By Neta, founder of SortMyDivorce · Published · Updated
6 months in Texas and 90 days in your filing county, then at least 60 days from filing even if you agree on everything. Texas does not recognize legal separation.
Divorce in Texas runs on its own rulebook — community property, a mandatory waiting period, and a default parenting schedule — and knowing these before letters start arriving keeps you from negotiating at a disadvantage.
| Residency requirement | One spouse must have been a Texas domiciliary for the 6 months before filing, and a resident of the filing county for the preceding 90 days (Tex. Fam. Code §6.301). |
|---|---|
| Grounds | Most cases file on 'insupportability' — a no-fault ground for conflict with no reasonable expectation of reconciliation (§6.001). Fault grounds (cruelty, adultery, felony conviction, abandonment, living apart, confinement in a mental hospital) are also available. Texas also recognizes common-law (informal) marriage — if you meet its criteria, ending it still requires a formal divorce, not just separating. |
| Waiting period | At least 60 days from the date the petition is filed before a court may grant the divorce, even if both spouses agree on everything (§6.702). The only statutory exception is for documented family violence. |
| Legal separation | Texas does not recognize legal separation. There is no status to file for. Couples live apart and use a written separation agreement, or temporary orders inside a filed divorce, to settle support, property and parenting in the meantime. |
| If you were never married | Texas is one of the few states that still creates common-law marriage — it calls it informal marriage. If you agreed to be married, lived together as spouses in Texas and held yourselves out as married, you are married, and ending it takes a divorce like any other. |
| Where you file | A Texas district court, or a county court with family law jurisdiction, in the county where you or your spouse meets the residency requirement. |
| Filing fee | Payable when you file your opening divorce document. Set locally by the county, not as one statewide rate. A fee waiver is available if you cannot afford it (Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs). Filing fees are set by the court and change without notice: check the current schedule on the court's own website before you file, and ask about a fee waiver if the cost is a barrier. |
| Starting forms | For an uncontested divorce with no minor children and no real property, the Texas Judicial Branch's Supreme Court–approved 'Divorce Set 1' packet (Original Petition for Divorce, Waiver of Service, Final Decree of Divorce, and related forms) is the starting point. Cases with children or real property use a different approved form set. |
| Simplified option | Yes. Uncontested divorce is available when both spouses agree on all terms, using the free Supreme Court–approved self-represented form sets, with guided help available through eFileTexas.gov's self-help interviews. |
Keeping track of dates like these across a stack of letters is exactly what SortMyDivorce does — start a free trial, no card needed.
Texas is one of a handful of true community property states. Courts generally presume that anything either spouse acquired during the marriage belongs to both of you equally, regardless of whose name is on the account or title. Property owned before the marriage, along with gifts and inheritances received by one spouse alone, is generally treated as separate property — but only if you can prove it through records. Mixed or commingled funds, such as an inheritance deposited into a joint account, are where most disputes happen, so tracing paperwork matters as much as the asset itself.
Filing happens in a Texas district court, or a county court with family law jurisdiction, in the county where either spouse has lived for the required period. Texas requires at least six months of residency in the state and 90 days in the filing county before a divorce petition can be filed. Most Texas divorces proceed on 'insupportability' — a no-fault ground stating the marriage has become unworkable — though fault grounds remain available and can occasionally factor into property or conservatorship arguments.
A distinctive Texas rule to plan around: once a petition is filed, the case generally cannot be finalized until at least 60 days have passed, even if both spouses agree on every term. That waiting period is a floor, not a target — contested cases routinely take longer.
Because Texas divides community property, thorough financial disclosure carries real weight. Start collecting recent tax returns, pay statements, and statements for every bank, brokerage, retirement, and credit account. Add property tax statements, mortgage records, and vehicle titles for anything acquired during the marriage. If either spouse owns a business or is self-employed, financial statements and business tax filings tend to become central to support and property discussions.
If you're claiming separate property — an inheritance, a gift, or an asset owned before the marriage — gather the original acquisition records now: the deed, the account-opening statement, the will or gift letter, and anything showing where that money has been since. Texas courts generally expect clear and convincing evidence to rebut the community property presumption, so weak tracing can turn separate property into community property by default.
Keep every letter exchanged with the other side or their attorney from the very start. In a state where the waiting period alone stretches negotiations over months, the letter record becomes the timeline of who proposed what, when deadlines were set, and what was actually agreed.
Texas has a statutory default for parenting time called the Standard Possession Order (SPO), which courts generally apply unless the parents agree to something different or the court finds reasons to depart from it. The SPO sets out specific weekend, holiday, and summer schedules, and its terms shift depending on whether the parents live near or far from each other. Many Texas parenting negotiations start from the SPO as a baseline and adjust from there, so it's worth reading before responding to any parenting proposal.
Child support in Texas is calculated primarily from the paying parent's net income under state guidelines, with percentages that generally increase with the number of children involved. As with property, self-employment or business income tends to be where disclosure disputes arise. Courts decide custody — called conservatorship in Texas — based on the child's best interest, and detailed, concrete proposals about schedules and decision-making tend to fare better than vague ones.
Texas has no legal separation. It is one of a handful of states where the status simply does not exist, so there is no petition to file and no decree to obtain. Couples who want to live apart without divorcing do so informally.
That leaves three practical tools. A separation agreement is a private written contract setting out who pays what, who lives where and how parenting works while you are apart. Temporary orders are available once a divorce has actually been filed, and can cover support, use of the home and interim parenting. A suit affecting the parent-child relationship can settle custody and child support on its own, without a divorce.
One consequence is worth understanding before you rely on living apart. Texas is a community property state, and simply separating does not stop the marital estate from continuing to build. Income and property acquired while you are separated but still married is generally still community property. If that matters in your situation, confirm it with a Texas family lawyer rather than assuming that moving out has drawn a line.
Texas is unusual, and the difference matters more here than almost anywhere. Most states abolished common-law marriage; Texas kept it, under the name informal marriage. Three things have to be true together: you agreed to be married, you afterwards lived together in Texas as spouses, and you represented to others that you were married.
If all three are true, you are married. Not almost married — married, with the same community property regime, the same spousal obligations and the same requirement of a divorce to end it. Couples sometimes discover this only when they separate and one of them claims a share of the other's property. It can also be established by filing a declaration of informal marriage, which puts the question beyond argument.
If you were not informally married, Texas family law has very little to offer you. There is no property division between unmarried partners and no spousal support; claims are contractual or equitable and are brought like any other civil dispute. Children are the exception — custody and child support are decided on the same basis whether or not the parents ever married.
1) Start your financial document collection early, before positions in any letters have hardened. 2) Sort your assets into 'clearly community,' 'clearly separate,' and 'mixed' — the mixed category is where you'll need the most paperwork. 3) Read the Standard Possession Order before reacting to any parenting proposal, so you know what the default actually says. 4) Keep the 60-day floor in mind when evaluating any deadline in a letter — a proposal promising a fast resolution still has to clear that minimum. 5) Track every date any letter sets, and confirm anything jurisdiction- or county-specific with a Texas family law attorney, since local practices vary.
You or your spouse needs 6 months as a Texas domiciliary and 90 days in the filing county before you can file. File in the district court (or a county court with family law jurisdiction) in that county — it's where the case will live start to finish.
If you and your spouse agree on property division, debts, and any parenting terms, you likely qualify for the free Divorce Set 1 (no children, no real property) or Divorce Set 2 (with children) forms from the Texas Judicial Branch. If you disagree on major issues, a self-represented packet usually isn't the right tool — consider a family law attorney.
This form starts the case and states your grounds — usually insupportability, Texas's no-fault ground. Filing it with the district clerk opens the 60-day statutory clock, and it's the document your spouse will eventually be served with or waive service of.
Pay the county clerk's filing fee when you file, or submit a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs if you can't afford it — this can waive filing, service, and copy fees entirely. Ask the clerk's office for the current fee, since it varies by county.
Your spouse must formally learn about the case, either through service by a process server/sheriff or by signing a Waiver of Service (Waiver of Citation) if the divorce is agreed. The waiver avoids service costs and delay in cooperative cases.
Texas law bars finalizing any divorce before day 60 after filing, so use this time to complete financial disclosures, agree on property division, and — if you have children — work out a conservatorship and possession schedule, often starting from the state's Standard Possession Order as a default.
This is the document the judge signs to actually grant the divorce, covering property division, debt allocation, spousal support if any, and conservatorship/child support terms. In an agreed case, both spouses typically approve its language before the final hearing.
After the 60-day wait, one spouse (or both, depending on the county) appears before the judge to confirm the terms of the decree, sometimes by written declaration instead of a court appearance in uncontested cases. The judge signs the Final Decree of Divorce, which officially ends the marriage.
Get certified copies of the signed decree for banks, employers, and title/deed changes, and follow any name-change instructions in the order if you're restoring a prior name. Keep the decree accessible — it governs property, support, and custody terms going forward.
Not automatically. Texas courts generally divide community property in a way they consider 'just and right,' which is often close to even but not guaranteed to be exactly 50/50. Separate property, if proven, generally isn't divided at all.
Generally no. Texas law sets a 60-day minimum from filing to finalization even when both spouses agree on every term. Contested issues typically extend the timeline well beyond that floor.
Courts generally use it as the default parenting schedule unless the parents agree to a different arrangement or the court finds reasons to order something else, such as safety concerns or a long distance between parents' homes.
No. Texas law does not provide for legal separation, so there is no court status to apply for. Spouses who want to live apart without divorcing generally sign a separation agreement, which is a contract rather than a court order. If a divorce has been filed, temporary orders can cover support, the family home and parenting while the case is pending, and a suit affecting the parent-child relationship can settle custody and child support separately.
Yes. Texas calls it informal marriage, and it requires three things together: an agreement to be married, living together in Texas as spouses afterwards, and representing to other people that you are married. If all three are met you are legally married, community property applies, and ending the relationship requires a divorce. Couples can also file a declaration of informal marriage to record it. If you were not informally married, there is no property division or spousal support between you — though custody and child support apply regardless.
If you are in immediate danger, call 911. There is no statewide crisis line here that we could verify, so use the national one: contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788 if a call is not safe. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988.
Last reviewed August 2026. Researched and written by Neta, founder of SortMyDivorce. I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice — laws, fees and forms change, so please confirm current details with the official sources above or a local family lawyer.
Upload your lawyer letters and SortMyDivorce tracks every offer and issue automatically, each with the exact quote it came from.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws change and differ by jurisdiction — confirm specifics with a local family lawyer or your court's official website. If you use SortMyDivorce, your letters stay confidential — never shared, never sold.