An uncontested divorce or agreed divorce must take at least sixty (60) days. By Texas law, this 60 day period is utilized as a cooling off period to afford the married couple an opportunity to reconcile the marriage. If there are contested issues involved, it can take several years before the court resolves all of the issues involved in a divorce. The divorce becomes final when it is signed by the judge.
What is an \\\"at fault\\\" divorce?
An at fault divorce exists when there are certain grounds created by one spouse which was the cause for the divorce. The common grounds for an at fault divorce are: when there is infliction of emotional and/or physical abuse (cruelty); where there is consensual sexual relations by a married person with someone other than his or her spouse (adultery); where one spouse deserts the other for a specified length of time (abandonment); confinement in prison for a specified number of years; physical inability to engage in sexual intercourse, if it was not disclosed before marriage. Some of these issues will alter the distribution of property between divorcing spouses giving less to the at fault spouse.
What is a \\\"no-fault\\\" divorce?
A \\\"no-fault\\\" divorce is one where the spouse suing for divorce does not have to prove that the other spouse did something wrong. Texas is a no-fault divorce state. All that has to be shown is that there are irreconcilable difference that destroy the marital relationship. In Texas, there is minimum waiting period of sixty (60) days to finalize the divorce.
What happens if both spouses are at fault?
The court will grant a divorce to the spouse who is considered to be least at fault under a doctrine called \\\"comparative rectitude.\\\" A long time ago, if both parties were at fault, the divorce was not granted to either party, which forced people to stay married when they no longer wanted to be married. The comparative rectitude alleviates this situation by granting the divorce to the party least at fault.
What is an annulment?
An annulment is a method of voiding the marriage. If an annulment is granted, the result is that the parties are treated as if the marriage never occurred. An annulment can only be granted if the initial marriage suffers from a defect in its formation. An annulment also requires that the parties do not live together since discovery of the trick or deception. In Texas, an annulment can be granted in the following situations: a.) one of the spouses is under 16 years of age; b.) one of the spouses is between the ages of 16 and 18 years of age and no parental consent was obtained before the marriage; c.) one of the spouses was under the influence of alcohol or narcotics at the time of marriage and does not voluntarily cohabitate with the other person after the effects of alcohol or narcotics have subsided; d.) one of the spouses was permanently impotent at the time of the marriage and withheld the information from his/her spouse and does not voluntarily cohabitate after learning of the impotence; e.) there was fraud, duress, or force to induce the spouse to enter into the marriage, and the spouse does not voluntarily cohabitate after learning of the impotence (Most common grounds for annulment); f.) lack of mental capacity; g.) concealed divorce and no cohabitation since the discovery; h.) the mandatory seventy-two hour waiting period after the issuance of the marriage license was not complied with and the annulment suit is filed within 30 days after the marriage
