How Much Does a Divorce Cost on Average in Texas

Divorces are hard on everyone, both emotionally and financially. If you are thinking about ending your marriage, you are probably asking yourself how much does a divorce cost? Unfortunately, the answer is never easy and depends on many factors. But luckily, you’ve come to the right place. We will explain all you need to know about how much a divorce costs in Texas.

Ending a marriage is expensive, but it doesn’t need to be if both parties have an understanding.

Factors to Consider When Filing for Divorce

Many various factors can determine what kind of split-up you can get and, in the end, how much it costs. The most important factor is the nature of your relationship with your spouse, or to be more specific - is there a possibility for you two to talk about everything and come to an agreement? For instance, if you are divorcing in Texas with children, will you share custody or not? Who will pay for alimony? What will you do with your property? And other things you need to figure out now that you are going separate ways.

The costs pretty much depend on the possibility to avoid all middlemen (legal advisors, attorneys, and court). The cost of divorce in Texas also depends on the duration of this whole process and on the fees that you will pay for all kinds of experts, such as tax advisors, child custody evaluators, real estate appraisers, and others. If you wonder why divorce is so expensive, this will be the answer. Average divorce costs in Texas go from $15,000 to $27,000 according to USA Today, but as we mentioned, the price depends on many factors.

If the parties agree, the costs will be much lower.

How Much Does It Cost to File for Divorce if Both Parties Agree?

If you and your partner can agree, you will have an uncontested divorce. This means you and your partner had resolved major issues between yourselves, like:

• Child custody
• Seeing arrangements
• Child support and spousal support
• Family property division
• Debt division

The costs of uncontested divorce in Texas are much cheaper, but you will have to pay for filing fees and fill all divorce forms alone. And to answer your question, How much does divorce cost if both parties agree? The answer is around $350 if there are no children under the age of 18.

Another Legal Solution Can Be an Online Divorce

Are you wondering how to file for divorce in Texas? As you can imagine, a lot of paperwork is needed when you file for marriage dissolution. It doesn’t matter if you have an agreement with your spouse. According to Texas divorce requirements, there will be forms for you to fill out and fees to pay to the state.

We understand that this whole process can be stressful and confusing for a couple to do alone. This is why in Texas, you can hire an attorney online to do the filling for you. A lot of couples decide to get an online divorce, and now, due to the current situation, divorce during covid is even more common. And if you’re wondering how long a divorce takes in Texas, here’s the answer: when you file for the legal dissolution of marriage, the judge will finalize your case within a minimum of 60 days. But this is only possible if both sides are on the same page.

All you need to do is to submit papers online and wait.

Contested Divorce With a Lawyer - Fees and Costs

How much does a simple divorce cost? Well, if you are having a contested divorce in Texas, which means you need a court to decide about everything we talked about, you will need to hire a lawyer. And here is where your budget will suffer, not only because of the lawyer but other experts that the court or the opposite side can ask to bring in.

How Much Money Does the Lawyer Take?

As we mentioned before, the average cost of a divorce doesn’t only depend on the lawyer’s fee. The cost for a lawyer in Texas goes from $310 with minor children or $283 with no children by the hour. Depending on how long your case will last and how many court dates you will have, this fee can get to an average of $11,000 to $13,000.

If you go to court, your expenditures will be much higher.

How Much Does a Divorce Cost on Average With Mediation or a Consulting Attorney

Even if you don't have an agreement with your spouse, you still don’t have to hire a lawyer or even go to a trial. Divorce laws in Texas for child custody allow you to end your marriage through mediation or consulting attorneys. You will still have to pay some money, but the chargers and costs will be much lower than when going to court. Divorce mediation means that you will hire an impartial third party to try to reach an agreement between the couple. Mediation costs are between $500 to $1000.

Consulting attorneys are good if you don't have the money to hire a full-time lawyer for your case. You can reach out to a consulting attorney to provide you with legal help in some specific aspect you need help with (filling out the forms to see if your rights are protected in agreements and others). The average costs are between $3,000 to $4,200.

A third party will help you to come to an agreement.

What Is the Cheapest Way of Getting a Divorce?

We hope we answered the question of How much does a divorce cost on average? And now you can also see what the cheapest divorce process in Texas is. But getting an uncontested divorce in Texas is not possible if you have children under the age of 18. According to Texas laws, you can have an “agreed split-up” instead, but more forms will have to be submitted. If you and your spouse can agree on everything, this can be the silver lining in this whole situation. As you can see, a lot of money can be saved if you go through an online uncontested process.

What Step to Take to Avoid State Fees

As you know, in any legal process, there can be a party that doesn’t have the money to pay the fees. If you don’t have the money to pay the fees, you can apply for a fee waiver. You will have to fill out the Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court and turn it over to your county court clerk.