No, not at all. Very few divorce cases go to a trial. Most couples are able to reach an out of court settlement. These out of court settlements are often reached using mediation, collaborative law, settlement conferences, and simple negotiation over the phone.

Of course, there are certain situations that may force you to go to court, but that’s usually a last resort. Most people prefer to have control over the decisions made during their divorce instead of letting a judge do it for them.

Probably not. Texas law recognizes that a child has a right to know both of his or her parents. Also, Texas courts want to make sure that children are supported and cared for. This is why they always try to do what’s in the “best interest of the child.”

Unless there is another person that wants to adopt your child, it’s unlikely that a judge would grant a termination of parental rights.

The Texas divorce residency requirements are fairly simple. There are two conditions that you must meet before you can file for divorce in Texas:

1. Either you or your spouse must have been living in Texas for at least 6 months
2. Either you or your spouse must have been living in the county in which you’re filing for the preceding 90 days.

If you are a member of the military and you are stationed overseas, but you consider Texas your home state, then can file for divorce in Texas in the county where you consider yourself to reside.

Grounds basically means the reason for your divorce. In Texas, you can file for divorce based on fault grounds or no fault grounds.

The fault grounds are adultery, cruelty (domestic violence), incarceration and abandonment.

The no fault grounds are insupportability, living apart for 3+ years, and confinement in a mental institution.

The vast majority of divorce cases in Texas are filed under the no fault ground of insupportability.

Texas courts typically only appoint a lawyer for you in a criminal case. So it’s unlikely that a judge will will appoint an attorney for you for a family matter such as divorce.

However, if one party to the divorce is missing or unable to be found, the court may appoint someone to represent their interests. In this situation, the appointed attorney would be called an attorney ad litem. This attorney ad litem would represent the missing person’s interests as related to children’s issues and property division in the divorce.

Marriage is a contract and that contract can be terminated by either party. In layman’s terms, if either spouse wants a divorce, he or she can get one. The other party can’t stop it.

If you don’t want to get a divorce, but your spouse does, then non-legal options such as marriage counseling may be your best option.

On the other hand, if you and your spouse both decide to stop the divorce proceedings, you’ll need to “Nonsuit it.” That means that the person who filed the Original Petition for Divorce will need to file a Motion to Nonsuit.

You could also just wait for the court to dismiss the case due to inactivity, but it’s probably not wise to leave an active lawsuit open if you’ve decided not to pursue it.

The short answer is no. There is no such thing as legal separation in Texas. You can certainly separate before you get a divorce, but that doesn’t mean anything legally.

In Texas, you are married until you get a divorce.

The monthly net income is the monthly gross income minus federal income taxes, state income taxes, social security taxes, and union dues.

If the monthly net income is greater than $7,500 after this calculation, then you can reduce it to $7,500. ($7,500 is the maximum monthly net income for the purposes of Texas child support calculations.)

If the person paying child support only has children by this marriage, Texas child support will be calculated as follows:

• 1 child: 20% of net income
• 2 children: 25%
• 3 children: 30%
• 4 children: 35%
• 5 or more children: 40%

The percentages will differ from those stated above if the parent who will be paying child support has children from other marriages or relationships.

Let’s work through an example.

We’ll assume your gross salary is $4,000 a month, your federal withholding is $275 per pay period and your social security withholding is $250 per pay period. For the example, we’ll say you have 2 children and no other children from other relationships.

Your monthly net income would be $3,475 ($4,000 – $275 – $250). Since you have 2 children, your monthly child support obligation would be 25% of your net income.

In this example, your child support payment would be $868.75 per month.

The simplest way to prove how long you’ve lived here is to sign an affidavit that states when you moved to Texas. That’s good enough for most situations.

However, if anyone decided to contest the date you state in the affidavit, then the court would need to see other evidence to back that date up.

There are several things you can use as acceptable evidence. Leases or utility bills are commonly used. You could also use mail that has been addressed to you with a postmark that indicated when you started receiving mail here.

You can start a divorce when you’re pregnant, but you won’t be able to finalize the divorce until the baby is born or the pregnancy otherwise ends. Texas Judges won’t finalize your divorce as long as you’re still pregnant because they want to establish child support obligations. They’re going to act on what’s in the best interest of the child.

You can always file for divorce and be ready to finalize it soon after the baby is born. Keep in mind that you’ll still have to wait 60 days.