Texas Divorce Contract
What We need to know
Here are some questions you need to answer in order for Texas Legal Shop to prepare your legal document.
Is this divorce uncontested?
This means that you and your spouse have already agreed to all issues involved in the dissolution of your marriage including how your property will be divided and any child custody issues. An uncontested divorce does not require an attorney. In a contested divorce, one of the parties disputes one or more or the issues involved in the divorce. An attorney is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED in a contested divorce.
If you and your spouse haven’t resolved every issue by now, fear not. There are some inexpensive ways of resolving/negotiating the differences. Hire a family law attorney who will act as a mediator. He doesn’t represent either of the two spouses, his job is to have you two compromise and settle your differences without other lawyers. He is not a judge and doesn’t decide between you; you two decide. The advantage to this is it is much cheaper. The disadvantage is, especially in property disagreements, is some technical point could be missed.
Another way is more expensive but has both spouses hire separate attorneys to protect your interest, but to negotiate a settlement without going to court. If the two spouses can not settle, other attorneys are both hired. This is called collaborative law. The advantages are both attorneys goal is to settle, not win at trial, and technical issues in both property and children can be identified and resolved, reasonably fairly. The disadvantage is cost.
In a trial, both sides can plead their case to a Judge, but neither side is part of deciding the case, only the Judge can. Neither spouse, or, only one, may think it fair or just, but it is a VERY EXPENSIVE result.
Only in Mediation or Negotiation do both sides have a part in deciding the case. Mediate, Negotiate or spend Lots of money and still not get the result you want.
Have both you and your spouse agreed to a divorce?
To use our services, both parties should agree to a divorce. If your spouse is refusing to a divorce, he or she will have to be served by the Sheriff’s Department or a private process server in your county with papers Texas Legal Shop provides.
If you use Texas Legal Forms to write the divorce papers, we have instructions on how to serve your spouse. Then you can hire an attorney (Collaborative Law) or mediator to negotiate a Final Divorce Decree.
Do you have any minor (less than 18 yr old) children?
Children of the marriage are those who are the biological children of you and your spouse or any child adopted.
If you have minor children, there will be additional important decisions for you and your spouse. For example: Who will the children reside with? What are the visitation rights of the other parent? Who will pay child support and how much? Who will provide Health insurance for the children? Deciding and agreeing upon these very important issues beforehand will expedite the process.
Before the divorce is final, many spouses have sharp disagreements about the children or use of marital property. If there are Temporary Orders (orders from filing divorce papers till Final Divorce Orders) helps stop much of these disagreements. These Temporary Orders, if agreed to, just declares which parent the child will live with and when the other parent can spend time with the children.
Many parents can initially agree on who the child will live with and visitation; however, as the divorce drags out, very sharp disagreements appear. With no Orders the spouses must go to Court and fight there – this is very expensive.
Or, the spouses could agree on Temporary Standard Orders while they negotiate the Final Divorce Decree. These Agreed Temporary Orders are non-binding at Final Trial and can be changed, as long as both spouses agree on any changes. Many spouses with Agreed Temporary Orders agree not to follow the Orders.
The Agreed Temporary Orders may order the child to live with spouse A; however, because of circumstances both spouses agree that the child should live with both spouse A and B on alternating weeks, or the child may live with spouse B. Also, the Agreed Temporary Orders can say visitation occurs on certain days; however in reality or actual practice, the spouses could agree on completely different days.
If agreement breaks down, the spouses can go to the Agreed Temporary Orders and SAVE a lot of money from avoiding attorney fees going to Court.
Texas Form Shop will write Agreed Temporary Orders. These will be the standard orders that most courts will use if you went to Court. While what is actually done can be VERY different from the Agreed Temporary Orders, these standard orders prevents having to go to Court, if or when, agreement breaks down.
A PROBLEM WITH AGREED TEMPORARY ORDERS
One concern, while the vast majority of divorces settle without going to trial, if your divorce did go to trial and you had Agreed Temporary Orders that were being used, then a Judge would lean to follow them, but not required to.
This is because, the law judges must follow in child custody disputes is the ''Best Interest of the Child''. Most judges consider living environment ''Stability'' to be the child’s Best Interest. If the spouses have agreed to the living arrangement of the child and are actually following it, without proof of abuse or neglect, the Judge will tend to follow the agreed arrangement. At the time of trial, you may not want the arrangement anymore.
WHAT HAPPENS AT CONTESTED TEMPORARY ORDERS:
Child Custody:
GENERALY, the Court has a only a couple of hours to decide the ''Best Interest'' of the child. At a final Trial the Court may spend days to determine the ''Best Interest'' of the Child, however at Temporary Orders it is only a couple of hours. Normally, the fight is two issues: 1) Who the Primary caregiver of the Child is; and 2) Is that care acceptable. Lawyers charge a lot of money to fight these. If the spouses can agree on these two issues, a lot of money can be saved.
PROPERTY DIVISION:
The main goal, if there is children, is stability of living location and transportation, if not, determining who will live in the house or apartment, and keeping safe ''marital'' property until Final Orders. Lawyers charge a lot of money to fight these.
What are Restraining Orders: Do you need one?
During a divorce, because emotions are on very high, even usually very normal and nice people act very immature. Therefore, the law allows either side to request Restraining Orders.
While Restraining Orders are specific as to what a person can not do(restrained from doing) and can have many pages, they simply Order a person to act as a good ''Boy'' or ''Girl'' scout. Most courts grant restraining orders if requested; however, an appearance before the Judge is required for both spouses, unless the Restraining Orders are agreed to. Many people will agree to Restraining Orders if they restrain both spouses. These are called Mutually Agreed Restraining Orders.
If a person violates a Restraining Order, the other spouse must file a Contempt of Court action against the spouse who violated the Restraining Order. The person who violated the Restraining Order can be scolded by the Judge, fined, put in jail or all three.
Texas Legal Shop sells Mutual Agreed Restraining Orders, but not papers for Contempt of Court.
What are Protective Orders: Do you need one?
Protective Orders are a little, we mean little, like restraining orders, but are MUCH more restrictive. Protective Orders can Order a person to always stay so many feet from the other spouse, spouse’s home, car or business, and many other VERY restrictive requirements. Because Protective Orders are so intrusive on a person’s liberty, they are difficult to get and require a hearing before a Judge. Violations of Protective Orders can, if observed by a police officer, mean instant jail. Then when before a judge and found guilty of violating a Protective Order: a fine and more jail time.
Texas Legal Shop does not sell the paperwork for a Protective Order.
Have you and your spouse agreed on spousal support (i.e. alimony)?
Texas courts can award maintenance(alimony) to either spouse in a divorce. The maintenance may be contractual or Ordered by the Court. The simple difference is how it can be enforced. Contractual maintenance(a contract agreed to by both spouses) is enforced as any contract can be – as any breach-of-contract lawsuit in civil court . Maintenance ordered by the Court is enforced by Contempt of Court and can have jail time, if not followed.
Court ordered alimony is only for three years. Contractual alimony is for as long the contract says.
There can be two type of Maintenance. One is called Temporary Maintenance and covers from the time of Temporary Orders to the time a divorce is granted by a judge. The second type, covers from the time of the divorce is finalized till the end of the contract or three years, if Court Ordered.
Texas Legal Shop does not write temporary or final divorce decrees that includes either contractual or Court Ordered maintenance.
Do you and your spouse own a home together?
A home purchased during your marriage falls under the definition of marital property, or the legal term used ''Community Property''. At Final Trial or by Agreement of the spouses the house may be sold and the money divided, or one person may continue to live in the house. A divorce order has to be drawn and a Special Warranty Deed from the one not living in the house signed to the one living in the house. Texas Legal Shop can write the appropriate Order.
Do either you or your spouse have a retirement plan?
Plans are usually, but not always, divided equally. Certain circumstances can affect how retirement plans are divided and each company needs the division and payment orders in their certain format. Therefore, because of the technical nature of dividing retirements, it is STRONGLY encouraged you hire an attorney for this. Texas Legal Shop does not write Orders that divide retirement plans. However, you may use us to us to write the divorce petition.
Do you wish Reimbursement an Equitable Interest?
Reimbursement and its cousin, an Equitable Interest, are two different requests of the Court in a divorce, they are very much alike, but have very technical differences. Simple, when spouse A puts his separate money or time into either spouses’ B’s separate property or separate money into community property he can have a claim for it back. Or, spouse A, puts a tremendous amount of Community(Marital) Property or A’s time into his separate property, B would have a claim. It is up to negotiations, or a judge at trial, to determine the amount due back, or if it was a gift to the Community or other spouse.
Texas Legal Shop does not write divorce Petitions (papers asking for a divorce) requesting either Reimbursement or an Equitable Interest.
Are there any other actions you want to bring against your spouse?
You must bring in the divorce any and all legal actions against your spouse for things that happened in the marriage during the divorce or you are prevented in the future from bringing to Court. These legal actions in the divorce May allow a better negotiated settlement for you. Just a few items you can sue on are(there are many more): Assault; Transmitting a sexual disease; and Unlawful wiretapping. Texas Form Shop writes legal forms to address these actions.
Do you or your spouse want a name change?
If you or your spouse changed the last name upon marriage, either one of you can change it back. Texas Legal Shop will write your divorce papers requesting an Order of the name change.
The questionnaire below will gather information about both parties in the divorce. Once reviewed, your divorce papers are prepared according to Texas law. Complete filing instructions are also included.
