If you have already reached the point where you know you need a divorce, you naturally would like to put it behind you as soon as possible. Divorce, however, involves complex legal issues that focus on your parental and financial rights, which means that rushing the matter isn’t a great idea.
Now is a good time to consider the 60-day waiting period that the State of Texas imposes for divorcing couples. One of the most important steps you can take at this point is to consult with an experienced Round Rock divorce attorney to protect your rights and help ensure that your case proceeds smoothly.
The Residential Requirements
Before you can pursue a Texas divorce, you need to make sure you meet the state’s residency requirements. To file for divorce in Texas, one of you must have lived in the state for at least the six months prior to filing. From here, you can file in the Texas county that either you or your soon-to-be ex has lived in for at least the 90 days prior to filing.
If you both meet this requirement for separate counties, you can file in the county that makes the most sense and is the most convenient for you.
The Texas 60-Day Waiting Period
Every state has its own rules and regulations regarding divorce, and in the scheme of things, the rules in Texas are on the less intrusive side. Some states require that couples separate and live apart prior to divorce, but Texas is not among them. Texas does, however, employ a 60-day waiting period between filing for divorce and finalization.
These 60 days are more than just a pause in the process – they are intended to allow couples the opportunity to consider the magnitude of divorce and to better assess their feelings about divorce. In fact, this waiting period gives couples the chance to do all the following:
Take the time to reflect – once the divorce process heats up, you may not have time to sit back and carefully consider everything that’s happening, including how your emotions are affected
The time to prepare for the proceedings that are about to be launched
The time to get a handle on the emotional intensity of this major transition in your lives
The potential to reconcile
Texas provides couples with this brief respite that they may need in order to ensure they’ve made the right decision for them and to, potentially, find their way back to one another, which some couples do.
This reflection interval begins the day after filing, and it means that your divorce can’t be finalized until at least day 61 post-filing. To be divorced on day 61, however, the court’s docket will have to work in your favor. Most divorces require considerably more time than two months in order to hammer out the complex terms involved.
Exceptions to the Rule
There are two primary exceptions to the 60-day waiting period, which is also referred to as a cooling off period, including:
If one spouse has been convicted of or has received a deferred adjudication for family violence against the other or against a member of the household
If one spouse has an active protective or magistrate’s order against the other that is based on family violence during the marriage
Waiving of the 60-day waiting period is always determined on a case-by-case basis.
When such an exception applies, however, proceeding with utmost caution is always in your best interest. Statistically speaking, abusers are never more dangerous than when their victims attempt to leave.
Work closely with a compassionate divorce attorney who has experience helping clients like you take the precautions necessary to protect themselves during the divorce process.
Waiting Period to Remarry
It’s also important to note that, once a Texas divorce is finalized, the exes must wait at least 31 days to remarry, which generally isn’t an issue, but it can be if the divorce process drags on and on. This requirement, however, only applies to marrying a third party – if the couple chooses to remarry one another, they are free to do so without waiting the requisite 31 days.
Also, the court has the discretion to waive the 31-day waiting period for good cause. For example, if your divorce took several years to finalize, but you and your new spouse-to-be have already set the date and plunked down deposits for a wedding that isn’t at least 31 days after the date your divorce is finally resolved, the court may waive the waiting period.
This is a good place to point out, however, that – in Texas – you are married until you are divorced, regardless of if you’ve been living separately for years. Forging a new romantic relationship while your divorce is pending is officially adultery, and it can affect your divorce terms – whether your case is fault based on no fault.
Setting Your Divorce in Process
Your waiting period begins once you complete the original petition for divorce and file it with the court. Once you’ve filed, you must provide your spouse with proper legal notice, which is referred to as having them served.
If you and your divorcing spouse are on the same page about pursuing a divorce, however, they can waive the right to service. Once your spouse is notified, they have the opportunity to respond to your filing, which sets the divorce process in motion.
As You Proceed through the Waiting Period
The reality is that negotiating the terms of divorce often takes much longer than 60 days – even when the couple has done a lot of the negotiating ahead of time. In other words, you’re unlikely to be sitting around counting the days slowly ticking by until your divorce can be finalized. Most divorces take longer than 60 days, and many take considerably longer.
While your divorce is pending, you may need to address certain key matters that allow you to keep your lives running smoothly in the meantime. Primary examples include all the following:
The matter of parenting time
The matter of child support
The matter of spousal support
The matter of who will be staying in your family home with the children
You can seek temporary orders to address each of these, and an important point to keep in mind is that the status quo – or how well the current conditions are working – can play a critical role in your child custody terms, which includes parenting time.
In other words, you shouldn’t accept temporary parenting time terms that don’t mesh with your long-term goals as a means of keeping the peace or speeding things along. Discuss your divorce priorities with your seasoned divorce attorney and strategize accordingly.
Negotiating Your Divorce Terms
While your divorce is pending, you and your divorcing spouse will need to negotiate the divorce terms that apply to your unique situation. If you’re able to successfully negotiate these terms between yourselves—with the skilled legal guidance of your respective divorce attorneys—you’ll be ahead of the curve.
However, this isn’t always a possibility, and you may need your divorce attorneys to negotiate on behalf of each of you. Alternative dispute resolution options, such as mediation, are also available.
When the Court’s Intervention Is Needed
Ultimately, most divorcing couples would prefer to reach agreements between themselves than to hand decision-making power regarding their personal lives over to a judge who ultimately knows very little about them. When one or more terms remain unresolved after you’ve exhausted your ability to negotiate, however, you may require the court’s intervention.
Another important note to make on this topic is that – if your spouse is bound and determined to make your divorce as adversarial as possible – it might be in your best interest to skip the niceties and head directly to court.
Your Parental and Financial Rights
Your divorce terms represent your parental and financial rights, and each must be carefully considered in the context of your future.
Child Custody
In Texas, child custody is made up of both legal and physical custody.
Legal Custody
Legal custody determines how you and your children’s other parent will be making primary decisions post-divorce. The kinds of decisions involved include all the following:
Where your children make their primary home
The healthcare and medical attention your children receive
Where your children attend daycare, school, or both
The extracurricular activities and travel that your children participate in
The religious upbringing your children receive
Your options in terms of legal custody include all the following:
Both parents continue making these decisions together.
Both parents continue making these decisions together, but one is granted the authority to break a tie if it becomes necessary to do so.
Each parent makes specific categories of decisions on their own.
One parent receives sole legal custody and makes all these decisions on their own.
Physical Custody
Physical custody determines the parenting time schedule for each of you. The basic options include one parent becoming the primary custodial parent and having the children the majority of the time while the other has a visitation schedule or dividing your time with the kids more evenly.
Texas courts have adopted the prevailing philosophy that children are best served when they’re able to spend a substantial amount of time with each parent, so both parents can expect to receive a significant amount of parenting time.
Texas courts are guided by the best interests of the involved children, and some of the factors they turn to in their decision-making process include all the following:
Each child’s age, developmental stage, and overall health
Each child’s needs, including any special needs
Each parent’s age, overall health, and ability and commitment to address each child’s needs
Each child’s preference – if they’re considered mature enough to weigh in
Each parent’s commitment to effective co-parenting and to supporting the children’s relationship with their other parent
Whether any issues related to family violence, child abuse, or child negligence are concerns
Child Support
Child support is calculated according to the state’s careful guidelines. While the state takes a range of factors into consideration, the parent who earns more is likely to make the child support payments – even when parenting time is split evenly.
The Division of Marital Property
Marital property refers to those assets that you and your spouse came to own while you were married – regardless of who purchased what or whose name is attached. Upon divorce, these assets must be divided between you fairly – given the unique circumstances that apply.
Separate assets are those that either of you owned prior to marriage and kept separate throughout your marriage. Any entanglement between separate and marital properties can further complicate this division.
Alimony
Alimony – or spousal maintenance – is only relevant in those divorce that leave one spouse without the financial means to cover their reasonable needs while the other spouse is capable of helping. Alimony is generally set for an amount and a duration that allows the recipient the time necessary to gain greater financial independence through further education or job training.
An Experienced Round Rock Divorce Attorney Can Help
Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard is a formidable divorce attorney who has proudly served Round Rock for more than twenty years. He understands the challenges you face and is well-equipped to help guide you effectively and efficiently toward an advantageous resolution that upholds your rights and supports your brightest post-divorce future.
Your case is important, so please don’t put off contacting or calling us at 254-781-4222 and scheduling a free consultation to learn more about what we can do for you today.