"Mr. Enos was a fantastic divorce lawyer. David worked really hard for me and my kids. He regularly corresponded with me and spent many weekends working with me to prepare for the trial. " James B.

"David is a great attorney. He wouldn't let me settle for less than what I deserved and got me a fair settlement in my divorce."  Lisa M.

Uncontested Divorce Process

The Texas divorce process begins when a Petition for Divorce is filed in District court. Once the Petition for Divorce is filed, the other spouse will receive a copy of the Petition. In an uncontested divorce, the other spouse will sign a waiver of citation indicating that they received a copy of the petition for divorce and do not need to be served by the Sheriff. Texas law requires the parties wait at least 60 days from the time the divorce was filed before the Court can approve the divorce. During this time the parties can finalize the details of property division, child custody and support. 

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Once all the terms have been settled, the attorney will prepare the final decree of divorce and review it with his Client. If everything is correct, the client will then review it with their spouse and have them sign off on the decree. The final hearing will take place after the 60 days is over and the parties have signed the decree. Attorney David Enos has been filing divorces in the Amarillo area for over 20 years and will prepare the decree to meet the requirements of state law and the Judge’s particular preferences. Because of this preparation and experience, the final hearing will be simple and take just a few minutes. Once the final decree is signed by the Judge, the parties are no longer legally married.

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Professional Amarillo Divorce Attorney

For most people, the divorce process can be quite overwhelming, which is why it is in your best interest to hire an experienced divorce attorney. As an experienced Amarillo divorce lawyer, David Enos has over 25 years of experience handling divorce cases and working with the Texas divorce process. We can help clients through both contested and uncontested divorce cases. Call us to schedule your free consultation (806)372-7307. 

 

Frequently Asked Questions About Uncontested Divorce

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What does it mean when a Texas divorce is “uncontested”?

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There’s no special status under Texas law for an “uncontested divorce”. It is simply a phrase used to describe a situation in which a married couple has agreed to divorce and there are no disagreement on the issues involved in the divorce, such as property division, child custody or child support. If you and your spouse are seeking a divorce in Texas and have agreed on all issues, you can file an uncontested divorce.

The major difference between an uncontested divorce and a divorce in which there are contested issues is the process of the divorce. Generally, when a divorce is uncontested, the process is very predictable and should take a relatively short amount of effort and time to complete. On the other hand, a contested divorce is very unpredictable. The amount of time it may take to finalize a contested divorce can often exceed a year and can take an extensive effort to complete.

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Can my spouse and I both hire you to handle our uncontested Texas divorce?

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Absolutely not. Although you and your spouse may be in agreement on all issues in the divorce, you are still opposing parties to the same litigation. An attorney who represents both parties to a Texas divorce has violated the rules of professional conduct and risks being subjected to severe sanctions by the State Bar of Texas. In short, it is a very bad idea. However, many married couples do proceed through an uncontested divorce with only one spouse being represented by legal counsel. When this happens our office will represent one of you, draw up all the court papers and then meet with our client to make sure they reflect the agreement that was made. If everything is in order, we will send the decree to the other spouse to review and sign off.  

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How long will the uncontested divorce process take?

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Since Texas generally requires spouses to wait 60 days from the time of the filing of the petition to finalize the divorce, we try our best to schedule your court date as soon after the 60 days expires as possible. On occasion, difficulties in narrowing down details or wording of the decree may delay that process. In our experience, most uncontested divorces are resolved within 2-4 months of the initial filing of the petition. We can discuss your particular situation and provide an approximate range of time for completing your divorce.

How do we start an uncontested divorce?

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Generally, our office will ask you to fill out a questionnaire that allows us to obtain all of the critical information at once. This will provide our us with the information needed to complete the paperwork to start the divorce process. When we receive your completed questionnaire, we will draft and file your Original Petition for Divorce. This document provides the basic information the court needs in order to initiate the divorce proceedings. Once this document is on file, we will forward a copy of the divorce petition to your spouse along with an additional document called a Waiver of Citation.

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Why would my spouse agree to waive his/her rights with a Waiver of Citation?

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Generally, the only right being waived with this document is the right to be formally served with process. Service of process is designed to ensure that a person is given proper notice of a lawsuit.  Since service of process can often cost between $50 and $100 and take around a week to complete, a waiver of service is largely a cost and time saving measure.

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What happens once we have the completed Waiver of Citation from my spouse?

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We will file the Waiver of Service with the court and begin drafting your final decree of divorce. This final decree of divorce is the centerpiece of this entire process. It contains the entirety of the agreements entered into between you and your spouse, including division of property and debts, custody of your children, payment of child support and possibly even a name change for the wife.

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Do both parties have to sign the final decree of divorce?

Yes. In order for the divorce decree to be “agreed”, it must be signed by both spouses.

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Do I have to appear in court?

If you hired our office you must be present. This is because you must be sworn in by the court in order to provide testimony in support of the proposed agreed decree of divorce. This testimony is often called a “prove up”, and is an essential requirement to get a divorce in Texas.