Disclosure: Divorce in Texas Ep. 5: This is How Your Divorce Ends Hosted By: Brandy Austin and Larry Mike

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Two family law attorneys from Arlington, Texas, from the Brandy Austin Law Firm discuss a typical (and sometimes atypical) divorce from before a client walks in the door to the many years that follow a Texas court granting a divorce on the 6 episode podcast mini-series Disclosure: Divorce in Texas.

Working it Out Without Help

The cheapest and easiest way to resolve a divorce is to work out an agreement on your own or through your attorneys. Attorneys can negotiate the issues for you. It’s easiest if you provide a list of everything you want and how you want your life to look and give that list to your attorney. That information can be used to propose an agreement to the other side and negotiate the issues. Once resolved, a formal decree is prepared to memorialize your agreements and you’re almost done.

Mediation Mediation is an opportunity to come together - usually in separate rooms - and have an impartial third party hear the facts and evidence from your case and offer opinions and suggestions based on experience and common rulings. The parties get to mutually select the mediator. The best option tends to be someone who has served as a family law judge or someone who has practiced for many years. Mediation r e q u i r e s t h e s a m e preparation as trial. You m u s t h a v e a l l y o u r evidence and have a best possible option and last resort option. If you are lucky enough to reach a decision on all the issues during mediation, the next step is writing a final agreement and confirming the agreement in front of the judge. Once complete, you’re divorced.

Trial The last, and most difficult option, is trial. Tr i a l i s e s s e n t i a l l y h a n d i n g o v e r y o u r family life to a judge or jury and asking them to make a decision on how you are going to live your life because you and your former spouse cannot reach a decision. The good news is that you can have the judge or jury only decide the issues that you cannot agree on by just submitting those issues alone. Either party selects whether a jury will decide the issues. Having a jury decide family issues happens less frequently, but either party can make that election. Once the fact finder (judge or jury) makes the decision, the decision is final and in place. You may modify certain ongoing issues or appeal, but essentially, you live with the ruling.

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