Advantages Of Filing First For Divorce In Harris County & Houston
Are there advantages of filing first for divorce in Houston and other nearby counties? In other words, will you get any benefits from winning the race to the courthouse and filing your divorce petition first?
Yes, there are advantages to be gained by filing first. Most of the advantages yield benefits at the beginning of the case. Sometimes those benefits can affect the final outcome of the case as well.
There can be an advantage for filing your Texas divorce case first. There are a couple of different ways in which it can be advantageous. N0umber one, theres a time advantage that you can utilize if you are looking to file for temporary orders quickly and you are the first to file.
Harris County Divorce Forms
The package of documents you will need for a Harris County divorce will mainly depend on whether you have children under 18 and whether your spouse will contest the case.
If there is a chance you can come to an agreement or you have already reached it, here are some of the Harris County divorce papers you may need:
- Original Petition for Divorce in Harris County
- Civil Case Information Sheet
- Answer or Waiver of Service
- Information on Suit Affecting Family Relationship
- Standard or Modified Possession Order if you have children
- Divorce Decree for Harris County
Note that the forms you require will vary depending on what you would want a court to do and the family circumstances. For example, if you or your spouse would like to get back to using the maiden name, you will have to file an Order with a request to restore it.
To fill out divorce papers correctly, you will have to read each question to make sure it applies to your case before you answer it. It is worth paying special attention to sections with numbers and calculations, as they are the easiest to make mistakes in.
Signing the forms right after you are done filling them in might not be the best option. Taking time to review them and checking whether you should sign them in front of the notary might save you from having to refill the paperwork.
Our Law Firm Will Stand By Your Side
Divorce is difficult. It can take an emotional, mental and financial toll on you and your family.
However, you know that it is the right decision at this time in your life. You want to ensure that your divorce process goes as smoothly as possible, whether its a no-fault divorce and you and your spouse are separating amicably, or its a fault divorce and you need to prove this to the court.
When deciding if you should hire a Houston divorce lawyer, its helpful to learn about what exactly is involved in the process. Call Boudreaux Hunter & Associates LLC today at or fill out a contact form now to schedule a consultation with an attorney.
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How Do I Get A Divorce In Texas
Generally, there are two types of divorceuncontested and contested. An uncontested divorce is one where the spouses agree on all divorce-related matters, such as division of property, child custody, and spousal support. A contested divorce, on the other hand, is one where the spouses cant agree and must ask a court to decide the issues in their divorce.
Uncontested divorces are generally faster and less expensive than contested divorces because theres no fighting in courtall the judge must do is review and approve the spouses marital settlement agreement and issue a divorce decree.
Can I File For Divorce Online In Harris County
Harris County has locations for filing divorce papers. The Harris County District Clerks office can provide a list of the fees for divorcing that are related to your situation if you live in Harris County or Houston. If youre not married, the Harris County District Clerks office can offer the services of an advocate.
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Grounds For Divorce In Texas
- Like most states, Texas allows you to divorce your spouse purely on the grounds of insupportability. In other words, you and your spouses inability to resolve conflicts is a sufficient cause to grant a divorce.
- Although fault is not a consideration in granting a divorce, it may still play a role in the division of property.
Things You Should Know
- You do not need to hire a lawyer to get a divorce in Texas unless you plan to sue on specific grounds or you want to contest the division of assets .
- You can file for divorce by filling out the case information sheet, a petition for divorce, and a suit affecting the family relationship form at your local state courthouse.
- If your spouse hires an attorney, contests the petition, or refuses to sign the waivers for an uncontested divorce, you will need to hire a lawyer.
- Once the paperwork is filed, you will need to attend a divorce hearing in front of a judge but you dont need a lawyer if its an uncontested divorce.
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Houston Texas Divorce Faqs
Marivonne Essex would like to answer all of your questions concerning divorce law in Texas. If you dont see a question listed below, please contact the Essex Law Firm.
Houston County Divorce Forms
The package of documents you will need for a Houston County divorce will mainly depend on whether you have children under 18 and whether your spouse will contest the case.
If there is a chance you can come to an agreement or you have already reached it, here are some of the Houston County divorce papers you may need:
- Original Petition for Divorce in Houston County
- Civil Case Information Sheet
- Answer or Waiver of Service
- Information on Suit Affecting Family Relationship
- Standard or Modified Possession Order if you have children
- Divorce Decree for Houston County
Note that the forms you require will vary depending on what you would want a court to do and the family circumstances. For example, if you or your spouse would like to get back to using the maiden name, you will have to file an Order with a request to restore it.
To fill out divorce papers correctly, you will have to read each question to make sure it applies to your case before you answer it. It is worth paying special attention to sections with numbers and calculations, as they are the easiest to make mistakes in.
Signing the forms right after you are done filling them in might not be the best option. Taking time to review them and checking whether you should sign them in front of the notary might save you from having to refill the paperwork.
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Hire An Attorney For The Support And Guidance You Need
Filing for divorce in Harris County, Texas, or anywhere else, is not easy. Even if you can figure out the forms and where to file them, fighting over who is awarded certain rights in relation to the children and who should have which assets can be complicated and the wrong advice, or lack of advice, can often lead to devastating consequences for litigants.
Our highly experienced family law attorneys at The Stout Law Firm, PLLC are professional and compassionate advocates who are here to support you through a difficult time.
You are likely going to need plenty of time and space to adjust to your changing family circumstances. You can take the time you need while we fight to protect your rights in court.
We practice family law exclusively, and were committed to helping our clients face tough family issues head-on.
If youre ready to file for divorce or you want guidance about your options, we hope youll give us a call. You can call us at or contact us online to set up a consultation.
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What Can I Expect When Going Through A Divorce
The following are the general stages in most divorce proceedings:
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Filing of the divorce petition
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Attending mediation, which is mandatory in most cases and/or preparing for a hearing to obtain temporary orders
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Discovery stage
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Attending mediation prior to a final trial
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Trial, if mediation is unsuccessful
Donotpay Can Speed Up Your Uncontested Divorce
There are several ways to make a divorce settlement agreement:
Having an attorney write this legal document for you might be the most reliable option, but its also the most expensive. Many people choose to draw up divorce settlement agreements on their owna cheap but highly risky option.
If you want to obtain a top-rate divorce settlement agreement without paying the earth for it, DoNotPay is the way to go!
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Well draft a customized agreement according to your states standards and the details you provided!
The state of Texas has various laws and requirements when it comes to divorces. You should visit DoNotPays learning center if you have other questions, such as:
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Factors In A Texas Divorce
Whether youre filing for a fault or no-fault divorce in Texas, you may need to factor in things like:
- Child Custody: Who gets the children? How much time will each spouse spend with the children on a weekly basis? Who will have them on holidays or for vacation? What are the rules for taking them out of the country?
- Child support: Who is going to pay it, and how much will the monthly amount be?
- Spousal maintenance: Will one spouse have to pay the other following the divorce? Do you deserve spousal maintenance because you gave up your career to raise children and will need to go back to school or start in an entry-level position to get back into the workforce?
- : Who gets the house, the bank account and the retirement money? Who acquires the debt? How will other assets be divided?
- A high net worth individual: What happens if one spouse goes after the other because they have a high net worth? What happens to money one spouse had prior to getting married?
- Domestic violence: Was one spouse abusive to the other?
- Restraining order: Does one spouse need to place a restraining order against the other out of fear of violence? This is known as a protective order in Texas.
- Pets: Who gets custody of pets? Could spouses have equal time with their dogs, cats and other animals?
- Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements: Did the couple sign any prenuptial agreement or postnuptial agreement? If so, what were the terms and stipulations?
What Happens After You File For Divorce And Serve Your Spouse With Notice Of The Lawsuit
This is the stage where you need to figure out what path your case needs to go down. Path number one involves hiring a private process server or constable to pick up your paperwork from the courthouse, locate your spouse and then personally serve them with notice of your lawsuit. Your spouse needs to know that you have filed for divorce for you to get divorced. You can’t just get a divorce and then text your spouse about it later on. They have a right to be notified of the lawsuit in person.
Path number two that you may choose to go down involves you and your spouse discussing the divorce ahead of time and your spouse agreeing to sign a document known as a waiver of service. A release of service allows your spouse to waive their right to be served personally with notice of the lawsuit. Signing the form does not waive their right to negotiate the divorce terms, nor does it waive their right to notify court dates. All it does is tell the court that they are okay with you presenting them the documents that you just filed with the clerk.
I am willing to bet that your spouse will hire an attorney once they are served. If you think you can amicably go about your divorce with your spouse, you may need to rethink that. If your spouse does hire a lawyer, it will behoove you to do the same. An attorney will not “go easy on you,” and the judge will not pity you if you are unrepresented and your spouse has an attorney.
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Time Needed For Court
9. If you are getting a divorce in Harris County, Texas, you should also know that if you have to appear in court, you should always arrive at least thirty minutes prior to the time your hearing is scheduled. You will have to find parking downtown Houston, walk a few blocks, and wait in line to go through security prior to even getting in the courthouse. Then you still have to get to the courtroom that you are supposed to appear in. Your divorce attorney may ask you to arrive even earlier than thirty minutes depending on the type of hearing and whether or not he needs to talk to you prior to the hearing. You should always listen to your divorce attorney.
Will My Spouse Be Ordered To Pay Attorneys Fees
In most divorce proceedings, each spouse is responsible for his or her own attorneys fees and litigation costs. The court does, however, have the power to require one party to cover all or a portion of the opposing partys reasonable attorneys fees.
This will depend on the financial resources of both parties and the facts of the case. Either party may request for the other to pay attorneys fees. It is at the judges discretion as to whether that is ordered or not.
Should the court render judgment for attorneys fees, the party will be ordered to pay directly to the attorney. A judgment for attorneys fees may be enforced in the attorneys own name by any means available for the enforcement of a judgment for debt.
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Work With Your Spouse Or Their Attorney To Finalize The Paperwork
Ultimately, a divorce requires an agreement between both parties, whether they reach that decision independently or in front of a judge. Depending on the nature of the case, both spouses may be able to come to an agreement with support from their attorneys. In more complex cases, they may leave it to their lawyers to work directly with each other.
Either way, its always a good idea to have a divorce lawyer look over the forms before submission. Once complete, the forms are filed at the clerks office at the local courthouse, selected earlier in the process, along with the necessary filing fees.
Get Your Paperwork Ready And Go To The District Clerk
You may be able to file for divorce in person as well as filing online. You would go to the courthouse’s second floor at 201 Caroline Street in downtown Houston, TX. One of the district clerk’s employees will be available to accept the divorce petition and whatever the filing fees are when you decide to file for divorce. The filing fees will likely be approximately $300.
Once the clerk reviews the paperwork, it will be accepted and then stamped with the seal of the district clerk. At that stage, your case will be assigned to one of the family courts in Harris County. Now you have a divorce case rather than just an intent to file for divorce from your spouse.
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Houston We Dont Have A Problem Get A Divorce In Houston Hassle
Have you decided to terminate your marriage, but you dont want to pay steep attorneys fees? The good news is that you dont need a lawyer if you agree on everything and opt for a friendly divorce. To complete the process without an attorney, you should get familiar with the state rules and requirements, and were here to help you with that!
DoNotPay has all the info you need to file for and finalize an uncontested divorce in Houston, Texas. We can even draw up a settlement agreement for youall you need to do is !
Texas Residency Requirements For Getting A Divorce In Houston
Texas, like other states, has resident requirements for couples who want to file for divorce. Some states require that only one of you is a resident to file for divorce, while others require that you both live there for some specific amount of time before you can divorce a spouse. If you are filing for a divorce in Texas, you must have resided in a Texas county for at least 90 days and have lived in Texas for the six months before you plan to file for divorce.. The law does allow for a couple of exceptions. They include:
- Public service. For the purposes of filing for divorce in Houston, your Houston residence serves as your permanent residence if you and/or your spouse had to leave the area or the state because of public service obligations. Although other scenarios might occur, this most often impacts members of the military and their spouses.
- Out-of-state divorce filings. Both of you do not need to be living in Houston to file for divorce. You may have parted ways already, and one of you has moved out of state. As long as one of you has been living in Texas for six months, the other spouse can file for a divorce in the county where that person resides.
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