Jurisdiction
To file for and obtain a divorce in Texas, a person must be a resident of Texas for at least six months and a resident of the county for the past 90 days. Jurisdiction over the other party must be obtained by either serving him/her legal process within the State of Texas or securing his/her voluntary consent to jurisdiction in Texas. If a spouse's whereabouts are unknown, he or she may be served by publishing a notice in a local area newspaper. A respondent in a divorce matter may be deemed to have submitted to jurisdiction in Texas if he or she engaged in sexual relations in the state which resulted in the conception of a child, or otherwise has sufficient contacts with the state. The venue for the divorce action is in the county where either one of the parties resides.
Fault
The fault of either party need not be proved in order to obtain a divorce. All that is necessary is to show that the parties are incompatible. The fault of a spouse leading to the breakdown of a marriage (such as infidelity, abuse or substance abuse problems) may be relevant to a divorce action impacting child custody and final property division.
The Petition
A divorce is commenced when a petition is filed by a party. A petition must contain certain statutory language and contain information about any children in the marriage. A filing fee must be paid at the time of filing the petition.
Service of Process
In order for the respondent in a divorce case to be brought within the jurisdiction of the district courts of Texas, that person must be served with copies of the petition, temporary orders and a summons requiring him/her to file a responsive pleading within a certain time period. This is usually done by the county sheriff or an authorized process server. The service cannot be made by one party serving the other. The respondent may voluntarily consent to the jurisdiction of the court and waive service of process. This is usually accomplished by the respondent signing a form that is filed with the court. Once a respondent is served or has entered his/her appearance, the temporary orders take effect.
Waiting Period
In Texas there is a 60 day "cooling off" period after filing for divorce. Absent circumstances warranting an emergency divorce, a final decree of divorce cannot be granted until 60 days have passed since the filing of the petition.
Discovery
During the cooling off period, the parties will often engage in "discovery". Discovery is a process in which the two parties exchange information concerning the issues involved in the divorce. The parties may submit written questions to each other, request the production of documents and take each other's deposition. Some cases require intensive discovery in which other witnesses are deposed, appraisals of property are obtained, homes and safe deposit boxes are inventoried and records are subpoenaed. If a party refuses to respond to discovery requests, he or she may be sanctioned by the court.
Trial
Any issues which the parties cannot agree on will be tried to and decided by the court. Each party may call witnesses and introduce exhibits to support his or her position. The court will decide the dispute and make certain orders which will be contained in the decree of divorce.
Decree of Divorce
The decree of divorce is the official court document which dissolves the marriage of the parties. The decree will usually contain the judge's orders concerning property division, child custody, child support, child visitation, spousal maintenance and other issues. Once the decree is filed with the clerk of the court the divorce is final, although the court retains exclusive continuing jurisdiction over issues concerning the children and maintenance.
