The Texas Family Code is the state statute that governs marriage, divorce, property between spouses, child custody, child support, spousal maintenance, and protective orders. It sets who can marry, what it takes to end a marriage, how assets get divided, and how parents share rights and duties toward their children. The rules below reflect the Code as it currently stands, with the understanding that the legislature revises dollar thresholds and procedures from time to time.
Getting Married in Texas
You must be at least 18 to marry. The only path for anyone younger is a court order removing the disabilities of minority, a judicial finding that the person can function legally as an adult. Parental consent is no longer a basis for underage marriage.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code
Close blood relationships are off limits: ancestors and descendants, siblings (whole or half blood, including by adoption), and aunts or uncles with their nieces or nephews. First cousins are not on that list, so a first-cousin marriage is legal in Texas.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code Any marriage involving bigamy or an incestuous relationship is void from the start.
License, Waiting Period, and Expiration
A formal marriage starts with a license from the county clerk. The license fee is $60, or $100 if either applicant lives out of state.2Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Revenue Object 3707 – Marriage License Fees A 72-hour waiting period runs from issuance before the ceremony can take place. That wait is waived if either party is on active military duty, works for the Department of Defense, or obtains a written waiver from a judge with family law jurisdiction.3State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 2 – The Marriage Relationship A license expires if it is not used before the 90th day after issuance.
Common-Law (Informal) Marriage
Texas recognizes informal marriage and treats it the same as a ceremonial marriage for every legal purpose, including property rights and parental duties. Three things must be true at the same time: the parties agreed to be married, they lived together in Texas as spouses, and they represented to others that they were married.4State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 2 – The Marriage Relationship – Section: Proof of Informal Marriage The third element, the “holding out,” usually shows up in everyday behavior like introducing each other as spouses or filing joint tax returns.
Couples can lock in the record by filing a Declaration of Informal Marriage with the county clerk for $25.2Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Revenue Object 3707 – Marriage License Fees Without a declaration, a proceeding to prove the marriage generally must begin within two years of the date the parties separated. After that, the law presumes no agreement to marry ever existed, and overcoming that presumption is hard.4State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 2 – The Marriage Relationship – Section: Proof of Informal Marriage
Property Between Spouses
Texas is a community property state. Anything acquired by either spouse during the marriage belongs to both of them unless proven otherwise, and any asset held by either spouse is presumed to be community. A spouse claiming an asset as separate must prove it with clear and convincing evidence.5State of Texas. Texas Family Code 3.002 – Community Property
Separate property falls into three categories: anything owned before the marriage, anything received during the marriage as a gift or inheritance, and compensation for personal injuries sustained during the marriage, excluding recovery for lost earning capacity.6State of Texas. Texas Family Code 3.001 – Separate Property Records matter. If inherited money ends up in a joint account where it mixes with community funds, tracing it back is difficult and often expensive.
Community property splits into two management categories. Sole-management property consists of what a spouse would have owned if single, such as their own paycheck or income from their own separate property, and each spouse can spend or sell it without the other’s consent.5State of Texas. Texas Family Code 3.002 – Community Property Joint-management property includes anything held in both names or intentionally combined, and neither spouse can sell or encumber it alone.
Prenups and Mid-Marriage Agreements
Couples can override the default community property rules through written agreements. A premarital agreement takes effect when the marriage begins, must be in writing and signed by both parties, and can cover each spouse’s property rights, management authority, what happens if the marriage ends, and the modification or elimination of spousal support.7State of Texas. Texas Family Code 4.003 – Content One hard limit: a prenup cannot reduce or waive a child’s right to support.
Agreements made during the marriage, called partition or exchange agreements, can reclassify community property as separate or the other way around. Courts examine these more closely than prenups because spouses owe each other a fiduciary duty once married. Any agreement obtained through fraud, duress, or without fair disclosure of the other spouse’s finances is vulnerable.
Divorce and Annulment
Grounds
Insupportability is the no-fault ground and the one most spouses use. It means the marriage has broken down and reconciliation is not reasonably expected, with no need to prove wrongdoing. The Code also keeps fault grounds on the books: cruelty, adultery, a felony conviction with at least a year of imprisonment, abandonment for at least a year, living apart without cohabitation for at least three years, and long-term confinement in a mental hospital. Fault matters because it can shift how property is divided and how maintenance is awarded.
Residency, Waiting Period, and Filing Fees
At least one spouse must have lived in Texas for the prior six months and in the filing county for the prior 90 days. Once the petition is filed, a 60-day cooling-off period runs before the court can finalize anything. That wait is waived when the respondent has been convicted of or received deferred adjudication for family violence against the petitioner, or when the petitioner holds an active protective order based on family violence during the marriage.8State of Texas. Texas Family Code 6.702 – Waiting Period
Filing fees vary by county. Expect roughly $350 for cases without children and around $400 or more when children are involved, based on the combined state and local fees.9Tarrant County. Family Filing Fees
Annulment vs. Void Marriage
An annulment is a court declaration that a valid marriage never existed. Texas separates voidable marriages, which require a court action, from void marriages, which have no legal effect from the start.
A marriage is voidable when, at the time of the ceremony, one party was under the influence of alcohol or drugs and did not voluntarily live with the other after regaining capacity. Other voidable grounds include undisclosed permanent impotency, fraud, duress, force, or mental incapacity.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code Each ground carries a timing rule: the petitioner usually must stop cohabiting with the other spouse once the issue comes to light, or the right to annul is lost.
A marriage is void from the beginning when it involves bigamy or a prohibited family relationship. No court action is strictly required to end it, but a judicial declaration cleans up the record and resolves any property or custody questions.
Dividing Property and Spousal Maintenance
At divorce, the court divides the community estate in a manner it considers “just and right.” That does not mean 50/50 by default. Judges weigh earning capacity, health, education, the size of each spouse’s separate estate, fault in the breakup, and who has primary custody of the children. Proof that a spouse spent community funds on an affair, for example, can shift the division.
Separate property is not divided. Trace it back to its separate origin with clear and convincing evidence, and the court must confirm it to the owning spouse. Retirement benefits earned during the marriage are community property regardless of whose name is on the account; contributions made before the marriage stay separate. Dividing an employer-sponsored plan generally requires a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, a separate court order the plan administrator must qualify before any distribution.10U.S. Department of Labor. QDROs – The Division of Retirement Benefits Through Qualified Domestic Relations Orders If the QDRO was not prepared at the time of divorce, Texas law lets you go back to court for one later.
Who Qualifies for Spousal Maintenance
Court-ordered maintenance is narrow in Texas. The spouse seeking it must first show that, after the divorce and counting their own separate property, they will lack enough to meet their minimum reasonable needs. At least one of the following must also be true:
- The other spouse was convicted of or received deferred adjudication for a family violence offense during the marriage, within two years before the suit was filed or while it was pending.
- The requesting spouse has a physical or mental disability that prevents earning enough to meet minimum reasonable needs.
- The marriage lasted at least 10 years and the requesting spouse cannot earn enough to meet basic needs.
- The requesting spouse is the custodian of a child of the marriage who needs substantial care because of a disability.
Amount and duration are both capped. The court cannot order more than $5,000 per month or 20% of the paying spouse’s average monthly gross income, whichever is less. Duration tracks the length of the marriage: up to 5 years for marriages under 10 years on a family violence basis, up to 5 years for marriages of 10 to 20 years, up to 7 years for 20 to 30 years, and up to 10 years for 30 years or more.12State of Texas. Texas Family Code 8.054 – Duration of Maintenance Order Maintenance ends automatically if the receiving spouse remarries or lives with a romantic partner in a permanent relationship, or if either former spouse dies.
Children: Custody, Possession, and Support
When parents separate, a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship (SAPCR) decides who makes decisions for the child and how time is divided. Every order is governed by the best interest of the child, and the court does not favor one parent based on gender.
Conservatorship
Conservatorship describes each parent’s rights and duties. The default is Joint Managing Conservatorship, with both parents sharing decisions about education, healthcare, and religious upbringing. Even under a joint arrangement, one parent usually gets the exclusive right to decide the child’s primary residence, often with a geographic restriction tied to a county or school district. When a parent’s involvement would endanger the child, the court can name that parent a Possessory Conservator with limited rights and make the other the Sole Managing Conservator.
Possession and Access
The Standard Possession Order is the default schedule for the non-primary parent. It gives possession on the first, third, and fifth weekends of each month, a midweek visit, alternating holidays, and extended summer time. The specifics shift depending on whether the parents live within 100 miles of each other. Parents can agree to something different, and courts can modify the schedule when a child’s circumstances call for it.
Child Support
Child support is set as a percentage of the paying parent’s monthly net resources. Net resources include wages, salary, commissions, tips, overtime, interest, dividends, rental income, and similar sources, minus federal income taxes, Social Security, Medicare, health insurance premiums for the child, and union dues. The guideline percentages are:
- 1 child: 20% of net resources
- 2 children: 25%
- 3 children: 30%
- 4 children: 35%
- 5 children: 40%
- 6 or more children: not less than the amount for 5 children
Those percentages apply only to the first $11,700 in monthly net resources, a cap that took effect on September 1, 2025. The Office of the Attorney General reviews and adjusts the cap every six years based on changes in the Consumer Price Index. Parents earning less than $1,000 per month in net resources are placed on a separate low-income schedule with reduced percentages, such as 15% for one child.13State of Texas. Texas Family Code 154.125 – Application of Guidelines to Net Resources
Every SAPCR order must address health coverage. The paying parent is usually ordered either to provide health insurance for the child or to reimburse the other parent for the cost. Uninsured medical and dental expenses are typically split between the parents. Child support and medical support continue until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever comes later.
A Note on Grandparent Access
Grandparents do not automatically have a right to visit their grandchildren. To file for visitation, a grandparent must submit an affidavit alleging that denial of access would significantly impair the child’s physical health or emotional well-being, and the court will dismiss the suit unless the facts in that affidavit, taken as true, would support such a finding.14State of Texas. Texas Family Code 153.432 – Suit for Possession of or Access to Grandchild Disagreement with a parent’s choices or a wish to maintain a relationship is not enough on its own.
Changing and Enforcing Orders
Custody and possession orders can be modified when a material and substantial change in circumstances has occurred since the last order and the change requested is in the child’s best interest. Recognized grounds include a parent’s conviction for child abuse or family violence, a significant change in a party’s living situation, or a child aged 12 or older expressing a preference to the judge in chambers about primary residence.
Child support can be modified when the paying parent’s income has changed substantially, or when the existing order has been in place for three years and would differ from the current guideline amount by at least 20% or $100 per month. Parents who agree can submit a modification by consent, but a judge still has to approve any agreement involving children.
When a parent falls behind on child support, enforcement is aggressive. Wage withholding is the default and is usually built into the original order. The Office of the Attorney General can intercept tax refunds, place liens on property, report arrears to credit bureaus, and petition the court to suspend driver’s, professional, and recreational licenses. A parent who willfully fails to pay court-ordered support can be held in contempt and jailed for up to six months per violation. Visitation orders are enforceable through contempt as well when a parent repeatedly denies the other parent court-ordered time.
Protective Orders for Family Violence
Title 4 of the Code provides protective orders for victims of family violence. The statute defines family violence broadly to include acts intended to cause physical harm, bodily injury, or assault by a family or household member. Household members include people sharing a dwelling whether or not they are related, and the protections reach dating violence and people who share a child with the offender.
Before issuing a final protective order, the court must find that family violence occurred and is likely to occur again. If immediate danger exists, the court can issue a temporary ex parte order before the respondent is notified. The available relief is broad: no contact with the victim, no coming near the home, workplace, or children’s school, orders to vacate a shared residence, and orders to attend counseling.
A standard protective order lasts up to two years. The court can extend it beyond two years when the offender caused serious bodily injury or has been the subject of two or more previous protective orders after findings of family violence.15Texas eLaws. Texas Family Code 85.025 – Duration of Protective Order Violating a protective order is a criminal offense and can lead to arrest and prosecution separate from any family court proceeding.