One of the first questions that is often asked about a divorce is how long will the divorce take to finalize. In Texas, there is a 60-day minimum waiting period for divorce cases. That means that in between the date that you first file for divorce and the date that you request the Court to sign your Final Decree of Divorce, there must be at least 60 days. On average, most cases take at least 3-6 months to resolve. However, there are always exceptions. If you and your husband or wife have an agreement as to the rights and duties concerning your children and the division of your community estate, it is possible that The Zand Law Firm, PLLC can help you draft all of the required paperwork, including a Final Decree of Divorce, and assist you in obtaining the Court’s signature on the Decree on the sixty-first date after the filing for divorce. This is the fastest possible outcome to resolve your divorce matter. In all honesty, finalizing your divorce in that short window of time is possible for some families, but often, it takes more time for people to determine what their community estate is and then reach agreements as to how to divide it. Even if you believe your divorce to be relatively simple or easy, there is a good chance that you have not considered something that could provide a benefit to you or your children. It’s always a good option to have an attorney at The Zand Law Firm, PLLC review any potential agreements that you have reached so that you can consider your options and reduce any potential risk in your divorce before signing on the dotted line of a Final Decree of Divorce.

It is possible for a person to represent themselves through a divorce case, however when a person’s assets are in jeopardy or their parental rights at stake, the ability to “emotionally detach” oneself from a situation is often lost, and what would normally be rational and objective judgment is replaced by feelings of stress, anger, worry and fear. President Abraham Lincoln once said, “He who represents himself has a fool for a client.” It is often best to have an attorney at The Zand Law Firm, PLLC represent you through a divorce to assist you in making rational decisions and reduce in any potential risk in your divorce. A divorce has long lasting implications and reaching the right resolution can impact you and your children many years down the road.

The most common question we receive is, how much will my divorce cost? In all honesty, it depends on the complexity of the case as well as the specific issues involved. For example, a case involving a large estate comprised of multiple businesses and investment accounts, it’s likely that case would cost more than a case involving a single residence and two retirement accounts. What we tell all client’s is that the more contested the case, meaning the higher the level of conflict, the more time an attorney is involved, which therefore leads to an additional amount of cost to you. The best way to keep cost down in a divorce is to reduce the level of conflict. The Zand Law Firm, PLLC encourages clients to attempt if at all possible to resolve many of the issues very early on so as to prevent additional conflict down the road.

Quite often we have both a husband and wife want to hire The Zand Law Firm, PLLC to represent both parties in a divorce. Unfortunately, we cannot represent both sides. What typically takes place is one party, either the husband or the wife, will retain The Zand Law Firm, PLLC to represent them and we will then work with the other spouse to reach an amicable resolution all issues including property and children. In a situation like the one above, the husband and wife are on amicable terms and very rarely have any issues of conflict. The party not represented by The Zand Law Firm, PLLC has the option to either hire an attorney of their own or in many situations; they will seek an attorney to solely review the Final Decree of Divorce to assist in providing them an explanation on any issues the party may not understand.

Clients will often ask at their initial consultation what types of cases typically go to trial. In our experience highly contested cases involving child custody are more likely to proceed to trial. The reason for this is the parents cannot reach an agreement on which parent should be awarded primary custody of the child or children, meaning who will the children primarily live with and who will have visitation. It is often a very difficult decision for parents to make and in some situations, a decision they cannot which is why a court is ultimately left with the decision as to what is in the children’s best interest. Custody cases are not the only cases to go to trial. In some instances, cases involving the division of assets and debts, disputes as to values of property or businesses will also proceed to trial.

To most parents going through a divorce, no other aspect of a divorce is more important than those regarding their children. Determining an appropriate possession schedule for the children, calculating the correct amount of child support, and negotiating the decision-making for educational, psychiatric, and medical decisions between parents is something no parent should do by themselves. Most parents want to minimize the impact the divorce will have on their children. In order to do that, a parent needs to communicate with their attorney about their goals relating to their children’s interests, and their children’s schedules. The Zand Law Firm, PLLC can help you determine whether or not a 50/50 possession schedule or a Standard Possession Order is a best fit for your family. We can also help answer questions about the Texas Child Support Guidelines, which is a good starting-point regarding your children’s needs.