One of the areas in which I help people in family law is with uncontested divorces. An uncontested divorce is a divorce in which the spouses have agreed on their own to divide the property and settled the child issues. The spouses are just looking for a family law attorney to take care of the judicial process. You do not pay for lawyers to hash everything out. There’s nothing wrong with an uncontested divorce in Texas. If the spouses can reach an agreement on how to sever their relationship then that makes moving on much easier.
Dividing property in a Texas uncontested divorce
However, one of the problems in uncontested divorces is the spouses often do not do a good job dividing marital property. The result is that one spouse, and sometimes both, probably end up in worse financial positions. What often happens is the spouses divide the property on the basis of what seems easiest. After the divorce one of the spouses realizes the imbalance but it’s too late.
Unfortunately, in a Texas divorce it is extremely rare and nearly impossible to open up the property division. It’s not that people are incapable of understanding what they own or what they need. It’s that most people are not experts in Texas divorce law or Texas property law and are not well versed in how these assets can affect them after the divorce. Plus, there is a tremendous amount of bad information on the internet.
How I help people in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas uncontested divorces
That is why when I assist people with an uncontested divorce I do more than just draft and file paperwork. I sit down and review the property division and make sure my client understands what he or she has really agreed to and whether it is a fair deal. In an uncontested divorce it is up to the client to decide whether the agreement is fair or what he or she wants but no matter how contested or uncontested the divorce I believe a client needs to understand his or her situation. Once the ink dries on the judge’s signature you should not expect to have another opportunity to consider the property division. So it’s important to get it right the first time. Clients need to understand how the assets they take in the property division in a Texas divorce can both help them and hurt them financially.
Dealing with debts in uncontested divorce
In a Texas divorce, debts can also be assigned like property so it is important to understand your ability to pay for the debts assigned to you, especially if you are taking an asset with a debt attached to it, like a house with a mortgage. If you cannot afford the mortgage then you won’t keep the house for long, which means you will lose the asset awarded to you plus your credit rating will suffer and you may end up owing additional fees and interest on the mortgage.
In addition to counseling in my Bedford office, I also have several resources available on my website. Obviously the information on this website cannot replicate legal advice addressing your specific situation but it is general legal information that can help you understand some of the issues and why you may want to contact my office to discuss your uncontested divorce. Here are links to pages and blog posts on this website that address uncontested divorces and property division:
Uncontested divorces
- Ways to resolve a Texas uncontested divorce
- 10 common mistakes in Texas divorces
- The divorce process in Texas
- Who should get an uncontested divorce
- Do I need a lawyer for my divorce
- Top five divorce questions