Articles Tagged with Kaufman County Divorce

Why is everyone talking about fault and no-fault divorce lately?

Fault divorces have been in the news lately in Texas because Representative Matt Krause from Fort Worth authored a bill that would get rid of so-called “no-fault” divorces in Texas. Right now, all fifty states allow for a no-fault divorce. Currently under the Texas Family Code a Judge can grant a divorce based on either “fault” or “no-fault” grounds. This fault or no-fault option is something that only 17 states and the District of Columbia currently allow. “No-fault” is known by family law attorneys as insupportability, basically there is no proof required to obtain a divorce based on the ground of insupportability. Section 6.001 of the family code simply states, “[o]n the petition of either party to a marriage, 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.” Most family law attorneys say the majority of divorces that they file are based on insupportability because it speeds up the process and reduces the stress related to divorce for many parties.

According to Representative Krause, the bill in its current draft would not actually get rid of all no-fault divorces. The bill in its current form would only apply to divorces with children or “unilateral” divorces. Basically, if there are no children of the parties seeking the divorce and both parties agree that they want to get divorced this bill would not apply and the ground of insupportability would still be available to obtain a divorce. The idea behind this according to proponents of the bill is to promote stability for children and prevent quick acting divorces. Opponents of the bill worry that this bill would increase the cost of divorce and lead to an increase in domestic violence as a result of parties being unable to easily obtain a divorce.

If you live in Crandall and need help with a divorce, I can help you through the process. I understand this can be a difficult experience in many ways, emotionally, mentally and financially.  But as your Crandall Texas divorce lawyer, it’s my job to make the process as hassle-free as possible for you and to make sure you get what you need and are entitled to out of the divorce process. I practice primarily in Kaufman county and am familiar with the system there, the judges, and many of the attorneys who could be hired by your spouse.

A divorce always starts with one spouse filing a petition for divorce. Once the petition has been filed, the other spouse must be served with the papers. Once that has been done, a temporary orders hearing is often the first major step in the divorce process. Temporary orders are sometimes necessary to determine what will happen while the divorce is pending. For example, if you have children, it will need to be decided who the kids will live with primarily during the divorce and when the other spouse will have visitation. And it usually needs to be decided who will be the spouse to have exclusive use of the marital home. Who will pay certain bills? Who will drive what car? These are a few of the common questions addressed through temporary orders.

From there, it’s simply a process of trying to decide how to finalize the divorce. The three main issues that come up in divorce are children, assets and debts. These issues can frequently be resolved by the parties outside the courtroom. There are several advantages to settling outside of court. First of all, you and your spouse get to decide what it best for you and your kids instead of leaving it up to a judge who doesn’t know you from Adam (or Eve). Second, the sooner an agreement can be reached, the sooner you can stop paying attorneys to try and resolve your case. And if an agreement can’t be reached through an informal process, there are tools such as mediation to help you come to an agreement. Mediation is a process in which an uninvolved third party speaks to each party individually and tries to help them work towards a resolution. In my experience, this is a highly effective tool.

Guest & Gray has offices in Rockwall, Forney and Kaufman and serves family law clients in counties all over the Metroplex like Kaufman, Rockwall, Hunt, Ellis, Van Zandt, Smith, Dallas, Collin, Denton, and Henderson. We have experience with a wide variety of family law issues including but not limited to divorce, child custody, child support, paternity, adoptions, grandparent rights, family violence and child custody and support modifications.

The most common family law issue is divorce. This can be a difficult experience and confusing process. If you have questions about how to start the process of getting a divorce, what the process of getting a divorce is like, and the possible outcomes for a divorce, please read this post that discusses each of those questions: Kaufman County Divorce. One part of the divorce process is the division of property. In Texas, there are two kinds of property in a divorce, separate and community property. For an explanation of separate property, please read this post: Kaufman County Separate Property.

One of the big stages of a divorce proceeding is the hearing for temporary orders that usually takes place within two to three weeks after filing for divorce. As the word temporary belies, these orders are not permanent but are designed to set a status quo while the divorce is pending. Check out this post to get a better understanding about this step in the divorce process: Kaufman County Temporary Orders.

Contact Information