Austin Divorce Lawyers
Legal Counsel You Can Trust
At Diggs & Sadler, our Austin divorce attorneys are committed to providing trustworthy and compassionate legal counsel to locals caught in the complexities and challenges of divorce cases and family law disputes. Our team is comprised of highly experienced and awarded lawyers with various backgrounds and insights, including some who have been recognized by Super Lawyers® for outstanding legal services. When the future of your family life is upended by a legal conflict, you’ll want a law firm as knowledgeable and reputable as ours to lead you through it. We know how to protect your best interests and pursue the results that you want while also attempting to preserve your relationship with the “opposing” side, so you don’t feel like you are losing someone important.
"This firm is outstanding"Diggs & Sadler gave me great advice, stayed on top of things, and explained everything very clearly to me.
- Chris G.
Filing for Divorce in Austin, Texas
Diggs & Sadler is here to help you with all parts of a divorce, including the very first steps, such as serving divorce papers or knowing how to answer them if you’ve been served. When at our firm, you can 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 or delays stays low.
Filing for divorce in Austin will usually involve:
- 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.
- 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. We can help you create the petition and then file it with the right family law court.
- Official service: After the petition is filed in court, it must 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. Let us arrange an official service, so your spouse can’t try to act like they never received the divorce papers.
- 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.
- 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, our 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.
- 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. Your attorney will stand up for you in court, using all their insight and experience to argue on your behalf.
The Diggs & Sadler Difference A Tradition of Excellence
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When you hire one attorney at Diggs & Sadler, you receive the experience, knowledge and insight of our team.
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Our attorneys prepare for war so we can negotiate peace. We are not afraid to go to trial if it is in the client's best interest.
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Each case is reviewed by our team to ensure we are crafting a case strategy that will help you achieve a satisfactory result.
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At our firm, the client drives our goals. We put you and your needs first while focusing on providing a personalized approach for your unique case.
Let’s Talk About Divorce – Call Our Firm Today
Divorce shouldn’t be so intimidating that you are afraid of filing a divorce petition or don’t want to even consider all the terms in the divorce papers. 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 by creating a path to a brighter future for everyone in the family. 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.
Do I have to go to court for a divorce?
While it’s possible to finalize a divorce without going to court if both parties agree on all issues, many cases require at least one court appearance, particularly if there are disputes.
Awards & Accolades
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Meet Our Team
With over 125 years of combined experience, we are the firm you want on your side.
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FAQs
Do you have questions? We have the answers to the most commonly asked family law questions.
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Video Center
Learn more about Diggs & Sadler, the areas we practice, listen to client testimonials, and get answers to some commonly asked questions.