Austin Family Law Questions? See Below for Answers …

If divorce is a possibility in your future or even if you are in the middle of a divorce case already, you probably have a lot of questions about the process and what is going to happen in your case.  Divorce is a complicated and confusing process and it would be unusual for someone going through it to not have many questions.  This page contains a lot of information about Texas family law and divorce along with links to other pages on our website that contain more detailed answers to some of the key issues.

Disclaimer

IMPORTANT: while getting educated about the process is important and extremely helpful, it is no substitute for getting competent advice from a qualified divorce attorney about the specifics of your case.  The information on this website is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for hiring a lawyer for your case.

Questions About Austin Family Law?

If you have a question about Austin family law first try reviewing the answers given below on this page to some of the most common questions.  If you can’t find what you are looking for then feel free to use the contact form below to send your question in.  While we can’t promise that every question will be answered, I use the questions as material for our blog and give answers there.  Note: by sending in your question you are giving Morgan Law Firm permission to reprint the question on our blog. Please do not include personal information that you do not want reprinted publicly.

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    Common Austin Divorce Questions

    How Long Does it Take to Get Divorced?

    At a minimum it takes 60 days from the time the divorce petition is filed.   However, this assumes the parties reached an agreement and signed all necessary documents.  If the case is contested and requires a trial the length of time depends largely on the court you are in. It is not unusual for a contested case to take more than a year to go to trial.  Most cases are somewhere in between the two month and twelve month extreme scenarios described.

    How Much Will Child Support Be?

    The answer depends on several factors including the income of the payor spouse, the number of children involved, and the number of additional children the payor spouse is legally obligated to support.  For most cases the determination will be made based upon the Texas child support guidelines outlined in the Family Code.  For a detailed analysis of this issue see our child support video.

    If We Can’t Agree on Custody How Does a Judge Make that Decision?

    The Texas Family Code mandate to the courts is to base possession and access primarily on the child’s best interests.  That means that while court’s generally are concerned with and sympathetic to each parent’s desires and want to be fair to the parties, that is not their primary consideration.  They are required to do what is in the child’s best interest even if that outcome might seem unfair to a party.  Usually this means ensuring that each parent has an active and involved role in their child’s life.

    What is Visitation under the Standard Possession Order?

    Standard possession order visitation is presumed under the Texas Family Code to be in the child’s best interest.  It (or some variation of it) is used in the vast majority of Texas cases involving children.  The schedule itself is extremely detailed.  See this blog post for an in-depth analysis of the Standard Possession Order schedule.

    What is Separate Property and Can it Be Divided?

    Separate property under Texas law comes in three broad forms: property you owned prior to marriage, property you received as a gift or inheritance during the marriage, and certain kinds of personal injury recoveries.  Separate property is another extremely complicated topic.  To read more about it see our Texas separate property video.

    Is Community Property Always Divided 50/50?

    This is a very common myth.  Although many community property states mandate that the division of community property be 50/50, Texas is not one of them.  The Family Code provides many viable arguments that allow a spouse to request a disproportionate division of assets in their favor.  See our blog post on disproportionate property division.

    Improve Your Property Division Result

    If you want a really in-depth analysis of division of community property in a Texas divorce case you should get our free report, “Eight Secrets to Getting a Fair Property Division.”  All you need to do is register below and the link to the pdf file will be sent to your inbox.


    The Report Will Show You:

    • What Financial Records to Compile
    • What is Separate Property and How Can it Impact Your Property Division
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