An uncontested divorce in Texas is available when you and your spouse agree on every issue in the case: how to divide property and debts, and, if you have children, conservatorship, possession, and support. From the day the petition is filed, the court cannot finalize the divorce for at least 60 days.1State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 6.702 – Waiting Period If you handle the paperwork yourselves, total costs often stay under $500. Hire an attorney for a flat-fee uncontested case and expect roughly $700 to $3,500 depending on complexity. Whatever route you take, the agreement you sign becomes a binding court order, so the details matter more than the speed.
Who Qualifies to File
Before a Texas court can hear your case, at least one spouse must have lived in Texas for the preceding six months and in the county of filing for at least 90 days.2State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 6.301 – General Residency Rule for Divorce Suit The statute says “either the petitioner or the respondent,” so if you recently moved but your spouse still lives in the old county, your spouse’s residency can carry the case there.
Almost every uncontested case is filed on the no-fault ground of insupportability: the marriage has broken down from conflict or personality differences with no reasonable expectation of reconciliation.3State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 6.001 – Insupportability You don’t have to prove anyone did anything wrong, which is what keeps the case out of contested-hearing territory.
The Three Documents That Do the Work
Three forms carry an uncontested Texas divorce from filing to final decree. The Texas Supreme Court has approved standardized form sets for cases without children or real property, and they’re available through the Texas Judicial Branch and at local law libraries.4Texas State Law Library. Legal Forms – Divorce
The Original Petition for Divorce is what opens the case. It names both spouses, states the ground (insupportability, in most cases), and gives the basics about any children. You’ll need full legal names, at least the last three digits of each Social Security number, the marriage date, and the date you stopped living together as spouses.
The Waiver of Service lets the non-filing spouse skip formal service by a process server or constable. It has to be sworn before a notary who isn’t an attorney in the case, and it must include a current mailing address; a digitized signature is acceptable.5State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 6.4035 – Waiver of Service Without it, you’ll have to arrange formal service, which adds cost and time.
The Final Decree of Divorce is what the judge actually signs. It lays out every term you agreed to: who gets which assets, who pays which debts, the parenting schedule if applicable, child support, and any maintenance. Once signed, it’s a court order enforceable by contempt. Draft it against your own inventory of assets and debts, line by line.
Dividing Property and Debts
Texas is a community property state. Nearly everything either of you earned or acquired during the marriage belongs to both of you, and the court will confirm your division only if it’s “just and right” under the circumstances.6State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 7.001 – General Rule That standard doesn’t force a 50/50 split. Differences in earning power, primary custody of children, or separate-property contributions can all justify an uneven division. The judge is looking for an agreement neither spouse was pressured into and that leaves both parties on their feet.
Property you owned before the marriage, inherited, or received as a gift is separate property and generally stays out of the community pot. List it in the decree anyway to prevent confusion later.
Then catalog everything: bank accounts, vehicles, real estate, credit card balances, student loans, retirement accounts. The single most common problem in do-it-yourself divorces is an asset left out of the decree. Anything unmentioned can be raised later, and reopening a case costs far more than doing the paperwork carefully the first time.
Retirement Accounts Need Extra Paperwork
Employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and pensions cannot be divided by the divorce decree alone. You need a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, a separate court order that tells the plan administrator to pay a portion of the account to the other spouse.7U.S. Department of Labor. Qualified Domestic Relations Orders Under ERISA – A Practical Guide to Dividing Retirement Benefits Without a valid QDRO, the plan administrator will pay only the account holder, no matter what the decree says. Get one drafted and approved by the plan administrator around the time of the divorce, and ask the administrator whether they have model QDRO language they prefer.
IRAs are simpler. A direct trustee-to-trustee transfer pursuant to the divorce decree avoids both income taxes and penalties. For employer plans, QDRO distributions to a former spouse are exempt from the 10% early withdrawal penalty that otherwise applies before age 59½, though ordinary income tax still applies.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 72 – Annuities; Certain Proceeds of Endowment and Life Insurance Contracts Rolling that distribution into your own IRA defers the tax until withdrawal.
If You Have Children
Minor children add paperwork, agreement points, and court scrutiny. The judge’s guiding standard is the child’s best interest, and a vague parenting arrangement will get the decree kicked back for revision.
Texas uses “conservatorship” instead of “custody.” In most cases, both parents are named joint managing conservators sharing decision-making on education, medical care, and other major issues, with one parent designated to determine the child’s primary residence. The decree must include a specific possession schedule. The Standard Possession Order is presumed to be the minimum for the non-primary parent, and you can agree to something different, but whatever the decree says becomes the fallback whenever you can’t agree in the future. Informal side arrangements carry no legal weight.
Child Support Guidelines
The court reviews child support against state guidelines even in an uncontested case. Support is set as a percentage of the paying parent’s monthly net resources:9State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 154 – Child Support
- One child: 20% of net resources
- Two children: 25%
- Three children: 30%
- Four children: 35%
- Five children: 40%
- Six or more: not less than 40%
These percentages apply up to a cap on monthly net resources that the Office of the Attorney General periodically adjusts for inflation. You can agree to a different figure. If the number departs significantly from the guidelines, expect the judge to ask questions at the prove-up to confirm both parents understand what they’re agreeing to.
Parent Education Course
Under Section 105.009, Texas courts may order both parents in a divorce involving children to complete a parent education course, and many require it as local practice. Courses run four to six hours, cover the effects of divorce on children and co-parenting basics, and typically cost between $25 and $65. Take it early so it doesn’t delay your final hearing.
Spousal Maintenance
Court-ordered maintenance is available only in narrow circumstances. The requesting spouse must show they’ll lack sufficient property after the divorce to meet minimum reasonable needs and also meet at least one of these: the marriage lasted 10 years or longer and the spouse cannot earn enough to be self-supporting; the spouse has a disability preventing self-support; or the spouse is the primary caretaker of a child with a disability requiring substantial supervision.10State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 8.051 – Eligibility for Maintenance Maintenance is also available when the paying spouse was convicted of or received deferred adjudication for family violence during the marriage.
In an uncontested divorce, you can also agree to contractual alimony even if neither spouse would qualify for statutory maintenance. Contractual alimony is enforceable as a contract rather than as a court-ordered support obligation. That matters because court-ordered maintenance can be modified later if circumstances change, while contractual alimony generally cannot unless your agreement says so.
Filing, Fees, and the 60-Day Wait
You file the Original Petition with the district clerk in the county where you meet residency. E-filing is mandatory for attorneys, and although pro se filers are generally exempt, some counties still require it under local rules. Confirm with your county clerk before you show up in person.
Filing fees typically run $300 to $400, varying by county and whether children are involved. If you can’t afford the fee, file a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145, signed under penalty of perjury.11Texas Judicial Branch. Court Issues Final Amendments to Rule 145 and Related Rules With Forms If your claim is challenged, you’ll get at least ten days’ notice of a hearing where you’ll need to show you can’t pay.
The 60-day waiting period begins when the petition is filed, and the court cannot finalize the divorce before day 60 no matter how quickly you agree.1State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code 6.702 – Waiting Period Use the time to get the Final Decree and any Waiver of Service signed and notarized.
After the waiting period, you schedule a short prove-up hearing. Usually only the petitioner appears. You testify under oath to confirm residency, the ground for divorce, that both spouses agreed to all terms, and that the decree reflects that agreement.12Texas State Law Library. Finalizing the Divorce The judge reviews the decree, asks a few standard questions, and signs. Most uncontested prove-ups last five to fifteen minutes. Some counties allow them by videoconference; check with your court.
Restoring a Former Name
If you want to go back to a name you used before, ask for the change in the petition or in the Final Decree. Texas law requires the court to grant restoration of any previously used name if you request it in the proceedings, and denial requires a stated reason in the decree.13Texas Public Law. Texas Code Family Code 6.706 – Change of Name Handling it in the divorce is much simpler than filing a separate name-change petition later.
Taxes You Should Plan For
Property transfers between spouses as part of a divorce are not taxable events. Federal law treats them as gifts, so neither spouse recognizes gain or loss at the time.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1041 – Transfers of Property Between Spouses or Incident to Divorce The receiving spouse inherits the original tax basis, so tax is deferred, not eliminated: when you sell, your taxable gain is figured from the original purchase price, not the divorce-date value. The transfer must occur within one year of the divorce, or be related to the cessation of the marriage, to qualify.
For any divorce finalized after December 31, 2018, spousal maintenance and alimony are not deductible by the payer and not taxable to the recipient. Pre-2019 agreements keep the older treatment unless a modification specifically adopts the new rules.
Only one parent can claim a child as a dependent in a given year. The IRS default is the custodial parent, meaning the parent the child lived with for the majority of nights. To let the noncustodial parent claim the credit, the custodial parent must sign IRS Form 8332 releasing the claim for the specified tax years.15Internal Revenue Service. Form 8332 – Release/Revocation of Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent A decree that says “Dad claims the kids in even years” means nothing to the IRS without a signed Form 8332 attached to the return.
After the Decree Is Signed
Coverage under a spouse’s employer health plan ends with the divorce. You have 60 days from the divorce, or from the date coverage actually ends (whichever is later), to notify the plan administrator and elect COBRA continuation.16U.S. Department of Labor. FAQs on COBRA Continuation Health Coverage for Workers Post-divorce COBRA can last up to 36 months, but you pay the full premium plus a 2% administrative fee. Shop for alternative coverage right away.
Update every beneficiary designation, power of attorney, medical directive, and will as soon as the decree is signed. The divorce does not automatically remove your ex-spouse from life insurance, retirement accounts, or payable-on-death bank accounts. Those forms are controlled by the financial institution, not the court, and whoever is named will collect. Texas law does revoke certain provisions in a will that benefit a former spouse, but relying on that default rather than rewriting your documents is asking for trouble.
If the marriage lasted at least 10 years, you may later qualify for Social Security benefits based on your ex-spouse’s earnings record, and claiming on that record does not reduce their benefits or any current spouse’s benefits.17Social Security Administration. Can Someone Get Social Security Benefits on Their Former Spouse’s Record? Worth factoring into retirement planning if one spouse earned significantly more during the marriage.