Texas code § Sec. 6.001. Grounds for divorce
Insupportability
On the petition of either party to a marriage, the court may grant a divorce without regard to fault if the marriage has
become insupportable because of discord or conflict of personalities that destroys the legitimate ends of the marital relationship
and prevents any reasonable expectation of reconciliation.
Texas divorce statutes Sec. 6.002. Cruelty The court may grant a divorce in favor of one spouse if the
other spouse is guilty of cruel treatment toward the complaining spouse of a nature that renders further living together
insupportable.
Texas divorce statutes Sec. 6.003. Adultery The court may grant a divorce in favor of one spouse if the
other spouse has committed adultery.
| Texas divorce statutes Sec. 6.004. Conviction
of Felony.
Texas divorce statutes Sec. 6.005. Abandonement The court may grant a divorce in favor of one spouse
if the other spouse: (1) left the complaining spouse with the intention of abandonment; and (2) remained away for at least
one year.
Texas divorce statutes Sec. 6.006. Living Apart. The court may grant a divorce in favor of either spouse
if the spouses have lived apart without cohabitation for at least three years.
Texas divorce statutes Sec. 6.007. Confinement in Mental Hospital.
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Texas code § Sec. 6.102. Annulment of Marriage
of person under age 18.
(a) The court may grant an annulment of a marriage of a person 16 years of age or older but under 18 years of age that
occurred without parental consent or without a court order as provided by Subchapters B and E, Chapter 2. (b) A petition
for annulment under this section may be filed by: (1) a next friend for the benefit of the underage party; (2) a parent;
or (3) the judicially designated managing conservator or guardian of the person of the underage party, whether an individual,
authorized agency, or court. (c) A suit filed under this subsection by a next friend is barred unless it is filed within
90 days after the date of the marriage.
Texas divorce laws Sec. 6.103. Underage Annulment barred by adulthood. A suit to annul a marriage
may not be filed under Section 6.102 by a parent, managing conservator, or guardian of a person after the 18th birthday of
the person.
Texas divorce laws Sec. 6.104. Discretionary Annulment of underage marriage. (a) An annulment under
Section 6.102 of a marriage may be granted at the discretion of the court sitting without a jury. (b) In exercising its discretion,
the court shall consider the pertinent facts concerning the welfare of the parties to the marriage, including whether the
female is pregnant.
Texas divorce laws Sec. 6.105. Uunder
Influence of alcohol or narcotics. The court may grant an annulment of a marriage to a party to the marriage if: (1) at the
time of the marriage the petitioner was under the influence of alcoholic beverages or narcotics and as a result did not have
the capacity to consent tothe marriage; and
(2) the petitioner has not voluntarily cohabited with the other party to the marriage since the effects of the alcoholic
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beverages or narcotics ended.
Texas divorce laws Sec. 6.106. Impotency. The court may grant an annulment of a marriage to a party
to the marriage if: (1) either party, for physical or mental reasons, was permanently impotent at the time of the marriage;
(2) the petitioner did not know of the impotency at the time of the marriage; and (3) the petitioner has not voluntarily
cohabited with the other party since learning of the impotency.
Texas divorce laws Sec. 6.107. Fraud, Duress, or Force. The court may grant an annulment of a marriage
to a party to the marriage if: (1) the other party used fraud, duress, or force to induce the petitioner to enter into the
marriage; and (2) the petitioner has not voluntarily cohabited with the other party since learning of the fraud or since
being released from the duress or force.
Texas divorce laws Sec. 6.108. Mental Incapacity.
Texas divorce laws Sec. 6.109. Concealed Divorce. (a) The court may grant an annulment of a marriage
to a party to the marriage if: (1) the other party was divorced from a third party within the 30-day period preceding the
date of the marriage ceremony; (2) at the time of the marriage ceremony the petitioner did not know, and a reasonably prudent
person would not have known, of the divorce; and (3) since the petitioner discovered or a reasonably prudent person would
have discovered the fact of the divorce, the petitioner has not voluntarily cohabited with the other party. (b) A suit may
not be brought under this section after the first anniversary of the date of the marriage.
Texas divorce laws Sec. 6.110. Marriage less than 24 hours after issuance of license.
Texas divorce laws Sec. 6.111. Death of party to voidable marriage. |
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Texas code § Sec. 6.501. Temporary Restraining
Order
(a) After the filing of a suit for dissolution of a marriage, on the motion of a party or on the court's own motion, the
court may grant a temporary restraining order without notice to the adverse party for the preservation of the property and
for the protection of the parties as necessary, including an order prohibiting one or both parties from:
(1) intentionally
communicating by telephone or in writing with the other party by use of vulgar, profane, obscene, or indecent language or
in a coarse or offensive manner, with intent to annoy or alarm the other;
(2) threatening the other, by telephone or in writing,
to take unlawful action against any person, intending by this action to annoy or alarm the other;
(3) placing a telephone
call, anonymously, at an unreasonable hour, in an offensive and repetitious manner, or without a legitimate purpose of communication
with the intent to annoy or alarm the other;
(4) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing bodily injury to the other
or to a child of either party;
(5) threatening the other or a child of either party with imminent bodily injury;
(6) intentionally,
knowingly, or recklessly destroying, removing, concealing, encumbering, transferring, or otherwise harming or reducing the
value of the property of the parties or either party with intent to obstruct the authority of the court to order a division
of the estate of the parties in a manner that the court deems just and right, having due regard for the rights of each party
and any children of the marriage;
(7) intentionally falsifying a writing or record relating to the property of either party;
(8) intentionally misrepresenting or refusing to disclose to the other party or to the court, on proper request, the existence,
amount, or location of any property of the parties or either party;
(9) intentionally or knowingly damaging or destroying
the tangible property of the parties or either party; or
(10) intentionally or knowingly tampering with the tangible property
of the parties or either party and causing pecuniary loss or substantial inconvenience to the other.
(b) A temporary restraining
order under this subchapter may not include a provision: |
(1) the subject of which is a requirement, appointment, award, or other order listed in Section 64.104, Civil Practice and
Remedies Code; or
(2) that: (A) excludes a spouse from occupancy of the residence
where that spouse is living except as provided in a protective order made in accordance with Title 4;
(B) prohibits a party
from spending funds for reasonable and necessary living expenses; or
(C) prohibits a party from engaging in acts reasonable
and necessary to conduct that party's usual business and occupation.
Texas divorce laws Sec. 6.502. Temporary Injunction and other temporary orders.
(a) While a suit for dissolution of a marriage is pending
and on the motion of a party or on the court's own motion after notice and hearing, the court may render an appropriate order,
including the granting of a temporary injunction for the preservation of the property and protection of the parties as deemed
necessary and equitable and including an order directed to one or both parties:
(1) requiring a sworn inventory and appraisement
of the real and personal property owned or claimed by the parties and specifying the form, manner, and substance of the inventory
and appraisal and list of debts and liabilities;
(2) requiring payments to be made for the support of either spouse;
(3)
requiring the production of books, papers, documents, and tangible things by a party;
(4) ordering payment of reasonable
attorney's fees and expenses;
(5) appointing a receiver for the preservation and protection of the property of the parties;
(6) awarding one spouse exclusive occupancy of the residence during the pendency of the case; (7) prohibiting the parties,
or either party, from spending funds beyond an amount the court determines to be for reasonable and necessary living expenses;
(8) awarding one spouse exclusive control of a party's usual business or occupation; or
(9) prohibiting an act described
by Section 6.501(a). (b) Not later than the 30th day after the date a receiver is appointed under Subsection (a)(5), the
receiver shall give notice of the appointment to each lienholder of any property under the receiver's control.
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Texas code § Sec. 6.505.
Counseling.
(a) While a divorce suit is pending, the court may direct the parties to counsel with a person named by the court.
(b)
The person named by the court to counsel the parties shall submit a written report to the court and to the parties before
the final hearing. In the report, the counselor shall give only an opinion as to whether there exists a reasonable expectation
of reconciliation of the parties and, if so, whether further counseling would be beneficial. The sole purpose of the report
is to aid the court in determining whether the suit for divorce should be continued pending further counseling.
(c) A copy
of the report shall be furnished to each party.
(d) If the court believes that there is a reasonable expectation of the parties'
reconciliation, the court may by written order continue the proceedings and direct the
parties to a person named by the |
court for further counseling for a period fixed by the court not
to exceed 60 days, subject to any terms, conditions, and limitations the court considers desirable. In ordering counseling,
the court shall consider the circumstances of the parties, including the needs of the parties' family and the availability
of counseling services. At the expiration of the period specified by the court, the counselor to whom the parties were directed
shall report to the court whether the parties have complied with the court's order. Thereafter, the court shall proceed as
in a divorce suit generally. (e) If the court orders counseling under this section and the parties to the marriage are the
parents of a child under 18 years of age born or adopted during the marriage, the counseling shall include counseling on
issues that confront children who are the subject of a suit affecting the parent-child relationship.
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Texas code § Sec. 6.603 Collaborative
Law.
(a) On a written agreement of the parties and their attorneys, a dissolution of marriage proceeding may be conducted under
collaborative law procedures.
(b) Collaborative law is a procedure in which the parties and their counsel agree in writing
to use their best efforts and make a good faith attempt to resolve their dissolution of marriage dispute on an agreed basis
without resorting to judicial intervention except to have the court approve the settlement agreement, make the legal pronouncements,
and sign the orders required by law to effectuate the agreement of the parties as the court determines appropriate. The parties'
counsel may not serve as litigation counsel except to ask the court to approve the settlement agreement.
(c) A collaborative
law agreement must include provisions for:
(1) full and candid exchange of information between the parties and their attorneys
as necessary to make a proper evaluation of the case;
(2) suspending court intervention in the dispute while the parties
are using collaborative law procedures;
(3) hiring experts, as jointly agreed, to be used in the procedure;
(4) withdrawal
of all counsel involved in the collaborative law procedure if the collaborative law procedure does not result in settlement
of the dispute; and
(5) other provisions as agreed to by the parties consistent with a good faith effort to collaboratively
settle the matter.
(d) Notwithstanding Rule 11, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, or another rule or law, a party is entitled
to judgment on a collaborative law settlement agreement if the agreement:
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(1) provides, in a prominently displayed statement that is boldfaced,
capitalized, or underlined, that the agreement is not subject to revocation; and
(2) is signed by each party to the agreement
and the attorney of each party.
(e) Subject to Subsection (g), a court that is notified 30 days before trial that the parties
are using collaborative law procedures to attempt to settle a dispute may not, until a party notifies the court that the
collaborative law procedures did not result in a settlement:
(1) set a hearing or trial in the case;
(2) impose discovery
deadlines;
(3) require compliance with scheduling orders; or (4) dismiss the case.
(f) The parties shall notify the court
if the collaborative law procedures result in a settlement. If they do not, the parties shall file: (1) a status report with
the court not later than the 180th day after the date of the written agreement to use the procedures; and
(2) a status report
on or before the first anniversary of the date of the written agreement to use the procedures, accompanied by a motion for
continuance that the court shall grant if the status report indicates the desire of the parties to continue to use collaborative
law procedures.
(g) If the collaborative law procedures do not result in a settlement on or before the second anniversary
of the date that the suit was filed, the court may:
(1) set the suit for trial on the regular docket; or
(2) dismiss the
suit without prejudice.
(h) The provisions for confidentiality of alternative dispute resolution procedures as provided in
Chapter 154, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, apply equally to collaborative law procedures under this section.
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Texas code § Sec. 6.801. Remarriage.
(a) Except as otherwise provided by this subchapter, neither party to a divorce may marry a third
party before the 31st day after the date
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the divorce is decreed.
(b) The former spouses may marry each other at any time.
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Texas code § Sec. 7.001.
General rule of property division. Divorce settlement
In a decree of divorce or annulment, the court shall order a division of the estate of the parties in a manner that the
court deems just and right, having due regard for the rights of each party and any children of the marriage.
Texas divorce laws Sec. 7.002. Division and disposition of certain property under special circumstances.
(a) In addition to the division of the estate of the parties required by Section 7.001, in a decree of divorce or annulment
the court shall order a division of the following real and personal property, wherever situated, in a manner that the court
deems just and right, having due regard for the rights of each party and any children of the marriage:
(1) property that
was acquired by either spouse while domiciled in another state and that would have been community property if the spouse
who acquired the property had been domiciled in this state at the time of the acquisition; or
(2) property that was acquired
by either spouse in exchange for real or personal property and that
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would have been community property if the spouse who acquired the
property so exchanged had been domiciled in this state at the time of its acquisition.
(b) In a decree of divorce or annulment,
the court shall award to a spouse the following real and personal property, wherever situated, as the separate property of
the spouse:
(1) property that was acquired by the spouse while domiciled in another state and that would have been the spouse's
separate property if the spouse had been domiciled in this state at the time of acquisition; or
(2) property that was acquired
by the spouse in exchange for real or personal property and that would have been the spouse's separate property if the spouse
had been domiciled in this state at the time of acquisition.
(c) In a decree of divorce or annulment, the court shall confirm
the following as the separate property of a spouse if partitioned or exchanged by written agreement of the spouses:
(1) income
and earnings from the spouses' property, wages, salaries, and other forms of compensation received on or after January 1
of the year in which the suit for dissolution of marriage was filed; or
(2) income and earnings from the spouses' property,
wages, salaries, and other forms of compensation received in another year during which the spouses were married for any part
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Texas code § Sec. 154.001.
Child Support
(a) The court may order either or both parents to support a child in the manner specified by the order:
(1) until the
child is 18 years of age or until graduation from high school, whichever occurs later;
(2) until the child is emancipated
through marriage, through removal of the disabilities of minority by court order, or by other operation of law;
(3) until
the death of the child; or
(4) if the child is disabled as defined in this chapter, for an indefinite period.
(a-1) The court
may order each person who is financially able and whose parental rights have been terminated with respect to a child in substitute
care for whom the department has been appointed managing conservator to support the child in the manner specified by the
order:
(1) until the earliest of:
(A) the child's adoption;
(B) the child's 18th birthday or graduation
from high school, whichever occurs later;
(C) removal of the child's disabilities of minority by court order, marriage, or
other operation of law; or
(D) the child's death; or
(2) if the child is disabled as defined in this chapter, for an indefinite
period.
(b) The court may order either or both parents to make periodic payments for the support of a child in a proceeding
in which the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services is named temporary managing conservator. In a proceeding in
which the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services is named permanent managing conservator of a child whose parents'
rights have not been terminated, the court shall order each parent that is financially able to make |
periodic payments for
the support of the child.
(c) In a Title IV-D case, if neither parent has physical possession or conservatorship of the child,
the court may render an order providing that a nonparent or agency having physical possession may receive, hold, or disburse
child support payments for the benefit of the child.
Texas divorce laws Sec. 154.002. CHILD SUPPORT THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION.
(a) The court may render an original support order, or modify an existing order, providing child support past the 18th
birthday of the child to be paid only if the child is:
(1) enrolled:
(A) under Chapter 25, Education Code, in an accredited
secondary school in a program leading toward a high school diploma;
(B) under Section 130.008, Education Code, in courses
for joint high school and junior college credit; or
(C) on a full-time basis in a private secondary school in a program leading
toward a high school diploma; and
(2) complying with:
(A) the minimum attendance requirements of Subchapter C, Chapter 25,
Education Code; or (B) the minimum attendance requirements imposed by the school in which the child is enrolled, if the child
is enrolled in a private secondary school.
(b) The request for a support order through high school graduation may be filed
before or after the child's 18th birthday.
(c) The order for periodic support may provide that payments continue through
the end of the month in which the child graduates.
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Texas code § Sec. 151.001.
Rights and duties of parent. Child custody
(a) A parent of a child has the following rights and duties:
(1) the right to have physical possession, to direct the
moral and religious training, and to designate the residence of the child;
(2) the duty of care, control, protection, and
reasonable discipline of the child;
(3) the duty to support the child, including providing the child with clothing, food,
shelter, medical and dental care, and education;
(4) the duty, except when a guardian of the child's estate has been appointed,
to manage the estate of the child, including the right as an agent of the child to act in relation to the child's estate
if the child's action is required by a state, the United States, or a foreign government;
(5) except as provided by Section
264.0111, the right to the services and earnings of the child; (6) the right to consent to the child's marriage, enlistment
in the armed forces of the United States, medical and dental care, and psychiatric, psychological, and surgical treatment;
(7) the right to represent the child in legal action and to make other decisions of substantial legal significance concerning
the child;
(8) the right to receive and give receipt for payments for the support of the child and to
hold or disburse funds for the benefit of the child;
(9) the right to inherit from and through the child; |
(10) the right to make decisions concerning the child's education; and
(11) any other right or duty existing
between a parent and child by virtue of law.
(b) The duty of a parent to support his or her child exists while the child
is an unemancipated minor and continues as long as the child is fully enrolled in a secondary school in a program leading
toward a high school diploma and complies with attendance requirements described by Section 154.002(a)(2).
(c) A parent who
fails to discharge the duty of support is liable to a person who provides necessaries to those to whom support is owed.
(d)
The rights and duties of a parent are subject to:
(1) a court order affecting the rights and duties;
(2) an affidavit of
relinquishment of parental rights; and
(3) an affidavit by the parent designating another person or agency to act as managing
conservator.
(e) Only the following persons may use corporal punishment for the reasonable discipline of a child:
(1) a parent
or grandparent of the child;
(2) a stepparent of the child who has the duty of control and reasonable discipline of the
child; and
(3) an individual who is a guardian of the child and who has the duty of control and reasonable discipline of the child.
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Texas code § Chapter 8 Spousal
support. Alimony. Maintenance
Texas divorce laws Sec. 8.051. ELIGIBILITY FOR MAINTENANCE; COURT ORDER. In a suit for dissolution of a marriage
or in a proceeding for maintenance in a court with personal jurisdiction over both former spouses following the dissolution
of their marriage by a court that lacked personal jurisdiction over an absent spouse, the court may order maintenance for
either spouse only if:
 the spouse from whom maintenance
is requested was convicted of or received deferred adjudication for a criminal offense that also constitutes an act of family
violence under Title 4 and the offense occurred: a. within two years before the date on which a suit for dissolution of
the marriage is filed; or b. while the suit is pending; or
the duration of the marriage was 10
years or longer, the spouse seeking maintenance lacks sufficient property, including property distributed to the spouse under
this code, to provide for the spouse's minimum reasonable needs, as limited by Section 8.054, and the spouse seeking maintenance:
a. is unable to support himself or herself through appropriate employment because of an incapacitating physical or mental
disability; b. is the custodian of a child of the marriage of any age who requires substantial care and personal supervision
because a physical or mental disability makes it necessary, taking into consideration the needs of the child, that the spouse
not be employed outside the home; or c. clearly lacks earning ability in the labor market adequate to provide support
for the spouse's minimum reasonable needs, as limited by Section 8.054.
Texas divorce laws Sec. 8.052. FACTORS IN DETERMINING MAINTENANCE. A court that determines that
a spouse is eligible to receive maintenance under this chapter shall determine the nature, amount, duration, and manner of
periodic payments by considering all relevant factors, including:
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the financial
resources of the spouse seeking maintenance,
including the community and separate property and liabilities apportioned to that spouse in the dissolution proceeding, and
that spouse's ability to meet the spouse's needs independently;
the education and employment
skills of the spouses, the time necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the spouse seeking maintenance
to find appropriate employment, the availability of that education or training, and the feasibility of that education or
training;
the duration of the marriage;
the age, employment history,
earning ability, and physical and emotional condition of the spouse seeking maintenance;
the ability of the spouse from
whom maintenance is requested to meet that spouse's personal needs and to provide periodic child support payments, if
applicable, while meeting the personal needs of the spouse seeking maintenance;
acts by either spouse resulting
in excessive or abnormal expenditures or destruction, concealment, or fraudulent disposition of community property, joint
tenancy, or other property held in common;
the comparative financial resources
of the spouses, including medical, retirement, insurance, or other benefits, and the separate property of each spouse;
the contribution by one spouse
to the education, training, or increased earning power of the other spouse;
the property brought to the
marriage by either spouse;
the contribution of a spouse as
homemaker;
marital misconduct of the spouse
seeking maintenance; and
the efforts of the spouse seeking
maintenance to pursue available employment counseling as provided by Chapter 304, Labor Code.
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The Texas
Code that appears here may not
include all provisions of Family Law. Some redacting has
occurred. You should consult the TX code or a Texas divorce attorney.
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