Texas Learn
Nine topics, in plain terms — keyed to the real law
Each topic is written in conservatorship-and-possession vocabulary (the words Texas law actually uses), keys only citations that resolve against the verified Texas corpus, and carries an honesty note naming exactly where county practice or a court's judgment controls.
The 60-day waiting period in a Texas divorce
A Texas court generally may not grant a divorce before the 60th day after the suit is filed — a floor, not a schedule. Statutory exceptions exist for qualifying family-violence situations, and agreed cases commonly use the wait to finish their paperwork for the prove-up.
§ 6.702
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Residency before filing: six months and 90 days
A divorce suit can be maintained in Texas only if, at filing, one spouse has been a Texas domiciliary for the preceding six months AND a resident of the filing county for the preceding 90 days — either spouse can satisfy it.
§ 6.301
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Community property, separate property, and the presumption
Texas presumes property possessed by either spouse during or on dissolution is community property; separate property (owned before marriage, or received by gift, devise, or descent, or certain injury recoveries) must be proven by clear and convincing evidence. Courts divide the community estate as the court deems just and right.
§ 3.001§ 3.002§ 3.003§ 7.001
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The Standard Possession Order, in plain terms
Texas law presumes the Standard Possession Order provides reasonable minimum possession: first/third/fifth weekends, Thursday periods during the school term, alternating holidays, and extended summer possession — with an elected expanded schedule tied to school dismissal, and a long-distance variant over 100 miles.
§ 153.252§ 153.312§ 153.313§ 153.314§ 153.317
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How Texas child support guidelines work
Texas applies percentage guidelines to the obligor's monthly net resources — 20% for one child up to 40% for five, with a reduced schedule under $1,000 of net resources, an agency-published ceiling above which only the capped portion is presumptive, and adjusted tables when the obligor supports children in more than one household.
§ 154.062§ 154.125§ 154.126§ 154.129
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Spousal maintenance: narrow gates, real ceilings
Texas maintenance requires lacking sufficient property for minimum reasonable needs PLUS a qualifying path — a family-violence conviction window, an incapacitating disability, a ten-year marriage with insufficient earning ability, or care of a disabled child. Duration ceilings run 5/7/10 years by marriage length, and monthly amounts cap at the lesser of $5,000 or 20% of average gross income.
§ 8.051§ 8.054§ 8.055
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Discovery disclosure in Texas family cases is BY REQUEST
Family cases in Texas use request-based disclosure under Rule 194a — a party serves the rule's request and the other side discloses within 30 days. The automatic initial disclosures of Rule 194 expressly govern suits NOT under the Family Code.
Rule 194aRule 21a
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Served with a Texas citation? The Monday-next answer clock
A Texas citation runs to the Monday next after the expiration of twenty days from the date of service — the answer is due by 10 a.m. that Monday. If day twenty lands on a Monday, the clock rolls to the following one.
Rule 99
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The prove-up: how even an agreed Texas divorce finishes
Texas finalizes agreed divorces with brief sworn testimony — the prove-up. After the 60-day floor, the petitioner appears (in person, by video, or on affidavit where local practice allows) and answers the short questions that let the judge sign the decree.
§ 6.702
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Every page here is legal information, not legal advice — no strategy selection, no predictions, no guarantees. The tools these topics link to compute from the same verified corpus the citations resolve against.