If you have been thinking about divorce for a while now and know that it’s the right choice for you, but you just aren’t sure how to go about making it happen, and what it will mean for you, it’s time to make a plan.
With a well-considered plan in place, you’ll be far better prepared to navigate the challenging path forward toward finalizing your divorce, and you’ll have the peace of mind that comes from knowing you’ve done the hard work necessary to help protect your parental and financial rights.
Discussing your concerns with an experienced Round Rock divorce attorney today is an important early step that you shouldn't skip.
Imagining a Brighter Future
If you’ve spent a good deal of time imagining a brighter future but have no idea how to get there, putting a plan in place is the right idea. You’ve done the soul searching, and you know that divorce is the right choice for you, but getting the process started can feel overwhelming. If you find yourself stuck in this kind of limbo, it’s time to give a seasoned divorce lawyer a call.
Getting the Ball Rolling: Finding the Right Attorney for You
First things first – in order to protect your rights in a divorce and to set yourself up for a brighter post-divorce future – you need the professional legal representation of an experienced Round Rock divorce attorney backing you up.
If you’re not sure about how to go about finding the right lawyer for you, it’s a good idea to ask around and do some window shopping online. You’re looking for a skilled divorce lawyer who checks all the following boxes:
They dedicate their practice to fiercely advocating for the rights of clients like you.
They have a strong online presence and are well-respected in their professional field.
They share testimonials and information about their impressive track record of helping valued clients prevail with favorable divorce terms.
You connect with their messaging and get the sense that they’re a good match for you.
From here, it’s time to schedule a free consultation to ensure the lawyer you’re considering is a good fit. Because divorce is an extremely personal endeavor, you’re looking for someone you feel comfortable opening up to about private matters.
This requires the ability to put you at ease while also taking your concerns seriously and demonstrating that you’re in good legal hands. In other words, it’s a tall order, but the success of your plan can hinge on finding the right divorce lawyer for you – so you shouldn’t skimp at this stage in the game.
Begin by Taking a Good Hard Look at the Big Picture
If you’re moving toward a divorce but are just in the planning stage, now is not the time to get bogged down by the details. A better way to forge a path forward is by taking a good, hard look at the bigger picture.
This generally begins with considering what divorce is likely to mean for you in terms of your child custody arrangements, child support, the division of your marital property, and alimony. Let’s take a closer look.
Your Child Custody Arrangements
The State of Texas begins with the presumption that both spouses are fit parents and that both will continue to play a primary role in their children’s lives post-divorce, which is considered in the kids’ best interests.
In fact, the children’s best interests guide all child custody cases in Texas. This means that you and your divorcing spouse are both likely to receive generous parenting time schedules – barring a serious reason that interferes with this outcome.
The Role of Primary Custodial Parent
However, one of you may take on the primary custodial role, and this parent will be awarded more overnights with the children and will have the right to choose their primary residence within the mileage restrictions set by the court. This role is often assigned to the parent who has filled the primary caregiving role to date.
Preserving the Status Quo
Ultimately, Texas courts are invested in making the difficult divorce transition less disruptive and painful for children – to the degree possible. This often translates to preserving the status quo – or the children’s current living situation in relation to home, school, and community.
Best Interest Factors to Consider
If you are invested in taking on the role of the primary custodial parent, you should be thinking about how well the best interest factors that the court turns to apply to you and your situation. Consider the following common concerns:
Your children’s needs, including any special needs, and you and your soon-to-be ex’s ability and commitment to effectively address them
The degree to which each of you has been involved in raising your children to this point
How close each of you is to your children
How well the status quo – or current living situation – serves your children’s best interests
The degree to which each of you is committed to being effective co-parents and to supporting the other’s close and ongoing relationship with the children
Giving some thought to your parenting priorities early on can help you get straight to the point when it comes to figuring out the details moving forward.
Child Support
Child support is guided by careful state guidelines that the court only deviates from when there is a legitimate reason that has to do with the children’s best interests for doing so.
The most important point to know about child support is that, even if you and your ex share parenting time relatively evenly or split it right down the middle, the parent who earns more will almost certainly be required to make child support payments to the other.
The State of Texas requires both parents to provide their children with financial support according to their ability to do so, and as such, the higher earner generally has the child support obligation. The basic calculation process works like this:
The parent who is the higher earner pays 20 percent of their net income for 1 child.
The parent who is the higher earner pays 25 percent of their net income for 2 children.
The parent who is the higher earner pays 30 percent of their net income for 3 children.
The parent who is the higher earner pays 35 percent of their net income for 4 children.
The parent who is the higher earner pays 40 percent of their net income for 5 children.
The parent who is the higher earner pays at least 40 percent of their net income for 6 or more children.
Generally, child support in Texas doesn’t deviate from this basic plan unless there are mitigating factors, such as a child’s special needs or any extraordinary costs that may apply, like medical expenses.
The Division of Marital Property
While Texas is a community property state, it does things a little differently than many other community property states. Points to consider early on include that everything you, your spouse, or the two of you together came to own while you were married belongs to the community that is made up of the two of you.
Upon divorce, these assets must be divided fairly between you, given the unique circumstances that apply. While this generally means equally, this isn’t always the case.
Considering Separate Assets
If you, your divorcing spouse, or both of you have any assets that you owned prior to marriage and kept separate while you were married, they are separate assets that belong to whoever owned the property to begin with. However, any commingling of marital and separate assets, which is not uncommon, can make the dividing line between the two less clear.
Further, if the asset in question increases in value during your marriage, that increase will very likely be treated as a marital asset, which means it will need to be split fairly between you.
A final point to make is that the court will begin with the presumption that all your assets are marital. This means that, if either of you claims separate property, that spouse will be required to prove its separate nature.
Knowing What You Have
Knowing what you have is important for obtaining a just division of your marital assets, and it’s a good idea to begin cataloging assets early on. Once your divorce heats up, careful calculations can be more challenging. Having the necessary information in hand as you move forward can help streamline the process and give you a leg up.
Alimony
Texas uses the term spousal maintenance rather than alimony, but the idea is the same.
As you head into the divorce process, you should know that the State of Texas has some of the most restrictive alimony terms in the nation. Alimony is reserved for those instances when the divorce leaves one spouse without the financial means necessary to cover their own reasonable needs while the other has the ability to assist.
Alimony generally isn’t available unless the marriage lasted at least 10 years, and the duration of alimony is capped in relation to the length of the marriage. Recipients of alimony are expected to use the time in which they receive this financial support to gain greater financial independence, such as by going back to school or seeking job training.
While alimony is very much the exception rather than the rule in Texas, this doesn’t mean that you won’t qualify. Your knowledgeable Round Rock divorce attorney will help you accurately analyze your chances and, if you are a candidate, will help to ensure that you take the steps necessary to secure this important form of financial support.
Forging a Path Forward
Once you have a pretty good understanding of what lies ahead, it’s time to forge a path forward.
An important part of this is managing the timeline between filing for divorce and being divorced. The fact is that it can take a considerable amount of time to hammer out mutually acceptable divorce terms, and you’re going to need to address matters like finances, parenting time, and child support in the interim.
If You Continue Living Together
If you and your divorcing spouse continue to live together during the divorce process, temporary terms may not be an issue. In truth, however, most divorcing couples live separately while they hash out the details of divorce, and if one of you doesn’t have the means to make this work, you’ll probably require temporary terms.
If You Live Separately
If you and your soon-to-be ex can reach mutually acceptable terms regarding covering the costs of living separately, that will take care of that. And the same is true of visitation with your shared children.
In other words, if you can work out some compromises, you’ll have this part of your divorce handled. If you can’t find common ground, however, you’ll need to ask the court for temporary orders. If you're facing challenges in your divorce and need legal guidance, a Round Rock divorce attorney can help you navigate the process and protect your interests.
Consider the Status Quo
Now is a good time to reconsider the status quo we discussed earlier. While temporary orders or plans that you drew up between yourselves are just that—temporary—this doesn’t mean that they won’t have a lasting impact. This is especially important when it comes to parenting time.
If the temporary arrangements that are in place work well for your children, the court will be hesitant to change them upon divorce. Keep your own divorce priorities in mind when negotiating temporary orders.
Seek the Guidance of an Experienced Round Rock Divorce Lawyer Today
Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard is an accomplished Round Rock divorce attorney with an impressive track record for helping clients like you establish their divorce priorities and take the steps necessary to achieve them.
We are on your side and here to help, so please don’t hesitate to contact or call us at 254-781-4222 to schedule a free consultation today.