I don't have any experience myself, but I have heard good things about legalzoom.com. I also know that if you type the word "vandals" in the code box when paying you will get an additional discount.
Well, if you got married by the church, the only way to get "divorced" is to get an annulment through your church. Otherwise, you're still actually married.
I got married through the church, and the church recognizes legal divorce as being divorced and not married anymore.
The waiting period in the Texas Family Code is 60 days after filing the petition. Hopefully, she signs the agreement you worked out. My law partner does divorce work. Rarely do both spouses honor the agreement. When faced with the actual petition, from the Court, all of a sudden people feel very protective of themselves, and start wanting all kinds of wierd stuff. At the first sign of that...get a lawyer. The deeper you get into the process once wierdness starts, the deeper the hole you'll have to dig out of.
Not legally. A Catholic annulment only deals with the eyes of the Church. It does not deal with your legal ability to remarry or your marital property.
Wow there are so many divorcées here. I'm only 21 so I couldn't even imagine all the emotional waves that goes through this. I get so broken just from a stupid gf breakup. It's nice to hear that you were able to move on. I don't really have anything to share nor tips on the divorce process, but I would like to hear your story.
Trust me, it blows. I can go from seeing the potential in what the world has in store for me to not being able to imagine growing old without my wife. About 15 times in the same hour. Hell, I've done it once while writing this post.
i did it officially through the county's web site; i lived in dallas at the time - it should be an option virtually anywhere at this point, so either search through the web site of whatever county you live in or call them. and mine was 3 years ago, so it may not still be $62, but i doubt its appreciably more. and not that you asked, but i'll give you the two best pieces of advice you'll ever receive: i give these to every divorcee, they never listen, and then a year or so later i inevitably get a "you were right" email: 1. start thinking of her and your relationship with her as two entirely different things. once you've done that, take a blunt object to the relationship and put it out of its misery. it's obviously not working in its current state, so kill it. not her, LOL - it.... think of this relationship in terms of the 2007 houston astros - would you rather be mcclane - delusional about the prospects of another miracle comeback - or the fan that's come to grips with reality and has made peace with the 2007 astros sucking and is looking forward to the 08 version? (hint: the fan, the fan!) 2. this is the biggie: WATCH YOUR MONEY. not just the joint accounts and all the pain-in-the-ass shennanigans of splitting everything up, but your first inclintion is going to be to find artificial means of picking yourself up and that usually includes spending money - buying new clothes, buying drinks, going out to dinner all the time, etc -- BE CAREFUL. i had to swallow $16k; i know a buddy of mine making nearly 6 figures who had to take a second job..... and then always remember this: the light at the end of the tunnel is NOT a train. it's a new life waiting for you. i've survived it; my friends jimmy, byron and pat have survived it (all of us but byron have remarried and up, Up, UPGRADED big time; byron's reliving his teen years, pretty much sleeping with anything that moves, god bless 'em)... and you'll soon join us: TRUST ME. good luck and email me (hpfric34@yahoo.com) if you ever want to vent, dish, whatever. i also recommend those long, painful emails that you write to her everyday... - you know the ones: send them to me, instead - NOT HER! a buddy of mine has mine and they're actually kind of fun to go back and read later. don't prolong it; kill it. good luck, ric
Thanks for that Ric. I hope you don't think I'm bailing on what I offered to the site. I'll be there come Sept. 9th.
i'll email you later today. in the meantime: i'm not going to sugarcoat it - divorce sucks. i wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy... except the ex is probably my worse enemy, so that's kind of weird... you're going to go through every single stage of the mourning process. hell, things got so bad for me, i wound up calling 911 on my parents. seriously. BUT... you will get through it - we all do. lean on your friends, lean on your family, make yourself (not her, or getting her back, but YOU) your top priority for awhile and you'll come out of it OK. i recently remarried and i wouldn't change one thing about the **** i went through, because every inch of it made me a better man, and my wife - this beautiful gift for all my struggles, as i like to say - is the benefactor of that growth. five years ago, she wouldn't have given me the time of day, nor would i have been the man she deserves. ALL of my divorced friends have sincerely upgraded their lives. amazingly, we all got remarried during this 46-day stretch recently between april and june - it was great, triumphant, cool, exciting.... so hang in there.
Ric, This is sound advice. Anyone would benefit from reading this thread, if they focused on your reply alone. We separated last summer. It has been a year since we have lived together. We split the debt down the middle. We have separate bank accounts and I paid her a good chunk of money, so I could keep the house. We don't keep in touch. I have seen her one time since October of last year and when I did, she said that I would pursue the divorce process when I was ready. She doesn't have a problem money-wise as we make comparable incomes. I just want to do the right thing, because I started dating months ago and feel crappy when I think that I am still married. I know the girls didn't care too much about it as they just wanted to get boned at the time. Thanks again for your advice.
it's amazing, given everyone's unique experiences, how universal divorce is. obviously, we all process it differently, but the emotions and impact are fairly common. RM95, you're better off hurting now than being stuck five years down the road in a loveless, going nowhere relationship. if i could redo ANYTHING (i wouldn't, but for the sake of helping others...), it would be cutting the chord the milisecond she mentioned "separation." and let me introduce you to one of life's best kept secrets: women in their 30s are an f'ing BLAST. they've been around the block, know what they want, have their **** together (by and large) and really are peaking sexually. a single, decent looking guy with an income and his own place (i assume you meet these pretty basic requirements) - man, you'll be like throwing crack in front of a crackwhore. TRUST ME.
well swilkins I just got my divorce about 3 months ago and I did it myself. I went with a website completecase.com which made everything VERY easy. I just answered a few questions. It was $250, and of course the $200 to file so the entire divorce cost me around $500, which I think is a steal. Well it was one of the easiest things I have ever done. After you file you just wait the 60 days and call the courthouse and see which court you have been assigned to. Were you married in harris county? If so all you will need to do is go to the family law building downtown and get there before 8 when court opens up. Then you just sign in and wait for your name to be called. It was as easy as taking care of a traffic ticket. I saw no less than 50 lawyers in the courtroom that day and I just kept thinking to myself that all these people were having to spend all this money and I was getting off easy. I mean my ex-wife didn't even have to be there, once she signed the papers and they were notarized her part was done. Good luck!
Can I obtain these divorce forms online somewhere? The Harris County website and District Clerk website are not very helpful. I'm just trying to save some money, because I don't have much left.
