If your determination to be happy has triggered the painful decision to divorce your spouse, you need a resourceful, responsive legal representation in your corner that removes your misgivings — and guides you to a brighter future.
We are Scroggins Law Group — experienced Dallas divorce attorneys protecting the family.
At Scroggins Law Group, we understand your concerns about the potential negative impact of divorce on your children. We address contentious child custody issues — and parental relocations that can affect them — as promptly and efficiently as we problem-solve for alimony matters, division of marital assets and property, and specific dilemmas unique to the conclusions of high-asset marriages.
Texas Divorce 101
To file for divorce in Texas, either spouse must have been a resident of the state for at least six months prior to filing and must have resided in the county where the Petition is filed for the prior 90 days. If one spouse has resided in Texas for the past six months and the other spouse lives in a different state or country, the spouse residing outside of Texas is permitted to file for divorce in the county in which the Texas spouse lives.
Grounds for Divorce in Texas
There are seven statutory grounds for divorce in Texas, most of which require a finding of fault on the part of one of the spouses. However, one ground, insupportability, is considered no-fault and is used most often.
A divorce may be granted on any of the following grounds:
- 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; (no-fault)
2. Cruelty by one spouse towards the other of a nature that renders living together unsupportable;
3. Adultery;
4. The commitment of a felony by one spouse, who has been imprisoned for at least one year in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, a federal penitentiary, or the penitentiary of another state, and who has not been pardoned (This does not apply if the spouse was convicted on the testimony of the other spouse);
5. Abandonment for at least one year;
6. If the couple have lived apart without cohabitation for at least three years; and
7. If, at the time the suit is filed, one of the spouses has been confined in a state mental hospital or private mental hospital in Texas or any other state for at least three years and it appears that the mental disorder is of such a degree and nature that adjustment is unlikely, or if adjustment occurs, a relapse is probable.
Basic Information Regarding Different Parts of Divorce in Texas.
Property Division
Texas is a community property state. Statute allows the court to divide marital property in a manner that the court deems just and right, having due regard for the rights of each party and any children of the marriage.
Custody
In Texas, custody is referred to as conservatorship. Joint legal custody is referred to as Joint Managing Conservatorship and means that both parents share in the major decision-making rights, privileges, duties and powers held by parents. The best interest of the child is the primary consideration in determining custody. It is Texas public policy to assure that children have frequent and continuing contact with parents who have shown the ability to act in the best interest of the child; provide children with safe, stable and nonviolent environments; and encourage parents to share in the rights and duties of raising their children after parents have separated or divorced.
Child Support
Texas uses the Varying Percentage of Income Model to calculate child support obligations. It is based on the obligor’s net income and the number of children the obligor has. When the obligor’s monthly net income/resources are $8550 or less, the following schedule applies.
1 child = 20% of the Obligor’s net income/resources
2 children = 25% of the Obligor’s net income/resources
3 children = 30% of the Obligor’s net income/resources
4 children = 35% of the Obligor’s net income/resources
5 children = 40% of the Obligor’s net income/resources
6 or more children = Not less than the amount for 5 children
Spousal Maintenance
In Texas, maintenance refers to an award of periodic payments from the future income of one spouse for the support of the other spouse, in a suit for Dissolution of Marriage. The obligee is the person entitled to receive the maintenance payments, and the obligor is the person required to make the maintenance payments.
Every divorce is unique and has multiple issues that need to be resolved. If you are considering divorce, one of the most important decisions you can make is choosing who to represent you in and out of court during this process. Contact Mark L. Scroggins and the legal experts at Scroggins Law Group to navigate and shepherd you through the difficult process of divorce.