The Texas Divorce Rulebook – Part 2

Now that you’ve read through The Texas Divorce Rulebook – Part 1, we’ll dive right into Part 2. Although divorce cases may seem informal at times, they are treated as serious lawsuits. In Texas, petitioners must sue their spouses for divorce and parties must adhere to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, Texas Family Code, and local rules applicable to each jurisdiction. This blog explores some important technicalities of the divorce process.

To assist attorneys, parties should always:

• Respond to communication in a timely manner;
• Ask questions about anything that you do not fully understand;
• Provide all evidence and discovery documentation as soon as possible;
• Keep a record of communication with your spouse. It may be helpful to limit communications to text messages and emails.

To assist attorneys, parties should never:

• Hide assets from a spouse;
• Intentionally withhold vital information;

To remain adaptable, parties should always:

• Seek or maintain employment. Do not rely on potential settlements for financial stability;
• If a court has ordered payment of spousal support, maintain documentation of job seeking and avoid appearances of intentional unemployment;
• Attempt to secure housing outside the marital home.

To remain adaptable, parties should never:

• Live above their means. In addition to being financially irresponsible, lavish spending during a divorce could be grounds for sanctions by a court. Be particularly mindful of spending community assets. 

To remain adaptable, parties may sometimes need to:

• Withdraw from retirement accounts or sell stock to pay attorney’s fees; 
• Take out independent loans, borrow from family, or open lines of credit to help pay for litigation. 

To maintain courtroom etiquette, parties should always:

• Arrive to all hearings on time. 
• Dress professionally, ideally business professional;
• Answer every question asked by your attorney;
• Immediately stop talking if you hear your attorney say “objection” during testimony 

To maintain courtroom etiquette, parties should never:

• Speak over or interrupt attorneys when testifying. Always wait for the completion of a question before attempting to answer;
• Display frustration by rolling eyes, sucking teeth. Judges will not tolerate this behavior and maintaining a professional demeanor is imperative; and
• Speak to the judge directly when testifying unless specifically addressed.

To avoid trouble with paramours, parties should always:

• Listen to attorneys’ advice concerning extramarital affair;
• Disclose all details of extra-marital affairs when speaking with your attorney.

To avoid trouble with paramours, parties should never:

• Invite a paramour to stay with you in the marital home during proceedings;
• Invite a paramour to attend gatherings with family or friends;
• Invite a paramour to spend time with children during proceedings.

If you have more detailed questions, consider contacting an experienced family law firm.