No two divorces are alike, and all divorces come with their own complications. An agreed divorce, however, offers a streamlined process that is generally less costly, less time-consuming, and less contentious.
This makes it an excellent option for couples who share the same goal of putting their divorces behind them as efficiently as possible and who are committed to cooperating to get the job done. If this sounds good to you, a seasoned Round Rock divorce attorney with a wealth of experience successfully handling agreed divorces is standing by to help.
Rule 11 Agreement
A Rule 11 agreement in Texas refers to a legally binding contract that is used to formalize family law agreements, including divorce. In order to become a legally binding divorce document, your Rule 11 agreement must be in writing, must be signed by both of you and must be filed with the court.
An agreed divorce is one in which you and your divorcing spouse resolve the terms of your divorce without the court’s intervention. You are each advised, however, to have the skilled legal guidance of a dedicated divorce attorney backing you up.
Who Qualifies for an Agreed Divorce?
If the following all apply to you, you’re eligible to pursue an agreed divorce:
You and your spouse are in agreement on the matter of divorce.
Neither you nor your spouse has a pending bankruptcy case.
You and your spouse do not own property together.
Neither of you claims that the other’s wrongdoing caused your marriage to fail, which refers to a fault-based divorce that generally must be resolved in court.
While you can obtain an agreed divorce in Texas if you and your soon-to-be ex share minor children, the following must also apply:
You and your children’s other parent are able to reach mutually acceptable terms on the matters of child support and child custody arrangements.
You have no current child custody or child support cases regarding your children pending.
Texas Employs a Cooling Off Period
Texas employs what is known as a cooling off period that applies to virtually every divorce. This is a 60-day waiting period from the date of first filing to the time that your divorce can be finalized, and it’s waived only under highly specific situations.
While your agreed divorce could potentially be finalized on the 61st day after filing, the court’s busy docket would need to align with this schedule, and couples often require more than two months to hammer out divorce terms that they find mutually acceptable.
The Benefits of an Agreed Divorce
The benefits of keeping your divorce out of court are difficult to overstate and include all the following:
An agreed divorce can turn the drama down several notches, which tends to be better for everyone involved, including your children.
In an agreed divorce, you maintain the authority to make primary decisions that directly affect you and your children’s lives. Most divorcing couples are very invested in not handing this authority over to judges who know very little about them or their situations.
An agreed divorce allows you to keep your case private – court records are a matter of public record.
As mentioned, an agreed divorce is likely to be less expensive, less hotly contested, and speedier than a contested divorce.
An agreed divorce can set the stage for fewer conflicts moving forward, which supports more effective co-parenting.
The Potential Downside of Agreed Divorce
There are also some potential pitfalls that are associated with agreed divorce to take into consideration.
Fair Terms
Your divorce agreement will need to be accepted by the court. While this generally isn’t a problem, the judge presiding over your case could reject your agreement if they deem it heavily skewed in favor of one spouse over the other. At this point, you would need to go back to the drawing board, which is likely to mean litigation and additional time and expense.
Compliance
While the terms of your agreed divorce will be legally binding once the court includes them in your divorce decree, this doesn’t guarantee your ex’s compliance with them. If your former spouse doesn’t hold up their end of the bargain, you’ll need to take the matter of enforcement up in court.
The Terms Addressed
If you and your divorcing spouse are able to reach an agreement on some of the terms of your divorce but not on all of them, you’ll still need to resolve those terms that remain in court.
In other words, you may reach some agreements without achieving an agreed divorce. If you need the court’s intervention for even one divorce term, your divorce becomes contested. This doesn’t alter the fact, however, that the more terms you’re able to resolve between yourselves, the better.
Every decision matters in divorce cases—trust a Round Rock attorney to help you make the right ones.
The Agreed Divorce Process
The agreed divorce process includes all the following important steps forward:
One of you will file the original petition for divorce, which doesn’t require service if the other spouse waives the right to service.
Your divorce case will be entered into court documents and will be assigned a case number, which will also apply to all additional filings.
The waiver of service lets the court know that the other spouse—or the spouse who didn’t file for divorce—acknowledges the pending suit, has received the necessary information, and doesn’t require service.
Finally, the spouse who is waiving service can also—if they choose to—let the court know that their presence isn’t required at the prove-up hearing or the brief hearing in which the divorce will be finalized.
This waiver of service must include all the following information for the non-filing spouse and must be notarized:
Their physical address and their mailing address – if the two aren’t the same
Their phone number
Their email address
The Terms of Your Divorce
In order to obtain an agreed divorce in Texas, you’ll need to resolve each of the terms that apply in your case.
The Division of Marital Property
Texas is what’s known as a community property state, but – being Texas – it puts its own spin on things. Community property refers to those assets that either spouse – or both spouses together – acquired over the course of their marriage. In community property states, these assets are generally owned equally by both spouses and are divided equally upon divorce.
In Texas, however, these assets must be divided in a manner that is considered just and right in relation to the circumstances involved. In other words, your marital assets may be divided evenly between you and your ex, but – if the situation calls for it – they may not be.
Factors that Affect Property Division
The State of Texas turns to factors like the following when determining how property will be divided in divorce:
The size of the marital estate and of each spouse’s separate estate
Each spouse’s age and overall mental and physical health
Each spouse’s income and earning power
The contributions each spouse made to the marriage, including in relation to caring for the children and home
Any dissipation of marital assets, such as by spending down or giving away marital property in the buildup to divorce
The tax consequences of the proposed property division
Separate Assets
Anything that you or your spouse owned prior to marriage and kept separate during your marriage remains that spouse’s separate property. The line that distinguishes separate assets from marital assets can be weakened by the intermingling of their financing or even by lax bookkeeping, and some assets are both marital and separate in nature.
For example, the amount either of you has in retirement accounts prior to marriage is separate, but the amount that these accounts increase in value while you’re married is likely to be marital.
Negotiating a fair division of marital property that supports your rights is important to your financial future, and the best way to do so is to work closely with a dedicated divorce attorney from the start.
Child Custody Arrangements
In Texas, child custody arrangements are based on the children’s best interests, which means that factors like the following are taken into consideration:
The children’s ages
The children’s developmental stages
The children’s needs, including any special needs
The preferences of those children who are mature enough to participate
Each parent’s commitment and ability to adequately address the children’s needs
Each parent’s commitment to successful co-parenting and to supporting the other’s strong and ongoing bond with the children
How well the children’s current living situation serves their best interests
The level of involvement each parent has had in raising the children to date
The strength of the relationship each parent has forged with the children
Texas begins with the presumption that children are universally better off when they continue to spend a significant amount of time with each parent. This means that – even though one of you may take on the role of the primary custodial parent – you can each expect a generous parenting time schedule.
There is also the matter of legal custody to address. Legal custody refers to how you and your ex will make primary parenting decisions like the following post-divorce:
Where your children attend school or daycare
The medical care your children receive
The extracurriculars and travel your children participate in
Your children’s religious education
Parents often continue making these decisions together, but one of you may have the authority to break a tie when doing so is required. Another option is dividing these decisions between you according to topic. Under some circumstances, one parent is afforded sole legal custody, which means they will be making these decisions on their own.
Child Support
Child support is generally calculated according to clear state guidelines that assign the following percentages of the paying parent’s net income, which is based on the number of children involved in the case:
20 percent for 1 child
25 percent for 2 children
30 percent for 3 children
35 percent for 4 children
40 percent for 5 children
At least 40 percent for 6 or more children
While the amount of parenting time each parent receives is an important factor in calculating child support, the higher earner typically pays child support—even when parenting time is shared evenly.
Alimony
Alimony—or spousal maintenance—will only play a role in your divorce if it leaves one of you without the resources to address your own reasonable needs while the other has the means to help.
Generally, the marriage must have lasted at least 10 years for alimony to apply, and it’s typically set only for the amount of time and support the recipient needs to gain greater financial independence by going back to school or by learning job skills.
A Final Note about Your Agreed Divorce
If you and your divorcing spouse are able to resolve each of the divorce terms that apply in your case, you can proceed with an agreed divorce. It’s important to note, however, that – contrary to popular belief – you and your divorcing spouse needn’t be on friendly terms to accomplish this worthy goal.
If you’re not able to negotiate directly between yourselves, your respective divorce attorneys can do so on your behalf, and mediation is also an option.
Reach out to an Experienced Round Rock Divorce Attorney Today
Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard is an accomplished Round Rock divorce attorney who appreciates what achieving an agreed divorce can mean to you and has the experience and drive to help make that happen – without ever losing sight of your financial and parental rights.
Learn more about what we can do to help you by contacting or calling us at 254-781-4222 and scheduling a free consultation today.