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TEXAS DIVORCE LAWS AND FORMS PREPARED
Texas Divorce Laws
Residency Requirements One of the spouses must have resided in
Texas for 6 months prior to filing and in
the county where the divorce is filed for
90 days prior to filing.
Where to File The county in which either spouse resides.
Grounds for Divorce On the petition of either party to a marriage,
the court may grant a divorce without regard
to fault if the marriage has become insupportable
because of discord or conflict of personalities
that destroys the legitimate ends of the
marital relationship and prevents any reasonable
expectation of reconciliation.
General grounds for divorce are:
*Adultery
*Abandonment
*Confinement for inccurable insanity for
3 years
*Conviction of a felony and imprisonment
for over 1 year
*Cruel and inhuman treatment.
Voluntary or required mediation Yes
Voluntary or recommended Counseling Yes
Property Distribution In a decree of divorce or annulment, the
court shall order a division of the estate
of the parties in a manner that the court
deems just and right, having due regard for
the rights of each party and any children
of the marriage
In addition to the division of the estate
of the parties required by Section 7.001,
in a decree of divorce or annulment the court
shall order a division of the following real
and personal property, wherever situated,
in a manner that the court deems just and
right, having due regard for the rights of
each party and any children of the marriage:
(1) property that was acquired by either
spouse while domiciled in another state and
that would have been community property if
the spouse who acquired the property had
been domiciled in this state at the time
of the acquisition; or (2) property that
was acquired by either spouse in exchange
for real or personal property and that would
have been community property if the spouse
who acquired the property so exchanged had
been domiciled in this state at the time
of its acquisition.
Child Custody The public policy of this state is to:
Assure that children will have frequent and
continuing contact with parents who have
shown the ability to act in the best interest
of the child
Provide a safe, stable, and nonviolent environment
for the child
Encourage parents to share in the rights
and duties of raising their child after the
parents have separated or dissolved their
marriage
The best interest of the child shall always
be the primary consideration of the court
in determining the issues of conservatorship
and possession of and access to the child.
A child 12 years of age or older may file
with the court in writing the name of the
person who is the child's preference to have
the exclusive right to designate the primary
residence of the child, subject to the approval
of the court
Child Support The court may order either or both parents
to support a child in the manner specified
by the order:
*Until the child is 18 years of age or until
graduation from high school, whichever occurs
later
*Until the child is emancipated through marriage,
through removal of the disabilities of minority
by court order, or by other operation of
law
*Until the death of the child
* If the child is disabled for an indefinite
period
The child support guidelines in this subchapter
are intended to guide the court in determining
an equitable amount of child support. The
amount of a periodic child support payment
established by the child support guidelines
in effect in this state at the time of the
hearing is presumed to be reasonable, and
an order of support conforming to the guidelines
is presumed to be in the best interest of
the child. A court may determine that the
application of the guidelines would be unjust
or inappropriate under the circumstances.
Spousal Support A court that determines that a spouse is
eligible to receive maintenance under this
chapter shall determine the nature, amount,
duration, and manner of periodic payments
by considering all relevant factors, including:
*The financial resources of the spouse seeking
maintenance, including the community and
separate property and liabilities apportioned
to that spouse in the dissolution proceeding,
and that spouse's ability to meet the spouse's
needs independently
*The education and employment skills of the
spouses, the time necessary to acquire sufficient
education or training to enable the spouse
seeking maintenance to find appropriate employment,
the availability of that education or training,
and the feasibility of that education or
training
*The duration of the marriage
*The age, employment history, earning ability,
and physical and emotional condition of the
spouse seeking maintenance
*The ability of the spouse from whom maintenance
is requested to meet that spouse's personal
needs and to provide periodic child support
payments, if applicable, while meeting the
personal needs of the spouse seeking maintenance
*Acts by either spouse resulting in excessive
or abnormal expenditures or destruction,
concealment, or fraudulent disposition of
community property, joint tenancy, or other
property held in common
*The comparative financial resources of the
spouses, including medical, retirement, insurance,
or other benefits, and the separate property
of each spouse
*The contribution by one spouse to the education,
training, or increased earning power of the
other spouse
* The property brought to the marriage by
either spouse
*The contribution of a spouse as homemaker
*Marital misconduct of the spouse seeking
maintenance
*The efforts of the spouse seeking maintenance
to pursue available employment counseling
as provided by Chapter 304, Labor Code.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE DIVORCE PROCEDURE
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DISCLAIMER:
This information has been compiled directly
from the most recently available statutes
online for the state of Texas. Every effort
has been made to assure that this information
is correct and complete. Be aware that laws
frequently change. Do not take any action
based on this information without first consulting
an attorney to be certain that the laws pertaining
to your particular situation have not changed.
The language used in most cases on this page
is legal terminology taken directly from
the statutes and laws of state of Texas. The terminology is not always easy to understand.
If you are not sure of something you should
consult an attorney so that you can fully
understand the meaning of the laws.
ADDITIONAL TEXAS DIVORCE LAWS
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