Lubbock divorce attorney Robert Reid McInvale offers legal advice to clients dealing with contested or uncontested divorces.
Divorce refers to the dissolution of a marriage. Every state has its own requirements governing when a divorce is granted. This may include a residency requirement and the reasons for the divorce, known as grounds. Some states have no-fault divorce and some do not. The states also vary regarding the division of marital property, alimony, child custody, visitation, and child support.
While you always need to consult a Lubbock divorce lawyer to fully understand your rights in a marital dispute where divorce is contemplated, here are a few things you should know up front.
First, in the state of Texas residency requirements are typically only a concern for a spouse who has recently moved or is planning to move in the near future. What constitutes residency is spelled out in statute, and divorces are typically filed within the county in which the filing spouse resides. The Petition for Divorce is the initial document filed with the Texas court. It is in this document that the filing spouse requests the court to terminate the marriage under certain specified grounds that include:
No-Fault Based Grounds: 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.
Fault Based Grounds: Mental cruelty; adultery; imprisonment or conviction of a felony; abandonment; living separate and apart; insanity and confinement to a state mental hospital.
In addition, because the reality of a divorce does create enormous and highly emotional issues surrounding division of property and relationships and support of children, it is always best to have a knowledgeable advocate like Robert Reid McInvale assisting you and protecting your interests during very trying times.
Robert Reid McInvale provides representation for both contested and uncontested divorce in Lubbock, and the entire state of Texas.
Texas has the reputation for being a non-alimony state. That has not really been accurate for a while, but as of September 1, 2011 that reputation really became inaccurate. Under the new COURT-ORDERED MAINTENANCE section of the Texas Family Code, it is now the case that spouses can receive considerably more maintenance (alimony) than they ever could before. So, if you are a spouse who is the victim of family violence or who has been married more than 10 years or who is raising a child of the marriage who suffers from a mental or physical disability, you must contact a divorce lawyer to discuss the possibility of obtaining significant court-ordered maintenance – ALIMONY!!
The law now provides that maintenance can be ordered by the court if the court finds that “….the spouse seeking maintenance will lack sufficient property, including the spouse’s separate property, on dissolution of the marriage to provide for the spouse’s minimum reasonable needs and:
There are quite a few factors that go into making a maintenance decision. Your age, education, length of marriage, employment history, job skills, your health, history of family violence, property brought into the marriage, contribution of a spouse as a homemaker, marital misconduct (adultery or cruel treatment) and so forth.
Help with your divorce, child custody, or other family law issue is only a call away. Contact Robert Reid McInvale toll-free at 833-884-3087, or complete our online contact form.