Harris County Divorce Attorney

Filing for Divorce in Spring, Klein, Tomball, Houston, Conroe, Galveston and Hempstead area

Houston 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 Houston 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 Houston, The Woodlands, Willowbrook, Katy, Spring, Cypress, Jersey Village, Conroe, Liberty County, Harris County, Fort Bend County, Galveston County, Montgomery County, Waller County, and the entire state of Texas.

ALIMONY, also known as Spousal Maintenance

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 Houston divorce law firm 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:

1. 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…… committed during the marriage against the other spouse or the other spouse’s child and the offense occurred:
   1. Within two years before the date on which a suit for dissolution of the marriage is filed; or
   2. While the suit is pending; or
2. The spouse seeking maintenance:
   1. Is unable to earn sufficient income to provide for the spouse’s minimum reasonable needs because of an incapacitating physical or mental disability;
   2. Has been married to the other spouse for 10 years or longer and lacks the ability to earn sufficient income to provide for the spouse’s minimum reasonable needs; or
   3. Is the custodian of a child of the marriage of any age who requires substantial care and personal supervision because of a physical or mental disability that prevents the spouse from earning sufficient income to provide for the spouse’s minimum reasonable needs.

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.

Experienced Legal Representation in the Greater Houston area

Help with your divorce, child custody, or other family law issue is only a call away. Contact Robert Reid McInvale toll-free at , or complete our online contact form.