When a marriage becomes strained, you may reach the difficult decision to end it. If you live in Texas, there are specific legal grounds for the court to grant the divorce. This post explores what these options are and what each requires.
What insupportability means in Texas
Under Texas law, a court may grant a divorce if the marriage has become ‘insupportable.’ This happens when discord or personality conflicts have destroyed the legitimate ends of the marriage and make reconciliation unlikely. Essentially, this means the marriage has broken down beyond repair.
When you file for divorce based on these grounds, you do not have to prove that your spouse did anything wrong. Many people choose this option because it lets you focus on practical issues, such as dividing property, without placing blame.
What fault-based grounds look like
While most Texas divorces rely on insupportability, the state still recognizes fault-based grounds. These include:
- Adultery: One spouse engaged in a voluntary sexual relationship outside the marriage.
- Cruelty: One spouse treated the other in a way that renders further living together insupportable.
- Abandonment: One spouse left with the intent to abandon and remained away for at least one year.
- Felony conviction: One spouse has been convicted of a felony; has been imprisoned for at least one year in a state or federal penitentiary; and has not been pardoned.
Proving fault-based grounds requires strong evidence and clear documentation. Together with an attorney, you may need to gather witness testimony, records or other supporting materials. Courts take this evidence into account when deciding fair outcomes in contested divorces.
What filing requirements you should know
Before filing for divorce in Texas, you must meet certain residency requirements. Under state law, at least one spouse must have lived in Texas for six months and in the filing county for 90 days. Additionally, the state has a mandatory 60-day waiting period, and the court cannot finalize the petition until those days are up.
Exceptions exist. If a court convicted your spouse of family violence, granted deferred adjudication for family violence or issued an active protective order, the court may waive the 60-day requirement
Once the court finalizes the divorce, state law requires you to wait at least 30 days before remarrying anyone other than your former spouse.