I’ve been served with a Divorce Petition in Texas, what should I do / not do?

Although receiving a divorce petition is scary, there is usually time to act. As is explained in the document attached to the divorce petition called the “Citation,” (assuming this was included with the service papers) you generally will have until the “Monday next following the expiration of twenty days (at 10:00 in the morning)” within which to file an Answer. Sometimes you may have even longer (up to a 60 day waiting period) if the Original Petition was filed recently. This means that if an Answer is not filed before the deadline, your spouse can obtain a divorce and you will literally have no say in the terms. As a result, unless there is an immediate hearing scheduled (usually called a “Temporary Orders” hearing), you will have until Monday at 10:00 a.m. following twenty days from the day you were served within which to file an “Answer.” As a result, this is at least twenty days. This should be plenty of time for you to retain an experienced divorce attorney and get your Answer filed. You can certainly meet with your spouse to discuss the situation, provided you can do so without any possibility of threats or violence. However, you should not sign anything without first talking to a lawyer. If there is a Temporary Orders hearing scheduled, you should either retain an attorney well in advance of the hearing date or (or if you are unable to hire an attorney prior to the hearing date) at least go to the hearing and explain to the Judge that you have not yet had the opportunity to hire an attorney. Unless there is some emergency, the Judge will usually grant this request – called a “continuance.”

FAQ regarding Divorce # 1: Should I hire a lawyer or try to do it myself?

We get asked this question all the time. We usually respond with a rhetorical, “Would you do surgery on yourself?” We do not think you should represent yourself in any Court proceeding. However, if there is basically no property other than personal possessions, no children, and all you’re really doing is getting the Court to bless a separation that has already occurred, it may very well be that the downside of a mistake is substantially outweighed by the certainty of attorney’s fees. You should understand that representing yourself will not be easy unless you already have some legal training. Also, you should proceed very cautiously.

You should also be aware that most attorneys will not step in to correct any problems created when you represent yourself (called “pro se” representation). We have seen many situations when a pro se litigant gets to the Court date only to have the Judge deny the divorce because he or she failed to meet all of the procedural requirements. You must also understand that, other than telling you what the defect is, the Judge is unlikely to help because of they are prohibited (as are Court staff generally) from giving legal advice to the parties. If you decide to represent yourself, you must get the most current “do it yourself” package (one set is available at http://www.tyla.org/family_law.html) and make sure that you understand all of the procedures before taking action.