Richmond Contested Divorce Attorney in Texas

Resolving Matters When Divorcing Couples Cannot Agree

Deciding to end your marriage involves significantly more than simply asking the court for a divorce. Before a court will grant a divorce, it will require you and your spouse to decide on several different issues regarding the separation of your lives. Many of these matters can have a substantial effect on your future, including your financial situation, where you live, and your relationship with your children. For this reason, it is no surprise that spouses often have strong opinions on how they want to settle matters in their divorce.

Divorce is always a much easier and more cost-effective process if a couple can agree on the major issues. However, many cases involve spouses who cannot reach an agreement on their own. Divorcing spouses often have a difficult time getting along and they may refuse to agree out of spite or anger. In other situations, spouses may just have very different views of how post-divorce life should be. No matter the reason, a divorce can be complex if one or more issues are contested.

Contested divorce simply means that there are unresolved issues going into the case. There are many issues that may be contested and there are different ways to attempt to resolve these matters. At The Vendt Law Firm, P.L.L.C., our Richmond contested divorce lawyers explore every possible way to obtain a favorable result in your contested divorce while saving you as much time, money, and stress as possible.

If you are in need of a contested divorce attorney in Richmond or Katy, please call our office at (832) 276-9474 as soon as possible for more information.

Common Contested Issues in a Texas Divorce

While every divorce case is different and may have unique complexities, the following are the most common contested issues in divorce cases in Texas:

Child Custody

A top priority for many divorcing parents is to maintain their relationship with their children. Before a divorce, parents must decide both physical custody rights (how much time the children physically spend with each parent) and legal custody rights (which parents have the right to make important life decisions for the children). In Texas, custody rights are referred to as “conservatorship” of the child and the presumption of the courts is that parents should serve as joint conservators and share the parental rights and responsibilities. If one parent wants to have primary or full custody rights, it can lead to a dispute.

Division of Property

Another very personal matter in a divorce is how you will divide all of the property and assets that you amassed during your marriage, which is considered to be community property under Texas law. Any property that you owned before marriage will be separate property and will not need to be divided. However, there is generally a large amount of community property that will need to be divided in a fair manner.

Property division determinations can involve the following and more:

• What will happen to the family home
• Who gets which vehicles
• Dividing up furniture, electronics, and personal belongings
• Apportioning retirement accounts, investment accounts, and other assets
• Dividing business interests
• Dividing debt obligations

As you can imagine, property division can be complex and there are many opportunities for disagreement between spouses.

Spousal Support

If there will be a disparity in the financial situation of the spouses after a divorce, spousal support will almost certainly be an issue. This is especially the case when one spouse worked and the other left the workforce to take care of the household. In such cases, the spouse in the lesser financial situation will likely request monthly support payments to help cover their basic expenses until they can obtain the education or training needed to start their own career and support themselves. It is rare that someone will voluntarily agree to make payments to a former spouse, so this is a commonly contested matter.

Methods for Deciding Important Divorce Matters

Simply because a matter is contested does not mean that you will need to battle it out in court. Litigating divorce issues can be expensive, can cause significant delays in the divorce process, and can result in very personal attacks in open court that become part of the public record. For this reason, our skilled contested divorce attorney will seek alternative ways to resolve your disputes before heading into court.

Negotiation

A qualified divorce lawyer should be skilled in negotiating matters with your spouse’s lawyer. We can present evidence that supports your goals in a persuasive manner and can advise you when compromise may be a wise choice. Many issues can be settled by sitting down in negotiations with your spouse and their attorney.

Mediation

In mediation, you and your spouse (and your divorce attorney in Texas) will sit down with a neutral mediator who will listen to your arguments and help to facilitate compromise. Mediation is faster and more cost-effective than taking a case to court and can often be successful in resolving contested matters.

Litigation

Finally, if you cannot resolve a certain matter out of court, you want an attorney who understands how to effectively litigate contested matters in front of a judge. Our contested divorce lawyer has extensive experience representing clients in court and will fight for your rights and goals.

Discuss Your Situation With A Richmond Contested Divorce Lawyer Today!

It is simply a reality that many divorces will have contested issues. At The Vendt Law Firm, P.L.L.C., we do not believe that a contested divorce has to cost you an extreme amount of time or money. We will seek the most efficient and effective ways to resolve any undecided matters so that you can move on post-divorce in the best situation possible.

Our Richmond contested divorce lawyer helps clients throughout Fort Bend County and the surrounding areas, so please call our office today at (832) 276-9474 for help.