Divorce

In our firm, it's not unusual for us to be the only attorney in a divorce case. I can't really speak for other attorneys, but there are a few things you should be aware of in this situation. First and foremost, an attorney can only represent one spouse. Specifically, in a divorce case, only one spouse is the real "client" and the attorney can only advise his or her client. The attorney can't give legal advice to the other spouse. read more »

If you've spoken to an attorney, no doubt you've heard about retainers. But do you know what they are and how they work? A retainer account or trust account works a little bit like a checking account. For example, if you come to meet with me about a divorce and I tell you that I think your case will cost about $2,500, I'll ask for a $2,500 retainer. That means that you'll pay $2,500 and we'll hold it in a trust account. As work gets completed, we pay ourselves out of that trust account. We don't use any of the retainer money until we've earned it. read more »

Not everyone can afford to hire an attorney in the traditional way to help them navigate a family law matter. Fortunately, there are a lot of resources that are available to people here in Austin and Central Texas.

Austin Do-It-Yourself Divorce Service

It's a comprehensive service that gives you full access to all the forms you need for your divorce with detailed instructional videos that explain exactly how to use them. We also have plans that offer unlimited legal advice via email for a very low cost. read more »

The state of Texas requires a 60 day cooling off period before your divorce can be finalized. So, after the Original Petition for Divorce is filed, you have to wait 60 days before the divorce is final.
This doesn't mean that the divorce has do be done on the 61st day. It just means that you can't get divorced any faster than that. The divorce can be finalized any time after that (within reason.) If nothing happens for 6 months or so, the courts will sometimes dismiss the case.