Thank you for visiting My Austin Divorce Attorney. We will attempt to give you as much information about divorce in Austin Texas as possible on this site. Additionally you can visit our “Why Hire Us” page to see what separates us from the other divorce lawyers in and around Austin.

Overview

• A Texas divorce starts with filing an Original Petition for Divorce in the district court where you live.
• The Petition must be served on your spouse and he or she will have to respond.
• Once the petition is filed, there is a 60-day waiting period before the divorce is granted.
• If the couple cannot agree on the marital issues, the timeframe can be extended.
• You or your spouse must live in the State of Texas for six months before filing for divorce.
• You must also live in the county where the petition is filed for the preceding 90 days.
  

Grounds for Divorce
Texas grounds can be either no-fault or fault.

No-Fault

• The marriage is destroyed and cannot be fixed.
• You do not need a reason to ask for a divorce.

Fault

• Adultery
• Mental Cruelty
• Felony – conviction or jail time served
• Abandonment for at least one year
• Living apart without cohabitation for at least three years
• Insanity – being in a mental hospital

Child Custody / Conservatorship

• In Texas, parents serve as the Joint Managing Conservators of their children.  Conservatorship is the same as Custody.
  

Joint Managing Conservatorship

• East parents will share, allocate or apportion their rights and responsibilities.
• Each parent has the authority to make decisions on the child’s behalf.
• These decisions include:

• Medical and health
• Education
• Religion

• When the parents cannot reach an agreement regarding their children, the court will request that professional services assist.
• A Social Study will be required by a family court services unit.
• The social study will put together informational data, references, and conduct interviews.
• The court could request a psychological evaluation of one or both parties and/or the children.
• At the end of this Study, a recommendation on conservatorship will be made to the court.

 Sole custody

• One parent has authority to making decisions.
• One parent is the primary residential parent
• The other parent pays child support

Visitation Rights

Child Support

• The Texas Family Code contains guidelines for the computation of child support.
• The guidelines will determine an equitable and reasonable amount of support to be paid (by the obligor).
• The guidelines apply if your monthly net resources are $6,000 a month or less.  The following is the percentage of the obligor’s net resources for each child:
• 1 child =           20%
• 2 children =      25%
• 3 children =      30%
• 4 children =      35%
• 5 children =      40%
• 6 children+ =    no less than 40%
  

Spousal Support

• While your divorce case is pending, Texas courts have unlimited jurisdiction to award temporary spousal support if you cannot resolve your issues.
• You will be entitled to receive support if you were married for ten years or more
• In awarding support, the court considers:
• Finances for both parties
• Length of marriage
• Assets you had coming into marriage
• Your age and health
• Employment capabilities
  

Property Division

• If you cannot agree on how to divide the property, the court will do it for you in a fair and equal manner.
• The court takes into consideration:
  • Earning capabilities of each spouse
  • Education
  • Who has responsibility of raising the children 
    

Conclusion
The Law Offices of “Insert Attorney Name”  in Austin, Texas are skilled attorneys practicing Family Law and specializing in Divorce Law.  We will provide professional legal guidance to you every step of the way.

 Website built and hosted by Legalberry.com. A leader in Business Development solutions for attorneys as well as one of the nations top legal directories.