Online divorce simply refers to divorce over the internet. It simplifies the fuss of a lot of paperwork, movement, and cost. It is free to start, fast, convenient, and an inexpensive process. In just 60 days, the whole process is likely to be 99% if not 100% completed. What of the cost range of $139-$300? Is it not the best? It involves three easy steps that are much more favorable in terms of affordability and accessibility. They include;
Qualification
To be considered in pursuing a divorce online, you’ll need to answer questions on the following conditions:
Texas residency for both spouses.
In order to qualify, both spouses must be legal residents of Texas for at least six months preceding the petition filing period. An exception is given when either of the spouses is a military member stationed in Texas for at least six months at the time of petition.
Situation with spouse.
You will be asked about the main reason for the divorce. Such reasons may be but are not limited to, adultery, mental disorders in one of the spouses, criminal conviction, abandonment, or a separation period that lasted more than three years. The less complicated the situation, the faster the process. Uncontested divorce usually ends with less hustle. This also accounts to pricing.
Spouse whereabout and agreement.
When your spouse is in a distant location, efforts to contact them are mandatory. This will facilitate a less disputable divorce process. Considering the average price of a contested divorce is$2000, cutting down on cost should include attempts to strike favorable terms of dissolution. Such costs may include an attorney for each party, thus doubling the legal fees. Terms such as distribution of property are much easier when agreed upon by the spouse. If not, the judge is obliged to come up with a ‘just and right’ ruling.
Property acquired during the matrimonial period is thus divided amongst them. This is divided into two, community and separate property. The separate property is left solely to the owner and it includes; property acquired before marriage, gifts, inheritance, and money acquired as compensation due to injuries sustained. Community property is those acquired since marriage that exclude the separate property. They include real estate properties, cars and other possessions based on the family. The spouse can also agree on the spousal maintenance referred to as alimony. The court may be obliged on the decision and it will consider facts such as period of marriage, children and their condition and the spouses’ income. The alimony is limited to below 20% of the gross monthly income of the obligor. It is also restricted to last for 5 years or less for couples that were married for 10-20 years. The other spouse should also be willing to sign the divorce papers voluntarily to avoid delays.
Children under 18 years.
You will be asked about the number of underage children from the marriage. This will assist in settling child support, visitation, and conservatorship disputes. The judge decides on who becomes the possessory conservator [the spouse responsible for making major decisions in the child’s life such as health care issues, education and so on.] and the managing conservator [one who can be obliged with child support duties and visitation rights.] in this case, visitation rights are mostly considered based on the ‘standard possession order’[SPO] found in the Texas family code. The spouse offering the child support is referred to as the ‘obligor’, while the receiving spouse is the “obligee.” A residency restriction is also issued on the possessory conservator limiting the geographical motion to a locality not so distant from the managing conservator.
Register/Create an Online Account
This second step involves filing for a petition at the county district court. The best part is that the whole process works with or without children in the picture, and without an attorney.
Filing for divorce
Upon qualification of the residency questions and other factors, the speed of the whole process depends on the responses to part [1] above. The attorney services are 100% online when the divorce is uncontested. The petition, plus final decree, that involves the marriage settlement are sent online. The petition is edited and printed online as soon as you are ready, or sent through the US priority mail at no extra cost. You are to submit a petition to the respective district court. It only takes 60 days for the judge to finalize the divorce process.
The divorce documents are acquired online. The main part is reviewing a website first is to check if it is legit with attorneys. The divorce papers vary from one district court to another. The same goes for different cases that require unique documents, such as for property and children. Some sites offer only a few specific documents despite there not being a specific set to download. The main aspect you should look for is a website that’s a licensed provider with attorney services.
Finalizing the divorce
You should consider this the most important step towards the goal. It can be so hard to reach this far without the proper guidance from professionals. In some cases, the settlement agreements make it difficult for the judge to sign off due to poor drafting. Online divorce makes this less likely by preventing third party data, thus ensuring privacy. If all goes well, this is where the signing and the court filing finalizes everything. Once you are here, the question is, how much will this less complicated process cost me?
The answer is only a few bucks, depending on the website and the case of the marriage. Some sites start with a down payment upon registration and the balance to be paid on completion. Others also offer monthly installments, of course, with no deposit or interest when you can’t cater for the cost at once. Court fees are not included in the mentioned price. Some lucky spouses may get a court cost waiver depending on the quality of the case. But it all averages around $300. Online divorce in Texas is more simplified than going manually.
