Getting Started With your Divorce

Beginning your Divorce

The first thing to do in moving forward with your Texas Divorce is to know your goal.  Define what is most important to you and the outcome you can accept in moving forward.  Doing this ahead of time can help increase your chances of having an Agreed Divorce or at least a divorce that is narrowly focused on disputed issues. This is important because if you just go to a Divorce Lawyer or Family Law Attorney without knowing your overall objective, your Divorce Lawyer may take the divorce process down a contested path and pursue things that are really not that important to you.

What first actions should I take in my Texas divorce?

At this point of your divorce, you are probably thinking about a number of issues such as

1. The wellbeing of your children and how they will adapt
2. Life after divorce
3. Financial Security
4. What the divorce process will entail and will it be contentious, embarrassing and expensive
5. What will happen after the divorce is final.

This is very common and everyone going through a divorce experiences this.  There are so many elements that just can’t be anticipated or controlled which is why keeping your mind focused on your overall objective is crucial.

The Texas  divorce process, especially in a contested divorce, can be overwhelming. But the experienced Divorce Lawyers at Nick Davis Law in The Woodlands and Bryan College Station can help guide you through the process and let you assert control over the divorce outcome to achieve your overall objective.

 

What are the Things you Should Consider in Your Divorce?

Children

If your and your spouse have children, the divorce must include provisions dealing with custody, possession and access, and child support.  You will need to consider how you would like these issues resolved.  Consider what form of parenting time/possession schedule you want?  Is it Standard Possession or some form of a 50/50 schedule? There is always the option of modifying child custody and support after a divorce but that will require another lawsuit so the best thing to do is consider what child custody arraignment will work best for your life long-term.

The Divorce Lawyers at Nick Davis Law can go over a variety of Child Custody Options with you so you can identify the best option for your life.  We also understand that some individuals will need a completely customized schedule to work for their lives and we can assist you in developing one.

 

Property

You need to take into consideration all property and debts involved.   Additionally, it is important to strategically consider the impact of fighting for certain assets in a divorce.  Sometimes, people are better off financially or in a custody setting by not pursuing certain assets.  This is why seeking out experienced Family Law information from our Divorce Lawyers in Montgomery and Brazos county case gives you the advantage.

 

Alimony & Temporary Support

Temporary Spousal Support is the support a spouse receives while the case is pending and Spousal Maintenance “Alimony” refers to the support paid post divorce.

There isn’t a specific rule for Temporary spousal support in Texas.  In practice, it is addressed by the court on a case by case basis and the amount of support awarded, if any, differs substantially depending on the county and judge deciding your case.

There are some guidelines that Judge’s will consider. Therefore, some of the most basic questions you and your Montgomery County | Brazos County Family Law Lawyer need to consider are:

• How much money you and your spouse earn a month?
• What are the necessary living expenses for each spouse to live, work, and support the children?
• What expenses can be cut without significantly impacting the wellbeing of the children and without any legal penalty to creditors.

The best way to pursue or defend against Temporary Spousal Support is to retain the services of an experienced Family Law Lawyer familiar with what the courts in your county will do.

When it comes to Post Divorce Spousal Maintenance there are legal guidelines under the family code that come into play.

To know if you or your spouse might qualify for Spousal Maintenance and the potential amount and duration of support that could be ordered, you should definitely seek the advice of an experienced Divorce attorney in The Woodlands and Bryan College Station to know what to expect.  Some inexperienced divorce attorneys will encourage their clients to pursue a weak or non-qualifying Spousal Maintenance claim while other may forego adequate preparation resulting in their client’s losing out on their chance for a better post-divorce financial position.

All of this should be contemplated and analyzed with your Divorce Lawyer, during your initial consultation.

 

Don’t Give in to the Urge to Quickly Act, Slow Down and Get Prepared

It’s hard to hold back from simply filing the divorce and getting everything started as soon as possible after you’ve made up your mind you are ready to move on, or you know that your spouse has made that decision.  This is understandable.  Whenever we are going through something unpleasant in life there tend to be two responses, avoidance (which isn’t going to help anything in a Divorce) or immediate action to get the problem behind you faster.  While taking swift action in a divorce is necessary, it is crucial though that you take the time to be prepared first.  Sometimes the best chance you have to increase your odds for successful outcome in a Divorce, especially with kids, is to make sure you are the prepared spouse.

 

What types of Information do I need?

• Financial information: Get no less than 2 – 3 years of bank statements, credit card statements, retirement statements and all other financial related statements for all accounts for you and your spouse.  If you can’t get copies of all of this information, we can pursue in under the Discovery Laws in Texas.

• Correspondence and social media: Copies of all relevant emails, text messages, social media posts.  Be aware that you are not permitted under Texas Law in many instances to access your spouse’s email account without permission. Unless the messages are already downloaded onto a device (computer, phone, etc) or if your spouse simply leaves the accounts open and logged in, you may have to get many of these relevant items during the discovery process.  For Text Messages, the best thing to do is screen shot the entire message (try to include the date in the picture).

• Tax Returns: 2 to 3 years of Tax Returns for both Personal and Business entities (if any).

• Real Estate: all documents pertaining to real estate, mortgage statements, appraisals, etc.

• Separate Property Proof: Separate property is anything that was owned prior to marriage, inherited during marriage, or received as a gift during the marriage.  Get copies of all documents showing the value of assets prior to the marriage and anything proving the inheritance and gift nature of the items.  If any of this separate property was used during the marriage, get the records showing what happened to the property.

• School Records, Extra-Curricular activities, counseling records, and other relevant information pertaining to the children.

• Health and Dental Insurance: Get a copy of the benefits plan and cost for any health insurance, dental and vision insurance plans available to the children.  This will be necessary for child support calculations.

Other Preparations for Your Divorce:

Do you have a bank account in your sole name?  Do you have access to enough credit?  Do you have a paycheck going into a joint account or separate account?

In most counties there are Standing Orders.  These orders get attached to the Petition for Divorce and they are effective as an Injunction while the case is pending.  That means, if you violate the orders you could be held in contempt.  The best thing to do in this instance is to make any changes to your financial and personal life prior to filing for the divorce that would otherwise violate the Standing Order.

For example:  Prior to filing for divorce, (if you believe your case will be contested) you should probably do some of the following:

• Open up a separate bank account and direct your payroll into that account.
• Closing all credit cards you are concerned about your spouse using.
• Open a credit card or use any joint cards to pay a retainer to your attorney.
• Pull ½ if not more of the money on deposit from the joint bank account into your separate account.
• Video and itemize all items in a safe deposit box
• Itemize and secure jewelry and other items that can easily disappear
• Video the property in the house for itemization purposes.
• If your spouse has vacated the residence, change the locks and reconfigure garage door openers. Consider installing a security camera.
• Get your own Cell Phone and iCloud account.

Select the Right Divorce Attorney for your Goals

Choosing a divorce lawyer to represent you in this process may be the most important decision you make.  The Family Lawyer you decide on will in many ways set the path for the outcome of your case.  Some people mistakenly believe that they need the most “aggressive,” “belligerent,” and “nasty” attorney they can get.  This is an old school mistaken belief.  You do need a divorce attorney that will fight for you and prepare your case as if it is going to trial, but if your attorney encourages litigation above all else and advises you on the most contentious path, you are probably setting yourself up for a very expensive divorce full of stress and conflict that will likely last for many years following the divorce.  Aggression is often confused with winning and strength in a divorce, but when you take the emotion out of it, realize that all that aggression and obstinacy means nothing in court.  Most correspondence between the attorneys won’t come in as evidence anyhow, so really, when a divorce attorney is a jerk they are really doing nothing but increasing the cost, stress, and anxiety for their clients.

What type of qualities should I look for:

• An Attorney that makes themselves available to you;
• An Attorney that truly understands and will pursue your objectives;
• An Attorney that will tell you honestly what to expect and not just what you want to hear;
• An Attorney that treats you kindly and is not dismissive or arrogant to you;
• An Attorney that looks for areas of agreement and compromise with your spouse;
• An Attorney that will be firm and ridged on the points of interest that matter most to you;

What are the qualities to avoid:

• The arrogant and rude Divorce Lawyer;
• The “tough talker;”
• The Attorney that markets primarily “Aggressiveness and Fighting;”
• The Salesman / Fast Talking Attorney;
• The Attorney that always wants to pursue litigation and going to court or that devises ways to make things uncomfortable/difficult on your spouse or the other attorney during the divorce.

Schedule an Initial Consultation

If you are ready to pursue a Texas Divorce, please contact Nick Davis Law to schedule a free case evaluation with a Divorce Lawyer in The Woodlands and Bryan | College Station to learn how we can help you.