you’re considering. Knowing that you’re making well-informed decisions will provide you with the peace of mind you’re looking for. Although you want to move your divorce steadily forward, you don’t want to sacrifice your rights in the process.
Ultimately, having a skilled divorce attorney on your side can simplify the process and save you the stress of calculating the potential impact of every decision you make. Your divorce attorney will provide you with the confidence you need to keep going – overcoming the crippling doubt that those handling their own cases often experience.
The Terms of Your Divorce
If you and your divorcing spouse have already determined the terms, you can skip directly to finalization. However, it’s a good idea to get to know the terms of divorce well before signing off on anything, and considering your options is always a good idea.
Legal Custody and Parenting Time
In Texas, child custody arrangements are addressed in terms of both legal custody and parenting time.
Legal Custody
Legal custody determines how you and your ex will take on primary parenting decisions like the following:
Your children’s healthcare needs
Your children’s education
Your children’s religious upbringing
Your children’s participation in extracurriculars and travel
One option is continuing to make these important decisions that guide your children’s upbringing together, but other choices include:
Both of you making these decisions together but one of you having the authority to break a tie if the need to do so can’t be avoided
Dividing these decisions between the two of you according to category
One of you taking on sole legal custody and making these decisions on your own
When it comes to making decisions in emergency situations, the parent who is most readily accessible is called upon to do so. And for those garden variety decisions that arise throughout the day, the parent who is with the children at the time is responsible for making them.
Parenting Time
The parenting time schedule determines when one parent has the children and when the other parent does. Texas courts base every child custody decision on the best interests of the children, and in order to do this, they consider best interest factors like the following:
Each child’s age
Each child’s physical, educational, and emotional needs
Any special needs any of the children have
Each parent’s ability to meet each of the children’s needs
The level of involvement each parent has had with raising the children to date
Each parent’s commitment to successful co-parenting
Each parent’s commitment to supporting the other’s close and ongoing relationship with the children
The distance the parents live from one another
You and your divorcing spouse can create any parenting time schedule that works with your family’s commitments, preferences, and needs. While you may craft a schedule that’s utterly unique to you, you can also adopt or adapt one of the state’s standard parenting time schedules, which take an exhaustive range of variables into consideration.
When it comes to parenting time, one of you can take on the role of the primary custodial parent – with whom the children spend the majority of their overnights – while the other has a visitation schedule, or you can split your time with the kids more evenly. If you can find a schedule that works well for you, you can expect the court to sign off on it.
Child Support
The state requires both parents to continue supporting their children financially post-divorce; child support is the tool they use to implement this requirement. The amount of child support paid is calculated in accordance with each parent’s income, the child-related expenses each parent covers, and the number of overnights the children spend with each parent.
Very generally, however, the parent who earns more is likely to have the child support obligation – even when parenting time is shared equally.
The Division of Marital Property
Anything that you and your spouse came to own during your marriage, including those things that you came to own separately – is considered marital property in the State of Texas. Upon divorce, these assets must be divided between you in a manner that is considered just and right in relation to the relevant circumstances.
Some of the factors Texas courts consider in the calculation of this fair division include the following:
The size of the marital estate
Each spouse’s separate assets
Each spouse’s earning power
The contributions each spouse made to the marriage, including in relation to caring for the home and children
The tax consequences of the proposed division
The unique nature of specific assets
The child custody arrangements
Any assets that either of you owned at the time of your marriage and kept separate throughout your marriage will remain your separate property. Considerations to keep in mind regarding separate assets include all the following:
Any increase in the separate asset’s value is likely to be considered marital.
The intermingling of separate funds and a marital asset or marital funds and a separate asset can render the asset both separate and marital.
When marital and separate assets become seriously intermingled, it can nudge the assets in the direction of marital property.
When an asset was acquired plays a more critical role in determining whether it is marital or separate than the name on the title does.
Alimony
Alimony is called spousal maintenance in Texas, and it is reserved for circumstances in which divorce leaves one spouse without the financial means to cover their reasonable needs while the other has the financial ability to help. The longer the marriage and the greater the earning discrepancy between the two spouses, the more likely alimony is to be ordered.
Alimony is generally set for a duration and amount that allows the recipient the time they need to gain increased financial independence through further education, the acquisition of job skills, or job training.
FAQ
Consider the answers to the following frequently asked questions about steering clear of divorce drama.
How can I keep my divorce amicable?
If you and your divorcing spouse are both committed to obtaining an amicable divorce and you’re both represented by skilled divorce attorneys, you shouldn’t have any trouble keeping your divorce moving in the right direction. And if you do, your respective divorce attorneys will help steer you back on course.
How much does a divorce cost when both parties agree?
While the cost of your divorce will depend on a range of factors, obtaining an uncontested divorce in which you and your spouse are committed to working together is very likely to save you time, money, and heartache.
How quickly can we be divorced?
If you and your spouse resolve each of the divorce terms that applies in your case and you don’t run into any glitches, you can potentially be divorced in as few as 61 days – or as close to this as the court’s docket allows.
An Experienced Round Rock Divorce Attorney Is on Your Side
Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard—proudly serving Round Rock, Texas—is a compassionate divorce lawyer who appreciates your desire to achieve an amicable divorce that not only protects your rights but also moves along quickly. He is well-prepared to help you achieve this goal.
Learn more by contacting or calling us at 254-781-4222 and scheduling your free consultation today.