Uncontested Divorce

In Texas, uncontested divorces offers couples an alternative to a long, drawn out emotionally draining legal battle over the financial assets, custody of children and shared community property. The first step in the short process of obtaining an uncontested divorce is for a spouse to contact a lawyer and set up a consultation about their legal rights, their spouses legal rights and to answer any questions about the uncontested divorce process.

After the initial consultation with a lawyer has occurred and all needed paper work is signed and provided. If the spouse who wishes to file a divorce petition meets the residency requirements, then the retained lawyer may file the Divorce Petition. In Texas, the residency requirements are: 1) the spouse petitioning the court for a divorce must have lived in the state of Texas for 6 months; and 2) the spouse petitioning the court for a divorce must have lived in the county where the petition is going to be filed for at least 90 days. Either spouse who meets the residency requirements may file. The second step of an uncontested divorce is the filing of a divorce petition. The divorce petition basically asks the court for a divorce and lays out a plan.

The third step in obtaining an uncontested divorce is for the spouse not requesting a divorce to sign a Waiver of Citation. The Waiver of Citation speeds up the process of obtaining a divorce by stating that the spouse not requesting a divorce agrees to the jurisdiction and venue of the court, the spouse does not contest the jurisdiction or venue of the proceedings and that spouse agrees that there does not have to be a trial by a judge. The Waiver of Citation must be signed and notarized by the spouse not requesting the divorce.

The fourth step in obtaining an uncontested divorce is to wait for 61 days until the Final Divorce Decree is signed by a judge. This period is called the "cooling off" period. During the cooling off period, a couple may negotiate amongst themselves or with the help of the retained lawyer to figure out a plan about how to divide the marital assets, debts and custody of the children. This plan is memorialized in a marital settlement agreement that should be signed by both spouses. After the marital settlement agreement is signed then the retained lawyer will base the final divorce decree off the marital settlement agreement and file a Final Divorce Decree with the court.

The fifth step in an uncontested divorce is having a judge sign off on the Final Divorce Decree and for the lawyer to send the decree to both spouses.

If you need help obtaining an uncontested divorce please contact the law offices of Tony Fam, PLLC at (214) 872-6406, or via e-mail at tony@tonyfamlaw.com.