Legal Question in Family Law in Texas

Re: Divorce hearing question

A divorce case, even one that is agreed, technically is a trial. Even if the divorce is agreed, at least one of the spouses has to show up at the "prove up" to give some perfunctory testimony so that there is some evidence in the record.

The law does permit a "stipultation" divorce, where the facts are stipulated so that neither party appears, but most judges will not grant a stipulation divorce because of the potential for fraud.

Even if the case is contested, there is no rule that you must appear (unless you are subpoenaed), but as a practical matter, you will lose and lose big if you fail to appear at your own divorce trial.