Divorce law

     If your marriage is in trouble, and your best efforts to save it have not worked, you need a good attorney on your side who can help you through the process of a very difficult and confusing system while keeping your best interest at heart.

     Our firm strongly believes that obtaining the best possible result in your divorce does not have to be a painful ordeal. We believe that often times negotiating and participating in collaborative law procedures to resolve cases is a better alternative to our clients than experiencing a contested and stressful court procedure. This holds true especially when there are children involved and the parties must continue to be in contact with each other.

Each divorce is unique and carries with it different facts.  Depending on the circumstances, complexities of the division of property and other central matters that may be contested, you may experience some or all of the following in a divorce proceeding in the State of Texas.

These are the stages of a divorce in Texas:

1. Filing for divorce

2. Temporary orders

3. Discovery

4. Negotiations

5. Final hearing
 

1. Filing for divorce

One of the parties will be the Petitioner presenting a Petition for Divorce to the Court. This is usually done through his or her attorney. The Respondent is then served with the papers and is given time to respond. With the Petition, there is usually an Order setting a hearing for “Temporary Orders.”

2. Temporary orders

Their purpose is to decide what will happen with the children and the property during the pendency of the divorce. They are necessary to prevent wasteful management of the assets and to avoid conflicts that could harm the children.

3. Discovery

Once the Petition for Divorce is filed the discovery period begins. The parties exchange any documents and information relevant to the case. The scope of discovery is very broad and the parties are expected to cooperate.

4. Negotiations

The parties, through their attorneys, engage in conversations regarding the terms of the divorce. They may be informal, or they can be done through mediation or other collaborative law procedures.

5. Final Hearing

If the parties cannot agree to all the terms of the divorce, there will be a trial, referred to also as a final hearing. At the final hearing the witnesses are heard and evidence is introduced. The judge, and in some cases a jury, will decide the issues. The judge grants the divorce and one of the parties prepares a Final Order or Divorce Decree reflecting the disposition of the issues.