There are many marriages that occur each year in Texas. The marriages will last varying lengths of time. Some of the couples will remain married until one of the spouses passes away. Many other divorces will end sooner than that in divorce though. However, no matter how long the marriage lasts, all couples going through divorces need to go through the process of filing for divorce in court before they can be legally divorced.
To do this people need to follow a certain process. There are many different rules and procedures that people need to follow during this process as well. Everything starts with one of the spouses filing a petition with the court. In order for a couple to be able to file for divorce in Texas though, they must live in Texas for at least six months and also must reside in the county they file for divorce in for at least 90 days prior to filing for divorce. If people do not meet these requirements, they may need to wait to file.
After filing the petition in court, the process can take varying lengths of time depending on how long it takes for the couple to resolve the issues of the divorce. If they are unable to resolve all the issues the divorce will finally end at a trial when a judge decides the issues for them.
How long divorce may take to complete
If it goes to trial the divorce can take months and potentially years to be completely done with it. However, almost everyone who files for divorce in Texas needs to wait at least 60 days after filing the petition before the divorce can be finalized. The only exception to that rule is if one spouse was convicted of domestic violence or one spouse has a protective order against the other spouse due to domestic violence.
There are many different issues that spouses in Texas need to resolve in their divorces. They need to divide their marital property, determine if there will be alimony paid, child custody issues and child support must be resolved as well if they have children. Making decisions on all of these complicated and important issues can be difficult. Some couples may be able to resolve all of the issues in a relatively short period of time, but others will not be able to reach agreements and need to litigate the issues. Experienced attorneys understand this complicated process and may be able to help guide one through it.