How Long Will It Take To Get a Divorce in Sugar Land TX?

Child custody issues are often the most difficult to resolve during a divorce. In Texas, we use the term conservatorship, but custody is what most people are familiar with so we will use that here. When parents split up, one parent must take primary custody of the children and the other usually gets visitation rights. In a joint-custody arrangement, both parents do not have to have equal rights over the children. In a sole custody arrangement, one parent has custody and the other may have visitation rights or supervised visitation.

When families live together for many years, both parents often want primary custody of the children. If the children involved are older, they may also prefer to live with one parent over the other. Both parents often have varying ideas on what is in the children’s best interests, which can cause friction during child custody battles. The best interest of the child is the Court’s primary consideration.

On top of this, emotions run high during a divorce, and it can be difficult for parents to view the situation objectively. This can lead to child custody battles taking a long time to get resolved and major disagreements within the family. Hiring an experienced divorce lawyer is the best way to speed up child custody proceedings.

A divorce attorney will view the situation objectively and prioritize the best interests of the children involved. They can help you negotiate an arrangement that works for both parents and ensure that the children are taken care of. If you need to file for sole custody, your divorce lawyer can help speed up the process by ensuring you have the right documentation and a convincing argument.

Couples can get either a contested divorce or an uncontested divorce in Sugar Land. Although uncontested divorce may be quicker, it often leads to unfair settlements and one spouse losing out on assets or property because they are unaware of their entitlements. Because of this, our law firm always recommends seeking advice from a divorce lawyer before filing for divorce.

In the end, most couples opt for contested divorces because they cannot agree on all issues in the divorce. This usually includes property division, division of marital assets, child custody issues, child support, possession and access to children, and spousal support. A couple will normally try to resolve these issues through mediation before bringing the divorce proceedings to trial.

Even with meditation, resolving marital issues can take a long time, as couples often have completely different ideas of what is fair and just. For example, although Texas is a community property state, Texas law provides that marital property should be divided equitably, rather than equally. However, you and your spouse might have different ideas of what a fair division is, which will need to be resolved through mediation or in the court system.

Bringing your divorce case through the courts can delay the process significantly. Waiting on court hearings, backlogs of cases, and disputing matters can take a long time. You may need to appeal matters you do not agree with, bring forward witnesses to support your case, and spend time gathering evidence.

If you can avoid bringing the case to court through mediation, the process will be a lot quicker. Most courts require mediation prior to hearings and final trial. If they do not, you can hire an independent mediator to mediate the case for you and your spouse.

Unfortunately, domestic abuse is a problem within Sugar Land marriages. Going through a divorce with a person who abused you emotionally or physically throughout the relationship is extremely tough. Often, abusive spouses make the divorce process quite difficult and may use manipulation tactics to get more out of the decree or to prevent the divorce from happening.

If you were a victim of domestic abuse during your marriage relationship, seek help from an experienced divorce attorney. A lawyer can help you get a protection or barring order from your spouse, take measures to protect you and your children, and fight to ensure that you get a fair settlement from the decree.

Divorcing couples often disagree on property division, particularly when there is high-value property involved. Divorces are more likely to drag out for longer if there are multiple properties, lots of assets, and businesses involved. As Texas is a community state, the property purchased during a marriage will be divided equally and any property or assets obtained previously will not be divided. Being organized, open and honest can help expedite the process, as can having a premarital or postmarital agreement.

In some cases, however, a person may try to hide assets from their spouse in order to prevent them from being divided during a divorce. Some ways a spouse can hide assets include setting up individual bank accounts, buying offshore properties, and buying cryptocurrencies. If you believe your spouse is hiding assets to prevent you from getting an equal share in the divorce, you should speak with an experienced lawyer as soon as possible.