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Texas File & Finish

Filed is not heard. Heard is not signed.

Six stages between deciding and done — including the one Texas adds that Florida doesn't have: the prove-up, where even a fully agreed divorce finishes with brief sworn testimony. Each stage below carries what controls it and what commonly goes wrong; whether your county hears prove-ups in person, by Zoom, or on affidavit is local practice this tracker names instead of guessing.

← The qualifierRun the 60-day clock →
  1. 1

    Petition filed

    The § 6.702 sixty-day clock starts at filing. Many Texas counties attach a STANDING ORDER to every new family case — read yours the day you file; it binds both spouses immediately.

    § 6.702

  2. 2

    Service or waiver

    The respondent is served (Rules 99/106/107) or signs a waiver of service AFTER the petition is filed — a pre-filing waiver is a classic rejection. The Rule 99 citation runs to the Monday next after twenty days.

    Rule 99Rule 106Rule 107

  3. 3

    The 60-day floor

    The court may not grant the divorce before the 60th day after filing (§ 6.702) — agreed terms can be prepared during the wait, and the family-violence exceptions are the only statutory bypass.

    § 6.702

  4. 4

    Prove-up

    Texas-specific stage

    Texas finalizes even agreed divorces with brief sworn testimony — the prove-up. Whether your county hears it in person, by Zoom, or on affidavit is LOCAL practice; the county's published procedure controls, and this tracker never guesses it.

    § 6.702

  5. 5

    Decree signed

    The judge signing the decree is the finish line for the divorce itself — filed is not heard, heard is not signed.

  6. 6

    After the decree

    Titles, beneficiary designations, employer/withholding updates, and any transfer documents the decree orders — the decree lists them; finishing them is what makes it real.

Authority locked — retrieved from the hash-pinned corpus

Tex. Fam. Code § 6.702 · #1e0c4ff2Tex. R. Civ. P. 99 · #a908c718Tex. R. Civ. P. 106 · #a1af65a2Tex. R. Civ. P. 107 · #c03b634c

The tracker's posture, stated once and enforced everywhere: Filed is not heard, heard is not signed, signed is not finished — and county practice governs the prove-up. Where a BenchPath county note exists it renders with its citation and verified date; where none exists, this tracker says so instead of guessing. Legal information, not legal advice.