Divorce in Texas runs on its own rulebook — community property, a mandatory waiting period, and a default parenting schedule — and knowing these before letters start arriving keeps you from negotiating at a disadvantage.
Texas is one of a handful of true community property states. Courts generally presume that anything either spouse acquired during the marriage belongs to both of you equally, regardless of whose name is on the account or title. Property owned before the marriage, along with gifts and inheritances received by one spouse alone, is generally treated as separate property — but only if you can prove it through records. Mixed or commingled funds, such as an inheritance deposited into a joint account, are where most disputes happen, so tracing paperwork matters as much as the asset itself.
Filing happens in a Texas district court, or a county court with family law jurisdiction, in the county where either spouse has lived for the required period. Texas requires at least six months of residency in the state and 90 days in the filing county before a divorce petition can be filed. Most Texas divorces proceed on 'insupportability' — a no-fault ground stating the marriage has become unworkable — though fault grounds remain available and can occasionally factor into property or conservatorship arguments.
A distinctive Texas rule to plan around: once a petition is filed, the case generally cannot be finalized until at least 60 days have passed, even if both spouses agree on every term. That waiting period is a floor, not a target — contested cases routinely take longer.
Because Texas divides community property, thorough financial disclosure carries real weight. Start collecting recent tax returns, pay statements, and statements for every bank, brokerage, retirement, and credit account. Add property tax statements, mortgage records, and vehicle titles for anything acquired during the marriage. If either spouse owns a business or is self-employed, financial statements and business tax filings tend to become central to support and property discussions.
If you're claiming separate property — an inheritance, a gift, or an asset owned before the marriage — gather the original acquisition records now: the deed, the account-opening statement, the will or gift letter, and anything showing where that money has been since. Texas courts generally expect clear and convincing evidence to rebut the community property presumption, so weak tracing can turn separate property into community property by default.
Keep every letter exchanged with the other side or their attorney from the very start. In a state where the waiting period alone stretches negotiations over months, the letter record becomes the timeline of who proposed what, when deadlines were set, and what was actually agreed.
Texas has a statutory default for parenting time called the Standard Possession Order (SPO), which courts generally apply unless the parents agree to something different or the court finds reasons to depart from it. The SPO sets out specific weekend, holiday, and summer schedules, and its terms shift depending on whether the parents live near or far from each other. Many Texas parenting negotiations start from the SPO as a baseline and adjust from there, so it's worth reading before responding to any parenting proposal.
Child support in Texas is calculated primarily from the paying parent's net income under state guidelines, with percentages that generally increase with the number of children involved. As with property, self-employment or business income tends to be where disclosure disputes arise. Courts decide custody — called conservatorship in Texas — based on the child's best interest, and detailed, concrete proposals about schedules and decision-making tend to fare better than vague ones.
1) Start your financial document collection early, before positions in any letters have hardened. 2) Sort your assets into 'clearly community,' 'clearly separate,' and 'mixed' — the mixed category is where you'll need the most paperwork. 3) Read the Standard Possession Order before reacting to any parenting proposal, so you know what the default actually says. 4) Keep the 60-day floor in mind when evaluating any deadline in a letter — a proposal promising a fast resolution still has to clear that minimum. 5) Track every date any letter sets, and confirm anything jurisdiction- or county-specific with a Texas family law attorney, since local practices vary.
Not automatically. Texas courts generally divide community property in a way they consider 'just and right,' which is often close to even but not guaranteed to be exactly 50/50. Separate property, if proven, generally isn't divided at all.
Generally no. Texas law sets a 60-day minimum from filing to finalization even when both spouses agree on every term. Contested issues typically extend the timeline well beyond that floor.
Courts generally use it as the default parenting schedule unless the parents agree to a different arrangement or the court finds reasons to order something else, such as safety concerns or a long distance between parents' homes.
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This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws change and differ by jurisdiction — confirm specifics with a local family lawyer or your court's official website. If you use SortMyDivorce, your letters stay confidential — never shared, never sold.