Austin Divorce Lawyers

Legal Counsel You Can Trust

Kristy Banda and the team at Diggs & Sadler are committed to representing Austinites in family law cases. Kristy has been named a Rising Star two years in a row by SuperLawyers for 2019 and 2020. Kristy is a member of the Austin Bar Association and is involved with the local family law bar of practitioners.

Kristy focuses her practice exclusively on family law. She is a strategic practitioner who offers strategies for the fight as well as solutions for settlement. She combines this approach and philosophy with passion and determination to achieve the best results.

To work with Kristy, contact our Austin office online or via phone at (512) 548-8355.

Kristy Can Help You Navigate the Following Types of Cases

• Divorce. Divorce cases are often difficult to navigate, requiring a significant amount of resources and stress to resolve. Kristy understands Texas divorce laws and can help you find the best path forward in your case.
• Child custody. Kristy will work with you to ensure your parental rights remain protected, and any potential custody arrangements will help your child thrive.
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19) and child support modification and enforcement. At Diggs & Sadler, our attorneys have worked proactively to help individuals navigate COVID-19-related child support modification and enforcement cases.
• Property and assets. Kristy can help you protect valuable property and navigate your property division case.
• Mediation. Mediation is one of the best ways to save time, stress, and money during the divorce process. Kristy can help you use it to move forward in your case.
• International divorce. Kristy and other attorneys at Diggs & Sadler have decades of experience working with clients to navigate complex international family law and divorce cases.
• Alimony. Whether you want to request spousal support on your behalf or push back against a spousal support request yourself, Kristy has the legal acumen to help you with your case.
• Adoption. If you want to welcome a new family member, Kristy will work with you to adopt a child through means such as private or foster case adoption.
• LGBTQ+ family law. LGBTQ+ individuals sometimes face unique challenges when navigating family law cases - Kristy can help you pursue an ideal outcome in your case.

To schedule a consultation with Kristy and receive the legal support you deserve, contact us online or via phone at (512) 548-8355.

Filing for Divorce in Austin, Texas

Kristy is here to help you with all parts of a divorce, including the very beginning. When at our firm, you will take comfort in knowing that your divorce will start with the correct filing process. Oftentimes, many of the biggest obstacles in a divorce can be avoided by handling the filing process well, so the risk of complications stays low.

Filing for divorce in Austin will usually involve:

1. Residency requirements: Before you can file for divorce, you must live in Texas as a legal resident for at least six months. If you want to file in Austin, then you specifically must live in Travis County for 90 days or more. Time spent in military service acts as residency time, even if you were stationed elsewhere.
2. Petition creation and filing: A divorce is technically a form of lawsuit in Texas. As such, you will first have to create a petition that outlines what you expect from the divorce, such as how to divide marital property. Kristy will help you create the petition and then file it with the right family law court.
3. Official service: After the petition is filed in court, it has to be officially served to your spouse, who is called the respondent. Your spouse can accept the petition as it is or decide to contest it. Either way, the response must come within 20 days. Kristy can arrange an official service, so your spouse can’t try to act like they never received the divorce papers.
4. Discovery process: You and your spouse will need to make detailed disclosures that explain your full financial situations and assets that could be relevant to the divorce. The information is exchanged and reviewed for discrepancies.
5. Mediation: Oftentimes, a Texas family law court will order both spouses to engage in good faith mediation to try to resolve the divorce without the need for litigation. As always, Kristy and her team will be right there to represent you during mediation, so you don’t have to worry about being coerced into giving up too much of what you want.
6. Litigation: If a fair compromise can’t be reached using mediation, then going to court for litigation and a trial might be the next best option. You can count on Attorney Banda to stand up for you in court using all her insight and experience.

Fault & No-Fault Divorces

In Texas, you can file for a fault-based or no-fault divorce, depending on the reasons why you want to end your marriage. Kristy would be happy to sit down with you and decide which divorce type makes the most sense.

What you should know about fault-based and no-fault divorces:

• Fault-based: In a fault-based divorce, you will cite specific, legally recognized reasons for filing a divorce petition, such as adultery, cruel behavior, abandonment, etc. You are essentially blaming your spouse for the end of your marriage.
• No-fault: In a no-fault divorce, you will say that your marriage is irretrievably broken, so getting a divorce would help you both lead happier lives. You are not blaming anyone in specific, but just admitting that your marriage is no longer the best option for either of you.

In many situations, she finds that it is best to file for a no-fault divorce but change it to fault-based if the need arises. This reactive approach is used because a fault-based divorce will likely make your spouse defensive and hostile, which can slow the entire process down.

However, citing specific wrongdoing by your spouse can be useful. It will shed light on real concerns that the court should know about. For example, if you want a divorce after being a victim of domestic violence, then the court will need to closely consider if your spouse should have any child custody rights.

Contested & Uncontested Divorces

Divorces in Texas can be contested or uncontested:

• Contested: A divorce is contested when the respondent doesn’t agree to all the terms in the original divorce petition. Even wanting to change one thing can make the divorce contested.
• Uncontested: A divorce is uncontested when the respondent agrees to the terms in the divorce petition and is ready to move forward without changing anything.

Kristy can help you with a contested or uncontested divorce. In both situations, it is worth taking a second look at everything to make sure that your best interests are respected. You should also not worry if the divorce is contested. With the right legal counsel, many contested divorces can be resolved in mediation, rather than litigation.

Let’s Talk About Divorce – Call Our Firm Today

Divorce shouldn’t be so intimidating that you are afraid of filing a divorce petition. With the help of our Austin divorce attorneys, we know that you will come to see that divorce can be a positive experience for both spouses. Let us know what is going on, and how you would like your divorce to proceed, and we can tell you what should happen next to get you to your goals.

Call (512) 548-8355 or contact Diggs & Sadler online to schedule a consultation.

Austin Divorce FAQ

• How long do divorces take to finalize?
  We can’t give you a concrete answer to how long a divorce will take to finalize because all divorce cases are different. Some divorces will take a few months, but others might take longer than a year. The timeline will depend on many factors, such as fault, contests, child custody, and the overall willingness of you and your spouse to cooperate.
• Is filing for divorce expensive?
  Going through a divorce can cost several thousand dollars on average. However, the overall cost will depend on the specifics of your divorce and how much legal counsel you required. The more complicated a divorce, the more work a divorce attorney will need to put in to handle it. Also, a divorce that requires courtroom litigation will include specific court-related fees that other divorces do not.
• Does Texas have common-law marriage?
  Texas does recognize common-law marriage as a viable way to get married. Typically, two people can become married through common law if they agree to be married, cohabitate, present themselves as a married couple to the public, and can legally be wed to each other. Similarly, people who are married through common law can also seek a divorce, even though their marriage was not traditional.