What You Need to Know About Getting a Divorce in Dallas

September 30, 2020 Posted in Divorce

Ready to call it quits on your marriage? Getting a divorce in Dallas is a relatively simple process and the same rules apply whether you’ve been married by the church or common law. However, between determining who gets what and who keeps custody of the kids, divorce can be quite a messy process. While you think you might be able to handle and resolve the divorce yourself, the process goes a lot smoother when you’ve hired our experienced Dallas divorce lawyers to negotiate and litigate on your behalf.

Do you have questions that need to be answered? Here’s everything you need to know about getting a divorce in Dallas. 

Can I Get Divorced For Any Reason in Texas?

Texas is a no-fault divorce state, meaning you don’t need to state your grounds for the divorce. No one has to have done anything ‘wrong’ in order for the divorce to proceed as planned - however, some couples may wish to allege fault in order to gain an advantage in the division of marital property.

How Quickly Can I Process My Divorce?

If you’re looking for a quickie divorce, our Dallas divorce lawyers know that you may not be able to achieve that if you’re a Dallas resident. Unfortunately, the state of Texas does have a waiting period for completing a divorce - once you file your petition for dissolution of marriage, it will take a minimum of 60 days for the divorce to be finalized. In addition, bear in mind that you must have been a resident of Texas for at least six months in order to get divorced in the state, and a resident of the county in which you will file for at least a minimum of 90 days before you can petition for the divorce. 

Will I Be Prohibited from Taking Certain Actions Once I Make my Filing?

As your divorce is being processed, there are a number of guidelines that the court will likely ask you to follow. These include refraining from closing any financial or credit accounts, taking any children resulting from the marriage out of the state, changing children’s schools or daycare arrangements, or canceling any life insurance policies.

How Will Our Marital Property Be Divided During the Divorce?

In Texas, marital property is considered to be any property, assets, or debt acquired throughout the course of the marriage. This won’t include any property or assets you came into through an inheritance or before the marriage was official. If you are alleging that there is property that you acquired before the marriage, bear in mind that there is a high burden of proof for demonstrating as such - you will need to establish clear and convincing evidence that this property belonged to you before the marriage.

Texas law provides that all marital property - known as community property in the state - be divided 50/50, however, judges have some leniency to divide the property differently if they find there was misconduct or bad behavior on one side of the marriage - typically adultery or cruelty, or if there is a serious disparity in income and earnings that would hinder one spouse’s ability to raise their children. Likewise, this division would never amount to more than 10 percent or so tipping in the other direction, like a 60/40 divide. 

Let Our Dallas Divorce Lawyers Help You Through the Process

If you have additional questions or concerns about your divorce and potential situations that may arise, contact our Dallas divorce lawyers as soon as possible. We can help.