Is Texas No Fault Divorce on it's way out?
Texas House Bill 65 will soon be up for vote. The bill increases the waiting period for a no-fault divorce where a child lives in the home from 60 to 180 days. The intent of the bill is to discourage divorce. Instead it will make divorce lawyers a lot of money. Why? It is one of the most badly written bills I have ever seen.
1) It encourages people to blame their spouse for the divorce, rather than try to part on the best terms possible. Only couples who don't want to point a finger at the other spouse are effected.
2) It doesn't make someone wait before filing for divorce, instead, it increases the time between when the divorce is filed, and when the nightmare is finally over. This is the time period when couples get increasingly agitated with each other. And that period, which serves no legal purpose, which is so difficult on parents and so scarring for children, is where attorney's fees really add up. Ask any divorce lawyer. If you want to keep down the cost of a divorce, you make it go quickly. That option will go away if this bill passes, even if both of the parties agree to the divorce.
3) The bill is supposed to apply only to couples with kids, but it somehow doesn't make the distinction between children of the marriage, and random kids living in the household of either party to the divorce. For instance, if the couple were living with one of their parents and a younger sibling lived there, too? Yes, that would trigger the longer waiting period.
4) The longer waiting period is triggered not by a child living in the household when the divorce is filed, but a child living in the household at the time a spouse wants to finalize the divorce. This means that spouse 1 wants a divorce. Spouse 2 doesn't, so spouse 2 moves in with a friend who has a child. Guess what? Now Spouse 1 has to either start throwing mud at Spouse 2, or wait for at least six months to get divorced.
Looking at all the actual effects this law will have if passed, you might think that it was written by divorce lawyers in order to increase their fees. But no. 10 witnesses testified in favor of this bill, and most of their testimony seemed to be made up of slamming attorneys as a profession. It is a shame that there were not a few qualified attorneys on the committee. They might have been able to read the bill, and figure out what it would actually do.
Sales Manager National Accounts - West Region
7 年If it benefits attorneys and the system, likely so just like all the criminal family law that is one the books that has ruined and is ruining families. If the same laws applied to married folks, there would riots in the streets.
Implementation and Training Manager
7 年Thanks for this info Ruby. You handled my amicable divorce in 2009 where I paid to have my ex spouse represented. This new law assumes the worst and wouldn't have made our process as comfortable as you did.