Legal Question in Family Law in Texas
Divorce question
I have just discovered papers where my husband is planning a divorce. He is completeing some information worksheet that he found on line. I have since found the sight and am doing the same thing. We have a child who will be 18 in July and a 15 year old who will want to live with his dad. I will agree to this. (1) If we can come to an amincable agreement between the 2 of us will the divorce be faster? (2) Will we need to retain a lawyer or will we just need to use mediation?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Divorce question
The answers to your questions are:
1. Unless you live in a relatively unpopulated county where the court's docket moves unusually quickly, then you will become divorced more quickly if you reach agreement with your husband.
2. You can work out your divorce in mediation, either with or without lawyers. However, unless someone on your side has some legal training, you will be negotiating in the blind. Similarly, you do not need a lawyer to "prove up" a divorce at the courthouse, but if you want to make sure it is done correctly, you should retain one.
Mandatory Waiting Period for Divorce in Texas
I agree wholeheartedly wth all the advice given by Mr. Jimmy L. Verner, Jr.
I would only add for your information, that there is a mandatory sixty (60) day waiting period from the time a divorce is filed until the Judge has jurisdiction to grant it. In other words, you could not get the final resolutiion until at least two months have passed.