Divorce is often an emotionally challenging and legally complex process. Whether you are planning for your future or navigating issues like property division and child custody, having the right Cypress divorce lawyer and legal support is crucial.
The Larson Law Office provides personalized, hands-on representation to clients in Cypress, TX, offering compassionate guidance tailored to your unique circumstances. Cypress divorce lawyers Erik and Diana Larson focus on achieving the best possible outcome for you and your family. Reach out for a free case evaluation from a Cypress divorce lawyer.
Understanding Divorce in Texas
Texas law establishes divorce as the legal framework for ending a marriage. The issues you should address in a divorce include child custody and support, property division, and spousal maintenance.
Childcare and Support
Texas uses the term “conservatorship” to describe custody arrangements. Conservatorships establish the rights and responsibilities of each parent. Courts prioritize the child’s best interests when determining how to split child custody. Decision-making authority, living arrangements, and visitation schedules are all part of this determination. The parent the child primarily lives with is the custodial parent, and the other parent is the noncustodial parent.
Child support calculations in Texas depend on the noncustodial parent’s income and the number of children they need to support. Courts follow statutory guidelines to ensure payments meet the child’s financial needs and cover expenses such as education, healthcare, and basic living costs.
Property Division
Texas is a community property state, meaning both spouses share most assets acquired during the marriage, and those assets are subject to division during divorce. Separate property, primarily including inheritances and property owned before the marriage, remains separate unless the spouses have commingled it, meaning both spouses use it and treat it as shared.
Spousal Maintenance
Texas law authorizes spousal maintenance, also called alimony or spousal support, in limited circumstances. When the court orders maintenance, one spouse has to make regular payments to the other after the divorce for several months or years. Spousal maintenance is only available under specific conditions, such as marriages lasting 10 years or longer or cases involving domestic violence.
The Divorce Process in Texas
Understanding how a typical divorce works in Texas helps you to know what to expect and when to expect it. To get a divorce, you complete the following steps:
- Check residency. At least one spouse must have lived in Texas for six months and in the filing county for 90 days before you can file for divorce in that county.
- File a divorce petition. One spouse files a petition for divorce with their local court, becoming the petitioner, while the other spouse becomes the respondent.
- Service of process. The petitioner must formally serve the respondent with divorce papers unless the respondent signs a waiver of service.
- Temporary orders. Either party may request temporary orders to address immediate concerns such as custody, support, or property use during the divorce.
- Waiting period. Even if it is an uncontested divorce and there are no issues to resolve, Texas requires a mandatory 60-day waiting period before you can finalize a divorce. However, cases involving family violence are exempt from this requirement.
- Discovery. If there are contested issues, the parties will exchange discovery. This includes financial affidavits and information, as well as possible interrogatories and more.
- Negotiation and mediation. Spouses work to resolve disputes through negotiation or mediation, potentially avoiding a trial.
- Trial, if necessary. If the parties cannot reach an agreement on all terms through negotiation or mediation, they can go before a judge at a trial. The judge will listen to evidence and arguments and decide any unresolved issues.
Divorce decree. Once the parties agree on all terms or the court resolves the issues, the court issues a divorce decree, making your divorce terms legally binding.
These are the basic steps of the process. However, each case is unique and your process might vary.
Timeline
The timeline for Texas divorces often varies depending on:
- Whether you have children, which means you have to address custody and support issues;
- The complexity of the marital estate;
- How many areas you cannot reach an agreement on;
- How backlogged the court docket is;
- Whether you filed for a fault-based divorce or not; and
- How cooperative the spouses are with one another.
If you share minor children, you typically need to provide extensive details about the children and who cares for them. You use different filing forms that allow you to provide that information.
Contested vs. Uncontested Divorces
If you and your spouse disagree on one or more issues, you have a contested divorce. If you and your spouse agree on all divorce-related issues, you can file for an uncontested divorce. Uncontested divorces usually take less time and cost less than contested cases.
Contested and uncontested divorces also differ significantly in terms of process. Contested divorces involve extensive legal procedures, including discovery, depositions, and potential courtroom appearances. Uncontested divorces, by contrast, can often be resolved with minimal court involvement, focusing instead on negotiation.
Fault vs. No-Fault Divorce
Texas law authorizes no-fault divorce, where you and your spouse end the marriage based on irreconcilable differences without assigning blame. This type of divorce often simplifies proceedings because you do not have to convince a judge one person was at fault for the marriage ending.
However, you can also seek a fault-based divorce, where one spouse alleges specific wrongdoing by the other, such as infidelity, cruelty, or abandonment. Fault-based divorce cases can be more contentious and require the spouse who alleges fault to provide evidence to support their contentions.
Choosing Between Cypress Divorce Attorneys
Choosing the right divorce lawyer is crucial. Once you find a firm that looks promising, reach out to speak with them. Take advantage of free consultations or case evaluations to evaluate the lawyer’s compatibility with your needs and goals. When you meet, ask about their experience with similar cases and how they would approach your unique situation.
The Larson Law Office’s Cypress divorce attorneys offer experienced, personalized representation to clients in Cypress, TX. Our hands-on approach and commitment to open communication provide our clients with steady guidance to navigate the divorce process.
How the Cypress Divorce Lawyers at the Larson Law Office Can Help
Divorce is a significant life transition, and getting from where you are to where you want to be may feel nearly impossible. The Larson Law Office can help you navigate this challenging time and get where you need to be. Erik and Diana Larson work directly with every client and will not delegate your case to staff or other lawyers. Our hands-on approach and dedication to providing honest evaluations and creative solutions ensure our clients receive realistic assessments and strategies tailored to get the best results possible. Contact the Larson Law Office today to schedule a consultation with a Cypress divorce attorney.