Texas Divorce Legal Questions

If you are married and you do not want to be married, you need to file for divorce.  Living together is not enough in itself to make you married under the law.  To be common law married in Texas, you must agree with each other to be married, represent to others that you are married to each other and then cohabit in Texas while still agreeing to be married.  When you discuss your situation with an attorney, the attorney will ask you what facts support a claim that you and he are married. The lawyer may then offer you advice or an opinion about whether your claim will succeed in court. It may be a financial advantage to you to file for divorce if there is property to divide.  A house is usually one of the largest assets in a divorce.  ... Read More

You do not have to move out of the house.  If there is a hearing set for Thursday and you are served on Monday, then you should appear at the hearing and request a continuance in order to find an attorney.  If your wife has requested exclusive use of the house, that issue will be decided at a hearing for temporary orders.  I would encourage you to consult an attorney and file a counter petition in which you also request exclusive use of the residence and custody of the children if that is your desire.  If you do not feel safe in the house, then stay elsewhere temporarily. If you feel your children are not safe then take them out of the house temporarily as well. When you are served, please review the Temporary Restraining Order carefully. It will not order you to leave the house because that cannot be done without a hearing unless your wife was able to convince the court that you commmited family violence.  You are allowed to communicate with your wife but not in a harrassing manner.  You are allowed to have your children in your possession.  There are many things that are standard and stated in the restraining order that you will not be able to do.  Be aware of them and follow the rules. If at the hearing the court decides that your wife should have the exclusive temporary use of the house, you will be given time to find a place to live and move out.  ... Read More

You will get information about legal fees when you meet with a lawyer. Some lawyers post their fees online, but fees are generally specific to each case. Some attorney charge flat fees and some charge a retainer and then bill their hourly rate, court costs and expenses against the retainer. There are also variations and hybrids of those fee arrangements.... Read More

If your wife hasn't exposed your son to anything inappropriate, the issues of managing conservatorship, child support and possession and access will be determined by the evidence and the law. The court would determine what is in the best interest of the child, not based on the mom's participation in consentual adult activity, but on how you two have parented the child. Who gets the child up in the mornings? Who feeds the child? Who takes the child shopping for new clothes? Who take the child to the doctor and dentist? Who meets with the teachers? Etc. If you both provide equal parenting, some courts will consider a 50/50 possession schedule. You have to be careful when you approach the court with accusations against your spouse. Shaming the other parent because of their consensual adult activity doesn't always get you what you want. It's just one of many factors the court MIGHT consider in determining what's best for the child. The focus should be on the child and on how the two of you have been parents for the child's whole life.    ... Read More

It may be too late.  The job of the divorce court is to divide all the assets earned during the marriage by either party according to a "just and right" division.  Retirement earned during the marriage is such an asset.  If the divorce decree awarded him his miitary retirement, you are likely precluded from getting the division redone.   If the military retirement was not divided, then you can go back to court and ask the court to divide the asset that was not divided in the divorce.   You will probably need to have an attorney revew the specific language in the decree to determine which category the retired pay fits in--and you need to ensure you have have a lawyer experienced with military issues.... Read More

The court will consider a number of factors in determining what is in the best interest of the child. That standard - the best interest of the child - will guide many of the decisions the judge will make. If you can put yourself in a position to better assist them, such as earn a paycheck, have a safe place for the kids to be etc, you are putting yourself in a better position for custody. If you cannot afford an attorney you might look into divorce clinics put on by the local bar as well as organizations like Legal Aid. Links: Divorce advice Legal Aid ... Read More

It sounds like you may have been sent a waiver of citation. However, you should read each documents carefully to determine what it is. Your best choice is to get an attorney to represent you because you could end up signing away your rights to property if you don't know what you're signing. Some important issues an attorney would consider is a list of all property and if there are children involved, where the children will live, child support, insurance for the children and a host of other issues.... Read More

If you requested a TRO, you should have gotten a court date. If you did not request a TRO, you can request a temporary orders hearing and the court coordinator will provide a date for the hearing. If you're asking about a final trial date, again, you woule work with the court coorinator to get a final trial date. Each county and court is different, so you must work with the court coordinator for the court where your case is assigned to get a schedule for your case. ... Read More

In Texas, your income is community property. Even if you put it in a different account, it is still community property. All courts allow you to get a temporary restraining order that would prevent either of you from emptying any account once the case is filed. Does your wife work? Her income is considered community property as well.... Read More

Because you are both deployed and active duty, its virtually complicated to get a divorce easily because you share benefits. You will need to be able to be off duty and back in your state or any county you chose to live in and qualify under the jursidiction residency requirement. Since there is a child involved, custody arrangement is also needed to be discussed. If you can discuss with your spouse matters such as millitary benefits and child custody issues, you can than proceed to an uncontested divorce. An uncontested divorce will cost you anywhere from $750 to $1,500 compared to a contested divorce with military background will run you anywhere from $2,500 to $5,000. Feel free to contact my office and speak with a case manager at 877-866-8665 or email help@smsattorneys.com.... Read More

He may have a reimbursement claim for the upgrades to your house, but that depends on what money was used for the improvements to your separate property. All other property you mentioned sounds like it would be subject to a just and right division so, yes, you would be entitled to your share if it is community property. In Texas, all property owned by the parties is presumed to be community property which is subject to division. Separate property is anything acquired before the marriage or by gift, devise or descent.... Read More

It sounds like you're saying you want to file a motion to strike his pleadings because they're not timely filed. You might be able to make this motion orally in court. You may be able to find the motion in the law library which will be located somewhere near the courthouses in your county. The new opposing counsel might file for a continuance since he or she just got on the case. Even if you can't afford an attorney, you may want to at least get a consultation so you can get some direction on how to proceed.... Read More

Neither party will get what they want. The community property estate will be split in a fair and equitable manner. The fact that it is a newly purchased home, it is unlikely that you have enough equity in the home to make it worthwhile fight. You may have to buy her out of any equity to keep the home. If she can not pay, it is unlikely a court would award her the home. Go and consult with a local divorce/family law attorney if you want a better assessment of your case. Good luck.... Read More

The only way your ex would know is if she asked for a review of your child support amount, which she can do every 3 years or when she suspects you might be making enough extra money to raise your child support a minimum of 100 dollars. You do not have to inform her, unless the above applies.... Read More

You can start your search here: Legal Aid of Northwest Texas – Free civil legal assistance to low income residents of 114 Texas counties. Eligibility guidelines can be found on Legal Aid of Northwest Texas' website. The Fort Worth office offers clinics on a variety of legal topics including general civil matters, wills, employment matters and bankruptcy. Call 1-800-955-3959 to find out more about Legal Aid, schedule an intake appointment or reserve a spot at an upcoming clinic.       ... Read More

The best way for you to approach this problem is to not assume what will happen. If your husband wants a divorce, you should talk to him about making agreements about how to proceed. If he plans to file, he will bear the burden of the court fees. If you can't afford a lawyer, can file an answer without a lawyer by using the following site: www.texaslawhelp.org Courts in Texas generally require mediation to resolve a divorce. You can also come up with agreements without mediation.  Do searches on Texas Family Law so that you know what your rights are and do everything you can to come to reasonable agreements with your husband concerning property division, child support, etc. You will find a lot of helpful information at the website above. As you move forward, don't panic! It's possible to have an amicable divorce in Texas. On the other hand, if things go South quickly, try to find family support and get a lawyer in your county.... Read More

If your husband's attorney will not help you finalize the divorce, your best bet is to hire an attorney of your own. Because your case is almost finalized, it shouldn't cost you a great deal to find someone to help you get it done. It could be that the attorney hasn't been paid by your ex, so he's withholding the final paperwork. Or there could be other issues at play with his attorney causing the delay (illness, travel, etc.). You just never know.... Read More

When you charged the attorney's fees to the card, did you and your ex have an agreement that he would pay it back? Also, it is important to see how your divorce decree addressed debt specifically and in general. If the decree assigns debt to each of you in a certain way, that would determine how strong of a case you would have against him. Generally, you can certainly go after him for the debt, but whether you can make a valid claim would depend on the above and other factors.... Read More