Round Rock Divorce Lawyer

Divorce Attorney in Round Rock, TX

If you’re thinking about getting divorced or you already have a pending divorce case, choosing the right Round Rock divorce lawyer can have a major impact on your life. Dissolving your marriage in Texas requires careful adherence to legal requirements, disclosures about your financial situation, and decisions that will affect your children and assets for many years.

Working with an experienced divorce attorney as early as possible can help you understand how divorce works in Texas. An attorney can protect your rights while guiding you through strategic decision-making during this difficult time.

At the Law Office of Ben Carrasco, PLLC, our attorneys represent clients in Round Rock and across Williamson County in contested divorce cases, child custody battles, and divorces involving business interests or significant assets.

Texas Divorce Laws Explained

Texas is a no-fault divorce state. Most divorces are filed under the ground of insupportability, which essentially means that your marriage cannot continue because of conflict or discord. Either spouse can file for divorce without the other spouse’s consent. Other grounds for divorce in Texas include:

• Cruelty
• Abandonment
• Adultery
• Felony conviction
• Being confined to a mental hospital
• Fraud
• Mental incapacitation

Fault grounds can impact community property division in contested divorce cases. There are two main residency requirements for Texas divorce cases. At least one spouse must have resided in Texas for 6 months and in Williamson County for at least 90 days prior to filing for divorce.

After you file your divorce petition, there is a statutorily imposed 60-day waiting period before your divorce can be finalized by the court. This waiting period does not affect the overall length of contested divorce cases in Round Rock. Complex divorces involving children and property often take much longer to resolve.

Property Division

Texas is a community property state. Most assets and debts accumulated during your marriage are presumed to be owned equally by you and your spouse. However, Texas is not an all-or-nothing community property state. Judges have discretion to divide community property in a way that the court deems just and right.

Contested divorce cases often involve business ownership, retirement accounts, real estate holdings, and characterization of separate property. Separate property includes gifts received by inheritance or anything owned before marriage. Your spouse must clearly prove that any disputed assets are actually their separate property. Judges can consider many factors when dividing marital estate, including:

• Each spouse’s earning potential
• Fault in the divorce
• Custody of the children

Child Custody

Texas has a marriage rate of 5.8 per 1,000 people, according to the CDC. There were 2.1 divorces per 1,000 people. Furthermore, the fertility rate for women aged 15 to 44 is 60.6 births per 1,000, highlighting the significance of custody judgments in divorces. Divorce is difficult, but most parents want what’s appropriate for their children. Legal child custody, known in Texas as conservatorship, is determined according to the best interest of the child.

Ideally, parents work together to devise a parenting plan that works for everyone. In a contested divorce, parents often fight over who should have primary physical custody, parenting schedules, and who has the authority to make decisions for the child. Judges may consider each parent’s living situation, stability, financial resources, and any other factors that impact the child’s best interests.

Child Support and Spousal Maintenance

Texas has guidelines that calculate child support according to the paying parent’s net monthly income. In most cases, child support is payable until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever is later. Disputes often arise in contested divorces regarding income, especially bonuses or self-employment income, proper calculation of net income, and deviation from guideline support.

Courts take requests for spousal maintenance very seriously in Texas. Also known as alimony, spouses seeking maintenance from their partner must qualify under Texas law. Among other requirements, the requesting spouse must prove that they will have difficulty providing for their minimum reasonable needs.

Contested Divorces

Many Texans hope to negotiate their divorce without going to court. While it is always preferable to settle a divorce amicably, some spouses fail to take divorce negotiations seriously. When spouses cannot agree on serious issues like conservatorship, property division, or financial support, the divorce becomes contested.

Contested divorce cases involve extensive discovery, court hearings, mediation, and sometimes a trial. It’s important to choose an attorney with litigation experience if your divorce might become contested. Divorce attorneys who frequently try cases in court can better prepare you for trial and strengthen your negotiating position.

Where Divorce Cases Are Heard

Most Round Rock divorce cases are litigated at the Williamson County Justice Center, located at 405 Martin Luther King Street, Georgetown, TX 78626. Each courthouse follows the same requirements set out in the Texas Family Code, but their scheduling practices, procedures, and hearing formats may differ slightly.

How Long a Divorce Case May Take

Texas law requires you to wait at least 60 days to finalize your divorce. While there is no absolute limit on how long your divorce will take, depending on the number of issues to work through and whether your divorce is contested or uncontested, it can take a while to resolve.

If your divorce can be resolved without court intervention, it’s possible to complete your case more quickly. High-conflict divorces with children and complex assets take longer than average.

Hire a Divorce Lawyer

Clients sometimes wait too long to hire a divorce lawyer. They wait for negotiations to break down, hoping their divorce will be amicable. The consequences of informal agreements and unilateral financial decisions cannot always be reversed after they occur. If your spouse files for divorce without your consent, now is the time to hire a Round Rock divorce attorney.

Consulting with a divorce lawyer at the beginning of a divorce case can clarify your legal rights and responsibilities. An attorney helps you protect assets, preserve evidence, and prevent simple disagreements from becoming costly conflicts. The Law Office of Ben Carrasco, PLLC, can help.

About the Law Office of Ben Carrasco, PLLC

At the Law Office of Ben Carrasco, PLLC, we get to know our clients and their priorities. As a boutique family law firm, we pride ourselves on transparent communication and personalized representation for every client. Ben Carrasco will serve as your divorce attorney with no secretaries or interns handling your case.

Family law cases can be intimidating and emotionally charged. The Law Office of Ben Carrasco, PLLC, can help you through your divorce. Contact us today for a consultation.