DIY Uncontested Divorce in Texas

It’s completely possible to file your own divorce in the state of Texas without hiring an attorney. There are some who would advise against it and suggest you need legal representation, but if both parties can agree to all the terms of divorce and make their own arrangements regarding division of property, child custody, etc, the divorce process will go much more smoothly. This kind of divorce is an uncontested divorce.

The steps to filing an uncontested divorce in Texas are as follows:

1. File the petition at the County Clerk’s office of your local courthouse. This petition outlines the grounds for divorce and addresses all of the issues in the dissolution of the marriage such as child support payments, visitation, who gets to keep which property, and so on. There is a filing fee of $250-$300 associated with filing the petition. However, if you are unable to pay it, you may submit an affidavit stating that you are unable to afford this fee and the judge may waive it. Make three copies of the petition. Keep one for your records, mail one to the other party in the divorce, and file the third with the clerk.

2. File the waiver of citation along with your petition. The waiver of citation just means that the other party has received a copy of the divorce petition and does not need to be officially served by the constable or sheriff.

3. A final divorce decree will then be prepared by the judge and both parties will appear in court to sign the decree. The final decree of divorce is the final document in the divorce and is basically the same as the petition as it outlines all of the agreements to be enforced within the divorce. This won’t happen until sixty days have passed, as there is a waiting period imposed on final decrees of divorce. After this waiting period has passed, a final hearing will be scheduled. You will appear in court to answer questions from the judge consisting of things like:

Your name
Your spouse’s name
Texas and county residency
Dates of marriage and separation
Is there a signed waiver of citation?
Is there a signed divorce decree?
Is there no hope of reconciliation?
Are there children?

At this time, the judge will sign the final decree and, after another thirty day waiting period, your divorce is final. That’s it – done!

The proper documents may be hard to find and you will discover many, many places on the internet that want to charge you an outrageous fee for some “Do it yourself” kit. You don’t need to waste that money. You can find the documents, available for download and printing in PDF form, at www.womenslaw.org free of charge. At this site, you will also be able to find links to your local courthouses and other information regarding the different divorce laws that are on the books in the state of Texas.