The laws of Texas governing divorce and family matters are contained in the Family Code of the Texas Statutes which are found at the following link.
Initial considerations for Divorce
To file for divorce in Texas, at least one party has to be domiciled (you can have multiple residences but only one domicile) in Texas for six months. Additionally one of the parties has to live in the county where the divorce is filed for ninety days. Once you know the appropriate county in which to file the case, you must then find the appropriate court. In Texas, divorce actions are filed in District Courts. In sparsely populated parts of the state, several counties are served by a single district court. In urban areas, a county may have more than one district court. In the higher populated counties the action may be assigned to a subsidiary Family Law District Court, if one is available.
Grounds for Divorce
Grounds for divorce are the legal reasons or basis for the divorce. Texas has several fault grounds for divorce and also recognizes two grounds for no fault divorce. Texas Family Code Title 1, Chapter 6, linked above, is where the details are spelled out. The common provision is set forth at Section 6.001 as follows:
Sec. 6.001. INSUPPORTABILITY. On 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.
The other "no fault" basis is if the parties have lived apart for at least three years. Sec. 6.006.
The fault provisions include the following:
- Cruelty (Sec. 6.002)
- Adultery (Sec. 6.003)
- Convicted of Felony and incarcerated at least one year (Sec 6.004)
- Abandonment (Sec. 6.005)
- Confinement in a Mental Hospital for at least three years. (Sec. 6.007).
Division of Property
The Texas Statutes Family Codes at paragraph 7.001 notes the general rule regarding property division as follows:
"In a decree of divorce or annulment, the court shall order a division of the estate of the parties 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."
To determine what is just and right in Texas, reference to the property law of the state is in order. The first part of the analysis is what is the estate of the parties that will be divided? It does not include the separate property of the parties, owned by one spouse prior to the marriage. It does not include property acquired by one spouse by gift or inheritance during the marriage and it does not include any recovery by one spouse for personal injuries.
Texas is a "community property" state, meaning that property acquired by either spouse during the marriage, except that listed as separate property above, will be divided equally, unless the court finds that equal division would be unjust. The property acquired during the marriage is presumed to be community property unless shown otherwise. Thus, while the statute might lead one to conclude that Texas is an equitable distribution state, in fact equal distribution is the rule.
