Filing for Divorce in Texas

1. What are the residency requirements for filing for divorce in Texas?  
You or your spouse must have been a resident of Texas for at least six months before filing. You must file in the county in which you or your spouse has lived for at least 90 days.  

2. Does Texas have a waiting period?       
Yes. The court will not grant you a divorce for at least 60 days after you file. In addition, the court may order you and your spouse to seek counseling during this time. The counselor will be required to submit a report at the end of your counseling telling the court whether there’s a reasonable chance you might reconcile. If so, the court may order you to continue counseling for as long as 60 days further. If you and your spouse have children younger than 18, your counseling may address issues your children are facing as a result of your case.  

3. Does the state have grounds for divorce?  
Yes. You may file for a divorce if conflict between you and your spouse is so great that there’s no reasonable hope you might reconcile. In addition, you may file on these grounds in Texas:

• Your spouse is so cruel to you that continuing to live together is impossible.
• Your spouse has committed adultery — had an affair.
• Your spouse has been convicted of a felony, has been in prison for at least a year and has not been pardoned (unless your spouse was convicted based on testimony by you).
• Your spouse has abandoned you and been gone for at least a year.
• You and your spouse have lived apart for at least three years.
• Your spouse has been in a mental institution for at least three years and it appears that recovery is unlikely.  

4. How does Texas determine the division of property?    
You and your spouse are encouraged to come up with a settlement on your own and present it to the court. If you can’t agree, the court will divide your property for you. The court will divide your property in whatever way it decides is fair. It considers property that you or your spouse acquired during your marriage to be community property and eligible for division, regardless of whose name is on the title. This includes:

• Property that you or your spouse acquired while living in another state if it would have been community property had you been living in Texas at the time.
• Property that you received in exchange for property that would have been community property had you been living in Texas at the time that you acquired it.

The court does not divide your separate property. In Texas this is:

• Property that you acquired before you were married.
• Property that you acquired by gift or inheritance.
• Money you received for personal injuries during your marriage (unless it was for loss of earnings that would have been community property).
• Property that you received in exchange for your separate property.
• Property that you acquired in another state that would have been your separate property if you had been living in Texas at the time that you acquired it.
• Property that you received in exchange for property that would have been your separate property if you had been living in Texas at the time that you acquired it.  

The court also will not divide any income and earnings from you or your spouse’s property, wages, salaries or other compensation during your marriage that you and your spouse confirm is separate property in a written agreement.  

The court will weigh you and your spouse’s rights to your assets in pensions, retirement plans, stock options, insurance policies and the like.  

The court also will take into account the tax situations you and your spouse would face in dividing your property.  

5. Does Texas require mediation before a divorce is granted?  
Mediation is not always required, but the court may order it in your case. In particular, the court may order mediation if you and your spouse disagree over child custody or visitation (unless there is evidence of domestic violence).