What to Actually Expect From Your Texas Divorce
- Robert Tsai
- Jun 12
- 7 min read
Most people walk into a family law attorney’s office without a clear picture of what’s coming. The not-knowing is often worse than the process itself. The case feels enormous when the path is invisible, and merely seeing the steps written out tends to make the next six to twelve months easier to handle.
Here is an honest look at what a Texas divorce actually involves — what we’ll ask you, what the timeline looks like, what custody and child support really mean, what it costs, and what we will and will not be able to promise.
1. The First Consultation: What Actually Happens
A consultation is a 30 to 60-minute conversation, in person or by video, that serves two purposes. We use it to learn enough about your situation to give you real advice, and you use it to decide whether you want to engage us at all.
What we will ask:
Background facts — date of marriage, date of separation (if any), children’s names and ages, where everyone is currently living, each spouse’s employer and approximate income.
Property — what real estate, retirement accounts, financial accounts, vehicles, business interests, and significant personal property are involved. We do not need exact balances at the first meeting; ballpark figures are fine.
Debt — mortgages, vehicle loans, credit cards, student loans, business debt.
Children — your current parenting schedule (if any), where the children attend school, any health or developmental issues that affect custody decisions.
The trigger — what brought you in this week, rather than six months ago or six months from now.
Whether a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement is in place.
What you should bring, if you have it: a copy of your most recent tax return, paystubs for both spouses if available, and any existing court orders. None of this is required to have the conversation, but it sharpens the advice we can give.
We will be candid with you. If your case is straightforward, we will tell you. If your case is harder than you think it is, we will tell you that, too. Setting realistic expectations is a legal and ethical obligation under Texas Disciplinary Rule of Professional Conduct 1.04 — not just good service.
2. The Real Timeline: From Filing to Final Decree
Texas imposes a mandatory 60-day waiting period between the filing of a divorce petition and the date a court can sign a final decree (Texas Family Code § 6.702). That is the floor. In practice, most Texas divorces take much longer.
A reasonable working range:
Uncontested divorce (the parties agree on everything): 60 to 90 days.
Contested but cooperative: 6 to 12 months.
Contested with significant disputes (custody, business interests, complex property): 12 to 24 months or more.
The typical path looks like this:
Petition. One spouse files. The other is served and has time to file an Answer.
Temporary Orders. A short hearing — usually within the first 60 days — sets ground rules while the case is pending. Who lives where, who pays what, who has the children when. (We have a separate post on temporary orders in Texas.)
Discovery. Both sides exchange financial information, written questions, and document requests. This is where business valuations and asset tracing happen if the case has either.
Mediation. Most Texas counties require mediation before trial. A neutral mediator works with each side to find a settlement. The majority of Texas divorces resolve here.
Final trial. If mediation does not resolve everything, the case goes to trial — bench or jury. Trial dates are scheduled by the court and can move multiple times before they actually happen.
We will not promise you a fast resolution. The honest answer is that the speed of your case is partly within our control and partly not — the opposing party, the court’s docket, and any business or financial complexity all affect it.
3. What “Custody” Actually Means in Texas
Texas does not use the word “custody” in its statutes. The law uses two separate concepts that together cover what most people mean when they say “custody”:
Conservatorship: Rights and Duties
Who can make decisions about education, healthcare, religion, and psychiatric care for the child. By statute, Texas courts presume that Joint Managing Conservatorship (JMC) is in the child’s best interest, meaning both parents share most decision-making rights. Sole Managing Conservatorship (SMC) is the exception, awarded when there are concerns about family violence, neglect, or substance abuse, or when other factors make joint decision-making impractical.
Possession: Time With the Child
The default is the Standard Possession Order (SPO), set out in the Texas Family Code. For parents who live within 100 miles of each other, the SPO gives the non-primary parent the first, third, and fifth weekends of each month, Thursday evenings, alternating holidays, and an extended period during the summer. Modified or expanded versions of the SPO are common, and equal-time (50/50) schedules are increasingly being ordered when parents can effectively co-parent.
Geographic Restrictions
These are typically included in conservatorship orders. They limit where the primary parent can establish the child’s residence — usually to a specific county or set of contiguous counties — so the other parent does not lose meaningful contact through a relocation.
The shorthand: Conservatorship governs who decides. Possession governs when each parent has the child. They are negotiated and ordered separately.
4. Child Support: How It’s Actually Calculated
Child support in Texas is calculated under guidelines in the Texas Family Code. The general formula is a percentage of the obligor’s net resources, scaled to the number of children before the court:
1 child: 20%
2 children: 25%
3 children: 30%
4 children: 35%
5+ children: at least 40%
The Texas Attorney General’s office maintains a public child support calculator that produces guideline amounts. The court can deviate from the guideline if circumstances warrant it.
A few things that often surprise clients:
If parents have roughly equal possession time, the court may apply an offset rather than a one-way payment, so the higher earner pays the difference rather than the full guideline amount.
Child support is separate from medical and dental support. One parent is typically ordered to provide health insurance, and unreimbursed medical expenses are shared, usually 50/50.
The court can order more than the guideline amount if the child has proven needs that exceed it, but it generally will not order more simply because the obligor has a high income or because a particular lifestyle “is expected.”
5. What This Will Realistically Cost
There is no honest answer to “how much will my divorce cost” that does not depend on how cooperative both sides are. What we can give you is the structure.
Billing. We bill hourly. Attorneys, paralegals, and legal assistants each have their own rates, and your bill reflects who actually did the work. Tasks that don’t require an attorney’s expertise go to a paralegal or assistant — at a lower cost — to keep your bill efficient.
Retainer. A retainer is a deposit held in trust against future work. We bill against it monthly. When it runs low, you replenish it. The retainer is not a flat fee; it is a starting balance.
Estimated total. At the consultation, we will give you a realistic range based on what we know about your case. We will not lowball it to win your business. Estimates are bound by the same ethical rule that requires realistic expectations on outcomes (TDRPC 1.04). We would rather you walk in knowing the range than be surprised three months later.
Other costs. Filing fees, mediator fees, expert witnesses (forensic accountants, business valuators, custody evaluators), court reporter fees if your case is reported, and similar third-party costs are separate from attorney’s fees and pass through to you.
Uncontested divorces typically run a few thousand dollars in total. Cases involving significant assets, business interests, or contested custody can run substantially higher — sometimes well into five figures, occasionally six. The honest version of this answer is “more if you fight, less if you settle.”
6. The Hard Truths Worth Knowing Going In
Every experienced family law attorney has had a version of this conversation with a new client. We would rather have it at the consultation than at trial.
You will probably not get everything you want. Texas community property law and the best-interest-of-the-child standard exist to produce results both parties can live with — not to give one side a clean win. A good outcome is one that lets both parties move on.
The case will not move as fast as you want. Court calendars, opposing counsel, and discovery deadlines have more control over the pace than either of us does.
Your attorney’s job is to give you honest advice, not to validate your position. If we think you are wrong about a point, or that the court will see something differently than you do, we will tell you. That is part of what you are paying for.
Long-term thinking wins. The decisions that feel emotionally satisfying in week three of a case (the cutting message, the punitive court filing, the refusal to compromise) are often the ones that cost the most in legal fees and produce the worst long-term outcome.
When to Call Us
If you are considering filing for divorce, or you have just been served and are not sure what to do next, the Law Office of Robert Tsai, PLLC offers reduced-rate consultations precisely so you can get clear answers without committing to anything.
Schedule a Consultation or call us at 832-278-1995.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a divorce take in Texas?
Texas requires a minimum 60-day waiting period between filing and the final decree (Texas Family Code § 6.702). In practice, uncontested divorces typically take 60 to 90 days; contested but cooperative cases take 6 to 12 months; and complex contested cases can take 12 to 24 months or more.
Is Texas a no-fault divorce state?
Yes — Texas allows “no-fault” divorce on the grounds of insupportability. A spouse does not need to prove wrongdoing by the other to obtain a divorce. Fault grounds (such as adultery or cruelty) still exist and can affect property division in certain cases, but they are not required.
What is the difference between Joint and Sole Managing Conservatorship?
Joint Managing Conservatorship (JMC) means both parents share most decision-making rights regarding the child — education, healthcare, religion, and so on — and is the statutory presumption in Texas. Sole Managing Conservatorship (SMC) gives those rights to one parent only and is awarded when JMC is not in the child’s best interest, usually because of family violence, neglect, or similar concerns.
How is child support calculated in Texas?
Texas child support is generally calculated as a percentage of the obligor’s net resources: 20% for one child, 25% for two, 30% for three, 35% for four, and at least 40% for five or more children. The Texas Attorney General provides a public calculator. The court can deviate from the guidelines in either direction if circumstances warrant.
What does a divorce cost in Texas?
Total cost depends entirely on how contested the case is. An uncontested divorce typically runs a few thousand dollars in attorney’s fees. A contested case involving significant assets, business interests, or custody disputes can cost substantially more — sometimes well into five figures. A consultation will give you a realistic range for your specific case.
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