Looking for Texas‘s rules on marriage, divorce, child custody, and child support? Want to find Texas‘s state court forms and instructions and local court websites? Here’s where to start. For a wide range of other articles on family law in Texas, see the Resources by State section on this site.
Marriage Rules in Texas
Requirements: No blood test required. You must be of the age of consent, not be too closely related to your intended spouse, not be married to anyone else, and have sufficient mental capacity, meaning you understand what you are doing when you marry. You can marry three days after your marriage license is issued, and your license is good for 30 days. For more details, check your county clerk’s office.
Common law marriage: Yes. A couple must intend to be married, live together for a significant period of time, and hold themselves out as a married couple.
Community property: Yes.
Same-sex marriage: No.
Texas Divorce Rules
Grounds for divorce: Fault or no-fault grounds are allowed, or you can base your divorce on the fact that you’ve been separated from your spouse for at least three years.
Residency requirement: At least one spouse must be a resident of Texas for six months before filing for divorce.
How property is divided: Community property.
Child Custody Rules in Texas
Child custody guidelines: Texas courts begin with a presumption that it’s best for a child to have frequent and continuing contact with both parents after a divorce. If possible, judges want to support joint custody arrangements.
Texas Child Support Rules
Child support guidelines: Texas requires all parents to support their children. The amount of child support depends primarily on each parent’s income and other resources and how much time each parent spends with the children.
Child support calculators to determine state guidelines: www.alllaw.com/calculators/childsupport/texas.
State child support enforcement agency: Child Support Division, Office of the Attorney General, www.oag.state.tx.us/cs/index.shtml.
Texas Courts and Family Law Resources
Texas court information and family law forms: www.courts.state.tx.us.
Family services section of Texas website: www.dfps.state.tx.us/Site_Map/parents.asp.
