In Texas, when the divorce petition is filed, either the spouse who files it (the petitioner) or the spouse whom it is served on (the respondent) must have lived in Texas for the past six months.

And, one of the spouses must have been a resident of the county in which the petition is filed for at least 90 days before the filing.

Texas requires a minimum 60-day waiting period between filing a Petition for Divorce and when a judge can finalize the divorce, so the quickest a divorce can be granted is 61 days.

The average cost of a traditional contested divorce with each spouse represented by an attorney is around $15,500 with no kids and around $22,500 with minor children.

Note: Spouses seeking an uncontested divorce using LetsGetDivorced.com's online divorce service can enormously reduce divorce costs and get all of their divorce paperwork inexpensively for only $99.

It's possible to get a free divorce in Texas, but there are some requirements. First, the petitioner should file for an uncontested divorce. Second, the petitioner needs to be able to get their divorce documents, and have them filled out for free, or fill them out themself. And lastly, to not be charged the court's filing fee the petitioner has to file, and have granted by a judge, the court's fee waiver form.

Note: Using LetsGetDivorced.com's online divorce service the petitioner can obtain and fill out their divorce paperwork for only $99.

The state of Texas allows people to file for divorce without using an attorney and permits online divorce services to provide and prepare the divorce forms required to file for a divorce in Texas.

Absolutely! Our fee for completing all your divorce forms online and providing access to our customer support team by phone or email is a one-time payment of just $99. We have no hidden fees, no monthly subscription charges, and no document storage fees.

The plain truth is that we've chosen to offer our high-quality online divorce service at a very affordable price, that allows us to make a fair profit while keeping our company operational to assist as many people as we can.

We wish we could include the court's filing fee but it can vary by county. The court can waive the filing fee for petitioners who qualify as low-income and file a request to have the filing fee waived.

In the state of Texas, these are the most common forms needed to file for an uncontested divorce without minor children. Original Petition for Divorce Civil Case Information Sheet Information on Suit Affecting the Family Relationship (VS-165) Waiver of Service and Consent Marital Settlement Agreement Final Decree of Divorce Plus, if your divorce involves minor children, additional forms will need to be completed regarding custody, child support and visitation. Using LetsGetDivorced.com, it's easy to prepare your divorce forms online for only $99.

The cheapest way to get a divorce in Texas is to do it yourself, without a lawyer, by filing an uncontested divorce where you and your spouse agree on all terms. In a DIY divorce, you prepare and file the legal documents yourself, so you avoid hiring a lawyer and paying for their services. You only need to pay the court filing fee, unless you qualify for a low-income waiver.

An uncontested divorce is the cheapest, quickest and most stress-free way to get divorced. In an uncontested divorce both spouses agree to the filing and granting of their divorce and all of the terms of their divorce, including: the division of their joint marital property (assets and debts) and the payment or waiver of spousal support. Also, if there are minor children of their marriage both spouses must also agree on child custody, visitation and child support.

The following is a general outline of how child support is usually calculated and handled in Texas: In Texas, as in all states, parents have a legal obligation to support their minor children. When they contemplate getting divorced, one of the most important issues is: How will child support work? Texas has official child support guidelines that provide very detailed rules that determine the amount of monetary support (child support) that is to be paid after the divorce to support the minor children of the marriage. The basic concept of the child support guidelines is that the amount of child support is based on what is called the "net income" of the divorced parent who has the obligation to pay child support. That sounds pretty simple, but the rules are very complex when it comes to determining what must be used to determine net income and when the spouses may be able to deviate from the guideline amount of child support.

The Noncustodial Parent Pays Child Support In a Texas divorce, the physical custody of a minor child can be agreed to by the parents, and if they cannot agree, custody will be decided by a judge. Physical custody can be viewed as indicating which parent the minor child will primarily live with after the divorce. This parent is called the custodial parent. The other parent, who the minor child spends less time with and who has a right of visitation to spend time with the child, is called the non-custodial parent. Although a judge has the authority to order either parent or both of them to pay child support, typically, child support is paid by the non-custodial parent to the custodial parent. The custodial parent has the obligation to use the child support payments they receive to provide daily support for the minor child that lives with them. For example, they could provide their minor child with food, clothing and housing.

How to Use the Texas Child Support Guidelines The Texas Child support guidelines use an "income percentage" method that determines the net income of the non-custodial parent. If you want to get a basic estimate of what the child support amount may be in your divorce, you can use a free child support calculator that is provided by the Texas Office of the Attorney General (OAG). This calculator only handles cases where the non-custodial parent has only one source of income. For more complicated situations, you will need to use the rules in the guidelines to determine what constitutes net monthly income and the specific amount of support according to the following steps.

Gross Income Included in Calculating Child Support For child support purposes, income includes: all wages and salary, including commissions, military pay, tips, overtime, and bonuses self-employment income interest and dividends net rental income from property the parent owns severance pay unemployment benefits retirement benefits veterans' benefits disability benefits, or workers' compensation awards. Sometimes a parent in a divorce may decide to try to lower or avoid paying child support by becoming unemployed or underemployed. They should keep in mind that a judge has the authority to impute (attribute) income based on what that parent is actually capable of earning.

Net Income for the Texas Child Support Guidelines To determine the non-custodial parent's net income for paying child support, you need to subtract the following costs from the total gross income: Social Security taxes, income taxes for a single person, the cost of health insurance, dental insurance, or cash medical support for the child, union dues, and non-discretionary retirement contributions if the noncustodial parent does not pay social security taxes.

Number of Children Requiring Support After you determine the noncustodial parent's "annual" net income you need to take their net "monthly" income (which is 1/12 of their annual income), and then multiply the net monthly income by a percentage that is determined by the number of children that will be included in the child support. When the custodial parent's net income is not above or below a certain monetary threshold, the following percentages are used for this calculation: 1 child = 20% 2 children = 25% 3 children = 30% 4 children = 35% 5 children = 40% For 6 or more children, the amount must be at least the same as for five children. If the noncustodial parent's net monthly resources are less than $1,000, these percentages are each reduced by five percentage points (they will then range from 15% to 35%). Also, if the non-custodial parent has net monthly resources above a certain level ($9,200 a month, under the adjustment made in 2019), a judge may increase the amount of child support that must be paid, depending on both parents' incomes and the child's needs. The threshold changes every six years to account for inflation.

Health Insurance as Part of Child Support In Texas, as in most states, in addition to the obligation to pay the child support amount calculated under the child support guidelines, the parents will also have to provide for their minor child's health insurance and dental insurance.

When Child Support May Be Higher or Lower Than the Guideline Amount Once the amount of child support payable under the guidelines is established, it is presumed by a judge that this amount is in the "best interests" of the child. However, the judge may order a different amount of child support if they determine that applying the guideline amount would be "unjust or inappropriate" in that case. The judge must consider all relevant circumstances, including the following factors, when ruling that the amount of child support that will be ordered to be paid will be different than the guideline amount: the age and needs of the child the parents' ability to support the child the time the child spends with each parent whether either parent has custody of another child or is paying post-secondary educational expenses for a child the custodial parent's net resources child care expenses alimony (spousal maintenance) that a parent is paying or receiving the cost of the child's travel between the parents if they live far apart, and extraordinary expenses, such as for health care or education. If the judge orders the payment of a child support amount that deviates from the guideline amount, the judge must expalin in their order the reason(s) why it would be "unfair or inappropriate" to use the guideline amount. It is important to keep in mind, that the courts favor agreements; the parents of the minor child can always agree that the amount of child support to be paid will be higher than the guideline amount. However, if the parents agree that the child support amount will be less than the guideline amount of child support, they will need to explain why applying the guideline would be unfair or inappropriate. Always keep in mind that the judge will not approve the parents' agreement about the amount of child support unless the judge agrees that the amount is in the child's best interests.

Collecting Child Support in Texas Once child support is ordered, it must be paid. If you find yourself in the situation of needing or wanting help to collect child support, you may request assistance at the website of the Child Support Division of the Texas Attorney General's Office (OAG) by calling them at (800) 252-8014.

Changing a Texas Child Support Order It is important to remember that after a child support order is in effect, you may request a modification (a change) of the terms of that order. To be granted a modification of a child support order, you will need to establish, based on the same legal requirements for an original child support order, that there has been "a substantial change of circumstances" that affects the ability of the non-custodial parent to pay the amount of child support or the need for the change in the amount of child support. As with the original order for child support, you and the child's other parent are allowed to make an agreement to modify the original order for child support. But you will still need to appear before a judge so the judge can review your agreement and decide whether it is in "the best interest" of your child to approve that change to the child support order. In addition to seeking judicial relief in a court to request a modification, you may also request a modification through the Texas Office of the Attorney General (OAG) in its "Child Support Review Process" (CSRP).

Texas has "fault" and "no-fault" divorce grounds (legally acceptable reasons) to end a marriage.

"NO FAULT" GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE IN TEXAS:

Insupportability. The court may grant a divorce without regard to fault if the marriage has become insupportable because of discord or conflict of personalities that destroys the legitimate ends of the marital relationship and prevents any reasonable expectation of reconciliation.

"FAULT" GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE IN TEXAS:

Cruelty. The court may grant a divorce in favor of one spouse if the other spouse is guilty of cruel treatment toward the complaining spouse of a nature that renders further living together insupportable.

Adultery. The court may grant a divorce in favor of one spouse if the other spouse has committed adultery.

Conviction of Felony. The court may grant a divorce in favor of one spouse if during the marriage the other spouse has been convicted of a felony; has been imprisoned for at least one year in the state penitentiary, a federal penitentiary, or the penitentiary of another state; and has not been pardoned. The court may not grant a divorce against a spouse who was convicted on the testimony of the other spouse.

Abandonment. The court may grant a divorce in favor of one spouse if the other spouse left the complaining spouse with the intention of abandonment; and remained away for at least one year.

Living Separate and Apart for three years. The court may grant a divorce in favor of either spouse if the spouses have lived apart without cohabitation for at least three years.

Confinement in Mental Hospital. The court may grant a divorce in favor of one spouse if at the time the suit is filed the other spouse has been confined in a state mental hospital or private mental hospital for at least three years; and it appears that the hospitalized spouse's mental disorder is of such a degree and nature that adjustment is unlikely or that, if adjustment occurs, a relapse is probable.

In Texas, the basic steps to file for an uncontested divorce without a lawyer begin by determining if you meet the Texas residency requirement. The next step is to fill out the "Original Petition for Divorce". Then, file the petition at your county's district clerk's office and pay the required filing fee. Notify your spouse about the divorce filing by serving them with a copy of the divorce papers. If you and your spouse both agree on all of the issues concerning your divorce, you can draft and file with the court an "Agreed Final Decree of Divorce", which both of you must sign. Attend a scheduled court hearing, with all of your divorce paperwork, to have the judge review it. The spouse who is the respondent is not required to attend the hearing. If everything is in order, the judge can approve and grant your divorce, and sign the Agreed Final Decree of Divorce.