If you’re facing a divorce, your divorce decree will mark the end of the legal divorce process and the beginning of your post-divorce future. However, it’s important to note that the legal language used in the decree may be very different from the language you and your attorney use.
Having a better feel for exactly what your decree says and what it means in your life can help make the transition you’re facing less challenging.
If you’re just getting started with the divorce process or have come to the conclusion that you shouldn’t proceed on your own (legal assistance is always advised) an experienced Round Rock divorce attorney is standing by to help.
It’s Not Just the Language
Yes, the language used in your divorce decree may be alien to you, but that isn’t the only concern. Your decree sets the path that you will follow moving forward, which makes it important to understand it well.
Your decree outlines your rights as a parent as well as your financial rights, and your seasoned Round Rock divorce attorney will help to ensure that you’re well acquainted with each of the parts of your decree.
The following words and phrases used in divorce decrees have the potential to trip up readers:
Decree
Your decree is the court’s final order, and it signifies the dissolution of your marriage contract. Whether you settle your case out of court or at trial, it will end with a decree that’s handed down by the court.
Conservatorship
What you likely think of as legal custody will be addressed in terms of conservatorship in your divorce decree. Conservatorship refers to parental decision-making authority, and it can be either sole or joint.
Possession and Access
The term “possession and access” addresses parenting time, also known as physical custody, which determines when your children will be with you and when they’ll be with their other parent.
Child Support
Child support is exactly what you think it is: the state’s system for ensuring that each parent continues supporting their children according to their financial ability to do so.
Community Property
Texas is what is known as a community property state, which means anything that either of you or that both of you together came to own during your marriage belongs to both of you equally. Upon divorce, community property must be divided between you fairly, given the specific circumstances involved.
Separate Property
Separate property refers to the assets that either of you owned separately prior to marriage. This property will remain the original owner’s as long as the property is kept separate during the marriage. However, Texas courts start with the presumption that assets are marital, which means the spouse who claims a separate asset has the burden of proving its separate nature.
Spousal Maintenance
Spousal maintenance refers to what you likely think of as alimony. This payment system is reserved for cases that leave one person unable to cover his or her reasonable needs while the other has the financial means to help.
Your Divorce Story
Your divorce will be unique to your family and your specific situation, and your divorce decree will tell this story – but the language can take some getting used to.
This basic information in your divorce decree is necessary to perform certain tasks, such as changing your name on your bills or driver’s license or for dividing your finances in accordance with the decree’s financial terms. For example, if you’re splitting a retirement account, your divorce decree will support the Qualified Domestic Relations Order necessary to do so.
You will encounter the following kinds of information in your divorce decree:
The Parties to Your Divorce
While it may seem like a formality to identify the parties to your divorce, this part of the decree specifically identifies each of you as being subject by law to the terms included. Marriage is a contract, and because your divorce decree amounts to the dissolution of this contract, it needs to legally identify the involved parties.
The Date and Place of Your Marriage
Identifying when and where the two of you were married confirms the details of your marriage, which is important in light of the state’s residency requirements and the waiting periods employed. For example, to obtain a divorce in Texas, at least one of you must have lived in the state for at least 6 months.
The Date of Your Divorce
The date assigned to your divorce is the date that your divorce was officially recognized by the state. It’s also the date that you are no longer married to your spouse, which can pack an emotional punch.
Yes, you actively sought a divorce, and this is the culmination of the process – but up to this point, you were actively protecting your financial and parental rights, and many people experience a second wave of emotion at this juncture. Allowing yourself the space you need to grieve as needed can help immensely.
The Grounds for Your Divorce
Your decree will also specify the grounds for your divorce. The vast majority of divorces in Texas are based on grounds of insupportability, which means they are no-fault divorces. Neither spouse is called upon to prove the other’s wrongdoing in order to obtain a divorce, and this is generally the least costly, least time-consuming, and least contentious approach.
Texas also grants divorces based on fault, and the most common forms are adultery and cruelty. Relatively few no-fault divorces go to court, but virtually all fault-based divorces do. The spouse seeking a fault-based divorce must prove that the other engaged in a specific form of wrongdoing that caused the marriage to fail, which can complicate the legalities significantly.
While a fault-based divorce is admittedly a more challenging path, there are instances when it can be worth the effort. To begin, fault can directly affect the division of your community property and alimony in your favor, and if the grounds are cruelty that is determined to negatively affect the children, it could also decrease your ex’s parenting time.
Some people also take solace in officially identifying the reason for their divorce, which shouldn’t be discounted.
Discuss your case with an attorney to determine if a fault-based divorce or a no-fault divorce is a better option for you.
Joint Managing Conservatorship vs. Sole Managing Conservatorship
Conservatorship is either joint or sole.
Joint Managing Conservatorship
If you and your ex are granted joint managing conservatorship, it means that you will be making primary parenting decisions about your children’s upbringing together, including those listed below:
The school or daycare your children will attend
The health care your children will receive
The religious education your children will receive
The extracurriculars and travel your children will participate in
Even when you and your ex are joint managing conservators, one of you may be granted the authority to break a tie for those occasions when your genuine efforts to make a mutually agreed upon decision fail. Some couples also address joint managing conservatorships by splitting the decisions between them according to topic.
Sole Managing Conservatorship
If one of you is assigned sole managing conservatorship, it means that this parent will be making the primary parenting decisions alone.
Regardless of who has conservatorship, the everyday decisions that pop up nearly around the clock are the responsibility of the parent who is with the children at the time. Further, if there’s ever an emergency, the parent who is either present or most readily available will be called upon to make the necessary decisions.
Possession and Access
Possession and access are the terms used for visitation or parenting time in Texas. When the state makes decisions about possession and access, it is always guided by the children’s best interests. This commitment means giving each parent significant parenting time when possible – although one parent may become the primary custodial parent, who has the following rights:
He or she has the right to choose the children’s primary residence – within the geographic limits set by the court.
He or she is awarded more overnights with the children.
Only if there is a serious reason for doing so will one parent receive very little parenting time, supervised parenting time, or even no parenting time.
The following best interest factors help guide the possession and access decisions made by Texas courts:
Each child’s age and overall mental and physical health
Each child’s educational, physical, and developmental needs, including any special needs
Each parent’s ability and commitment to adequately address each child’s needs
Each parent’s age and overall mental and physical health
Each parent’s desire and ability to be an effective co-parent
Each parent’s commitment to promoting the other’s ongoing relationship with the children
The preferences of those children who are considered mature enough to voice them
The distance the parents live from one another
The degree to which each parent has been involved in the children’s lives to date
Whether factors such as domestic violence, child neglect, or child abuse are concerns
There are countless best interest factors that can play a role in your case. If you are concerned about your child custody terms, discuss your case with a divorce attorney to learn how you can defend your parental rights.
Child Support
Child support is calculated according to careful guidelines that are set by the state. While the court can deviate from the basic method employed, it must have a significant reason for doing so. Generally, the parent who earns more makes child support payments to the other, even when parenting time is shared equally.
Child support is calculated using the following guidelines:
When the order covers 1 child, the higher earner pays 20 percent of their net income.
When the order covers 2 children, the higher earner pays 25 percent of their net income.
When the order covers 3 children, the higher earner pays 30 percent of their net income.
When the order covers 4 children, the higher earner pays 35 percent of their net income.
When the order covers 5 children, the higher earner pays 40 percent of their net income.
When the order covers 6 or more children, the higher earner pays at least 40 percent of their net income.
The Just and Right Division of Community Property
As mentioned, Texas considers every asset that either spouse comes to own during the marriage community property, and it must be divided upon divorce in a manner that is considered “just and right.” While this just and right division often means an equal division, the unique circumstances of the divorce can support a division that isn’t equal
The only exceptions when it comes to community property include the following assets:
Any gifts or inheritances received in one spouse’s name alone during the marriage
The pain and suffering component of either spouse’s personal injury settlement or court award, which reflects an accident that happened during the marriage
Texas courts take a wide range of factors into consideration in the determination of fair property division, including the length of the marriage, each spouse’s contributions to the marriage, and much more. Finally, any intermingling of separate and marital assets can weaken the line that separates them and can complicate the division of property even further.
Contact a Round Rock divorce attorney to understand how the division of marital property is likely to play out in your divorce.
Spousal Maintenance
A couple generally must be married for at least 10 years before alimony will be awarded in Texas. If the recipient can’t cover reasonable needs in relation to the standard of living achieved during the marriage while the other has the means to help, alimony may be ordered – but only for a duration that supports the recipient’s ability to become more financially independent.
If financial independence isn’t a possibility, such as if the recipient has a significant disability or stays home to care for a child who needs round-the-clock care, long-term alimony may be awarded.
Make the Call to an Experienced Round Rock Divorce Attorney Today
Brett Pritchard at the Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard is a determined Round Rock divorce attorney who will spare no effort in his focused pursuit of your case’s best possible resolution. We’re here to help, so please don’t hesitate to contact us online or call us at (254) 781-4222 and schedule a FREE consultation today.