Texas Divorce Lawyers

A divorce divides everything at once — your property, your time with your kids, and the plans you built your life around. The terms locked into a Texas divorce decree are largely final, especially the property division, and they are set in the space of months by what each side can prove. An experienced divorce lawyer can protect your share of what you've earned, your relationship with your children, and your financial future — whether your divorce is amicable or a fight. There is life on the other side of this, and it starts with knowing your rights. Most divorce lawyers offer a free initial consultation, so you can find out exactly where you stand before you file anything — or before you respond to what's been filed against you.

Do You Need Grounds for Divorce in Texas?

No — Texas is a no-fault state. Under Chapter 6 of the Texas Family Code, a court can grant a divorce for “insupportability”: conflict of personalities that destroys the marriage with no reasonable expectation of reconciliation. Nobody has to prove wrongdoing, and one spouse cannot stop the divorce by refusing to agree. But fault grounds still exist — adultery, cruelty, abandonment for at least a year, felony conviction with imprisonment, living apart for three years, and confinement in a mental hospital — and they are not just labels. Proving fault can move money: Texas courts may award the wronged spouse a larger share of the community estate. A lawyer can tell you whether pleading fault is worth it in your case or whether it just adds heat without light.

How Long Does a Divorce Take in Texas?

At minimum, 61 days — Texas law imposes a 60-day waiting period after the petition is filed before the divorce can be granted, with narrow exceptions for family violence. Before filing, one spouse must have lived in Texas for the preceding six months and in the county of filing for 90 days. An agreed divorce can be finished shortly after the waiting period ends. A contested divorce runs longer: temporary orders, financial discovery, appraisals, mediation, and — in a small fraction of cases — trial. According to the Texas State Law Library, most contested Texas divorces resolve by settlement rather than trial, and an experienced lawyer's job is to get you to the best settlement the facts allow — or be ready when the other side won't be reasonable.

How Is Property Divided in a Texas Divorce?

Texas is a community-property state: everything acquired by either spouse during the marriage is presumed community property, and the court divides it in a “just and right” manner under Family Code Chapter 7 — which is not automatically 50/50. Separate property — what you owned before marriage, plus gifts, inheritances, and most personal-injury recoveries — cannot be divided, but you must prove it's separate by clear and convincing evidence. The fights are usually about characterization and value: the house, retirement accounts (divisible by QDRO to the extent earned during marriage), a business one spouse runs, reimbursement claims, and money hidden or wasted. Judges weighing a “just and right” division can consider fault, earning capacity, health, age, and who has the kids. This is where the right lawyer pays for himself — a few percentage points of a marital estate is real money, and so is a missed reimbursement claim.

Can You Get Spousal Maintenance (Alimony) in Texas?

Sometimes — but Texas has some of the most limited spousal maintenance laws in the country. Under Family Code Chapter 8, a court can order maintenance generally only if the requesting spouse will lack property to meet minimum reasonable needs and the marriage lasted at least 10 years, or there was a family-violence conviction or protective order within the relevant period, or a spouse or child has a disabling condition. Even then, maintenance is capped at the lesser of $5,000 per month or 20% of the payer's average monthly gross income, with duration generally limited to five, seven, or ten years depending on the length of the marriage. Spouses can agree to contractual alimony beyond those limits as part of a settlement — one of many reasons negotiated outcomes can beat what a judge could order.

Contested or Uncontested — Which Divorce Do You Have?

An uncontested divorce means you agree on everything — the divorce, every asset and debt, and every child-related order; a contested divorce means at least one issue is in dispute. The difference drives the cost and the timeline more than any other fact. Truly agreed divorces are often handled for a flat fee and finish soon after the 60-day waiting period. Contested cases add temporary orders hearings (who stays in the house, who pays which bills, where the kids live while the case is pending), discovery, and mediation — which most Texas counties require before trial and which settles the majority of cases. A word of caution attorneys repeat constantly: an “agreed” divorce is only as good as the agreement, and signing a decree you don't fully understand is how people lose retirement shares and equity they were entitled to. It's best to have a lawyer review any decree before you sign it.

What About the Kids?

Every Texas divorce with children must include orders for conservatorship (decision-making), possession and access (the schedule), and child support — all decided under the best-interest-of-the-child standard. These issues have their own rules and their own battlegrounds, so we cover them on dedicated pages: child custody (conservatorship) for who makes decisions and where the kids live, visitation and the Standard Possession Order for the schedule itself, and child support for how the guideline amounts are calculated and enforced. In the divorce itself, what matters is that the temporary orders entered early in the case often shape the final ones — another reason the spouse who lawyers up first has the advantage.

How the Right Divorce Lawyer Protects You

A skilled divorce lawyer wins on the financial record and loses nothing to procedure. That means a complete inventory of the estate — sworn, documented, and tested against tax returns and statements the other side would rather not produce; valuations for the house, the business, and the pensions; tracing for every separate-property claim; and reimbursement claims most people don't know exist. It means moving fast on temporary orders so you aren't locked out of accounts or the house while the case is pending. And it means judgment: knowing what a judge in your county is likely to do, which battles move money, and which just burn fees. Divorce law also rewards calm — the spouse who documents while the other one vents on social media usually walks out with the better decree.

What a Divorce Costs in Texas

Divorce is a paid legal service: most Texas divorce lawyers charge a retainer up front and bill hourly against it, while genuinely uncontested divorces are often available for a flat fee. The biggest cost driver is conflict — an agreed divorce can cost less than a single contested hearing. Divorce is never contingency work; no lawyer takes a percentage of your property division. Think of the fee against what's at stake: the equity in your home, half a career of retirement savings, and the terms that govern your kids' childhood. Our referral is free, and most divorce lawyers offer a free initial consultation — as TexasLawHelp notes, even people who plan to handle an agreed divorce themselves benefit from having a lawyer explain what they're entitled to first, so they don't sign away what they didn't know they had.

Related Help

Depending on your situation, these may help too:

• Family law lawyers — the full picture of Texas family law in one place.
• Child custody attorneys — conservatorship and decision-making for your kids.
• Child support lawyers — how guideline support is calculated, enforced, and changed.
• Child visitation lawyers — the possession schedule and enforcing your time.
• Estate planning attorneys — updating your will, beneficiaries, and powers of attorney after divorce.
• All practice areas — browse every kind of lawyer we can connect you with in Texas.

Frequently Asked Questions About Texas Divorce Lawyers

Do I need a reason to get a divorce in Texas?

No. Texas is a no-fault divorce state: a court can grant a divorce on the ground of insupportability, meaning the marriage has become insupportable because of conflict that destroys the legitimate ends of the marriage, with no reasonable expectation of reconciliation. Fault grounds such as adultery, cruelty, abandonment, and felony conviction still exist under the Texas Family Code, and proving fault can influence how the court divides property.

How long do I have to live in Texas to file for divorce?

At least one spouse must have been a domiciliary of Texas for the preceding six months and a resident of the county where the divorce is filed for the preceding 90 days. If your spouse lives in Texas and meets those requirements, you can generally file here even if you live elsewhere.

How long does a divorce take in Texas?

The legal minimum is 60 days: Texas law requires a 60-day waiting period after the petition is filed before the court can grant the divorce, with narrow exceptions for cases involving family violence. Agreed divorces often finish soon after the waiting period. Contested cases involving property valuation, custody, or discovery commonly take six months to a year or more, depending on the county's docket.

Is Texas a 50/50 divorce state?

Not exactly. Texas is a community-property state, but the standard is not an automatic equal split: the court divides the community estate in a manner that is just and right, having due regard for the rights of each party and any children. Judges can order an unequal division based on factors like fault in the breakup, earning-power differences, health, and who has custody of the children.

What is separate property in a Texas divorce?

Separate property is what a spouse owned before marriage, plus anything received during marriage by gift or inheritance, and most personal-injury recoveries. The court cannot award one spouse's separate property to the other, but the spouse claiming it must prove it is separate by clear and convincing evidence, which is why tracing financial records matters so much.

Does adultery affect a Texas divorce?

It can. Adultery is a fault ground for divorce under the Texas Family Code, and courts may consider it when dividing the community estate, sometimes awarding the wronged spouse a larger share. Evidence that community funds were spent on an affair can also support a waste or fraud-on-the-community claim. Adultery by itself does not decide custody, though the surrounding conduct can matter.

Can I get alimony or spousal maintenance in Texas?

Texas allows court-ordered spousal maintenance only in limited situations, generally where the marriage lasted at least 10 years and the requesting spouse cannot meet minimum reasonable needs, or where there was recent family violence, or where a spouse or child has a disabling condition. Maintenance is capped by statute at the lesser of $5,000 per month or 20% of the paying spouse's average monthly gross income, with duration limits tied to the length of the marriage. Spouses can also agree to contractual alimony beyond what a court could order.

What is the difference between a contested and an uncontested divorce?

An uncontested divorce means both spouses agree on everything: the divorce itself, property division, and all child-related orders. It is faster and far less expensive, often handled for a flat fee. A contested divorce means at least one issue is disputed and may require temporary orders, discovery, mediation, and possibly trial. Many contested cases settle at mediation before reaching a judge.

Who gets the house in a Texas divorce?

It depends on how the house is characterized and what a just-and-right division looks like. A home bought during the marriage is generally community property, and a court may award it to either spouse, order it sold and the proceeds divided, or award it to the parent with primary custody with an offsetting share of other assets to the other spouse. A home owned before marriage is usually separate property, though the community may have a reimbursement claim for mortgage payments or improvements made with community funds.

Can my spouse refuse to give me a divorce?

No. Because Texas allows no-fault divorce based on insupportability, one spouse cannot block the divorce by refusing to agree. A spouse who will not participate can be served and defaulted, and a spouse who fights everything can slow the case down and raise its cost, but cannot stop the divorce from ultimately being granted.

How much does a divorce lawyer cost in Texas?

Divorce is a paid legal service: most Texas divorce lawyers charge a retainer up front and bill hourly, with truly uncontested divorces often available for a flat fee. The total depends mostly on conflict: agreed cases cost a fraction of litigated ones. Divorce is not contingency work. Our referral is free, and most divorce lawyers offer a free initial consultation, so you can learn your options and likely costs before committing.

How do I get a Texas divorce lawyer right now?

Call or text 512-872-4400 any time, day or night. You will be connected with an experienced divorce lawyer serving your area anywhere in Texas. The referral is free, and most attorneys offer a free initial consultation, so you can understand where you stand before you make any decisions.