Contested divorces typically involve disagreements over the custody and support of children and how to divide the community estate (property acquired during the marriage, income from seperate property during the marriage, etc…). These types of divorce typically are drawn out and require extensive discovery, hearings, and are more expensive than uncontested divorces.

The Divorce Process

The initial steps involved in a divorce are similar whether the divorce is contested or uncontested. The first step is to file the petition with the appropriate clerks office and pay the appropriate filing fees. Texas law requires a waiting period of 60 days prior to granting the divorce. There are very limited circumstances where the waiting period may be waived by the court.  If the divorce is contested, there will likely be a hearing for temporary orders dealing with care and support for the children and possibly the spouse and prohibiting a laundry list of conduct that is common to divorce (destroying property, disparaging remarks, wasting or hiding money, etc…).

If you’re thinking about divorce, there are a few things to consider initially:

  • Texas divorce law recognizes that as long as one party is domiciled in Texas every marriage (between a man and a woman) entered into is presumed valid even if the persons were married elsewhere.
  • Texas divorce law requires that a party wishing to divorce and planning to file for divorce must be a resident of the state of Texas for six months and a resident of the county in which the lawsuit is filed for the preceding 90 days.
  • Texas also requires that, at the same time divorce proceedings are occurring, all property issues and all children related issues are addressed and resolved.
  • Texas presumes that every child born during the marriage is the biological offspring of that marriage, even if both parties acknowledge the child is not biological child of one of the parties. In this case it is important to have a finding the child is not the biological child of non-paternity parent.

Discovery in the Divorce

In a contested divorce action, there is frequently a need for discovery of documents, assets, liabilities, testimony of experts, and electronic information relevant to the case. This is accomplished through the use of interrogatories, admissions, and depositions, to name a few.

Mediation

In contested actions in the Houston-Metro area, it is common for the court to order the parties to mediation to settle the matters. Many cases are resolved at mediation, however some are not. In the cases that are not, a trial will be necessary to decide the facts and divide the property involved or issues raised.

Contact Attorney Dan Krieger to schedule an appointment to discuss your case today at (281) 601-1436. Dan will help explain your options and describe the steps that need to be taken to get you and your children through this very tough time.