Uncontested divorces are great options for people who can reach an agreement on the issues. You don’t need to spend thousands on a Texas divorce if the parties are able to reach a fair agreement. Uncontested divorce lawyers help clients transform their agreement into a smooth divorce process and a clear final decree of divorce.
Three reasons to hire uncontested divorce lawyers
1. The uncontested divorce lawyer can review the agreement to make sure it is fair and durable. The last thing you want is for a simple, agreed divorce to turn into a costly mess down the road.
2. The uncontested divorce lawyer will draft all the documents and take you through the judicial process to ensure your agreement is accurately described in the divorce decree. Drafting the documents incorrectly or not presenting the right evidence to support the agreed divorce can result in the court not granting the divorce or worse, granting the divorce with the wrong provisions in the decree.
3. Get your divorce as quickly as possible. In many counties, including Tarrant County and Dallas County, parties with agreed divorces without attorneys must schedule a hearing with the court to grant the divorce. The courts schedule these hearings as much as six months in the future.
Are the issues in my divorce right for an uncontested divorce in Fort Worth or Dallas?
An uncontested divorce is a great option for people who have simple issues and moderate assets if the spouses can reach a fair agreement.
An uncontested divorce is not right for complicated assets (or debts) or child issues that need more creative solutions. These issues can be addressed with a more involved process; but not necessarily a divorce that costs an arm and a leg and leaves everybody angry. The parties may cooperate on these more complicated divorces like any other agreed divorce; however, they may need more help crafting the agreement. In these cases, agreeing is often less important than the terms of the agreement.
Of course, without agreement an uncontested divorce is simply not an option. If the parties cannot agree or need help crafting an agreement then that divorce is probably not right for a flat fee uncontested divorce.
Consider these eight questions to help determine if uncontested divorce is right for you.
How an uncontested divorce lawyer helps clients in Fort Worth and Dallas, Texas
The usual steps in an uncontested divorce:
- Meet to discuss your divorce and divorce agreement and enter into our own agreement for legal services.
- File a petition for divorce with the appropriate court asking the court to grant your divorce. This begins a sixty day waiting period for divorce in Texas.
- Work with your spouse to obtain a waiver of service to file with the court to avoid having to pay the costs to serve your spouse with the divorce petition. (If your spouse refuses to sign a waiver of service then he or she must be served and that will add an additional expense to your divorce.)
- Draft a divorce decree on the basis of your agreement.
- Work together to ensure the proposed divorce decree aligns with the agreement.
- Go to court and attend a brief hearing called a “prove up” and ask the judge to sign the decree. (Visit this page to learn more about how long an uncontested divorce in Texas takes.) The judge will grant the divorce and sign the decree. This process is the same in the Tarrant County family courts, Dallas family courts and other courts in north Texas. Learn more in this overview of uncontested divorce in Texas.