Bedford, Texas divorce lawyer Adam Kielich at The Kielich Law Firm discusses uncontested divorces in Dallas and Fort Worth. Part of a presentation on uncontested divorces presented in Tarrant County, Texas by Adam Kielich. Learn more at http://www.kielichlawfirm.com The Kielich Law Firm 2205 Martin Dr., Ste. 200-K Bedford, Texas 76021 P: 817-857-1123 W: www.kielichlawfirm.com

1. UNCONTESTED DIVORCE IN
DALLAS AND FORT WORTH,
TEXAS
Presented by:
The Kielich Law Firm
2205 Martin Dr., Ste. 200-K
Bedford, TX 76021
P: 817-857-1123
W: http://www.kielichlawfirm.com

2. WHAT IS UNCONTESTED DIVORCE?
 Divorce where property and custody issues are all agreed by the
spouses
 Sometimes called agreed divorce
 No specific meaning under Texas Family Code
 Not a legal term of art used by divorce lawyers

3. BENEFITS OF UNCONTESTED DIVORCE
IN DALLAS AND FORT WORTH, TEXAS
 Less stress
 Less cost
 Less time
 Parties have “buy in” on agreement and more likely to honor it
 Especially custody and child support

4. RISKS OF UNCONTESTED DIVORCE
 Agreement is not voluntary
 Agreement causes future property problems
 Agreement causes future custody or child support problems
 Parties start off in agreement but agreement falls apart, resulting in a
contested divorce proceeding
 Parties agree to unreasonably disadvantageous positions just to reach
an agreement

5. PROBLEMS WITH PROPERTY
 Mortgage/home issues
 Credit cards and other debts
 401k and other retirement plans
 Division of stock and other investment accounts
 Once the court grants divorce very difficult to undo problems

6. PROBLEMS WITH CUSTODY AND CHILD
SUPPORT IN UNCONTESTED DIVORCE
 Not consider how lives will change—may make agreement unworkable
 Not consider financial situation when agreeing to child support amount
 When married parenting divided along married life—now two
independent parents with separate lives that will continue to separate
down different paths

7. WHO SHOULD GET AN UNCONTESTED
DIVORCE IN TEXAS?
 Parties can agree
 Parties are financially capable of adopting the agreement
 Debts, mortgage, child support, cost of ownership can be paid
 Parties can clearly divide co-parenting relationship from marital
relationship and put kids first
 Parties will have closure on an agreement and do not need to feel like
they need to win the divorce

8. WHO SHOULD NOT GET AN
UNCONTESTED DIVORCE
 No voluntary agreement
 Emotional need to treat divorce as a battle to gain closure
 Always a terrible idea
 Complex debts/assets makes fair agreement difficult or impossible
 Cannot financially or emotionally support a fair agreement
 Parents have radically different ideas about the children

9. UNCONTESTED DIVORCE IN DALLAS,
TEXAS
 Dallas courts have uncontested divorce process
 Requires parties to file paperwork
 Then go through waiting period
 Then schedule prove up hearing—usually many months after filing
 With a divorce lawyer no need to schedule prove up hearing, can get
divorce once statutory sixty day waiting period is over

10. UNCONTESTED DIVORCE IN TARRANT
COUNTY, TEXAS
 Same process in Fort Worth/Tarrant County, Texas as Dallas
 Recent rise in uncontested divorces led to same long wait period in
Tarrant County, Texas
 Like Dallas, representation by divorce lawyer means no extended wait
period

11. SHOULD I HIRE A DIVORCE LAWYER FOR AN
UNCONTESTED DIVORCE IN TEXAS?
 Consider desire to avoid extended waiting period (up to six months)
 Take out frustration of dealing with courts
 Professional work drafting all documents avoids risks of accidentally
locking in the wrong terms in the decree
 Know the right process is going on
 Divorce lawyer can provide assistance avoiding custody, child support
and property problems—may save thousands in future legal fees or
debt problems

12. HIRING DIVORCE ATTORNEY FOR
UNCONTESTED DIVORCE
 Many divorce attorneys in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas offer
uncontested divorce services on flat fees
 Range from $500-2000 depending upon issues (kids, property) in the
agreed divorce
 Some charge low for basics and charge more for additional work
(phone calls and document revisions)
 Many family law attorneys in Dallas and Fort Worth

13. WHAT DIVORCE LAWYER SHOULD I HIRE
IN DALLAS OR FORT WORTH?
 Most divorce lawyers work in both Dallas and Tarrant County
 Hire somebody who seems knowledgeable about the issues in your
divorce
 Consider fees and what future fees may be involved
 If personality is right for you

14. HORROR STORIES?
 Sometimes uncontested divorces do not work out as planned
 Agreement falls apart—turns messy
 Having agreement not always better than what goes into the
agreement
 Thinking spouse will agree is not the same as spouse has agreed
 Life and times of a divorce lawyer

15. QUESTIONS?

16. THANKS FOR VISITING
 The Kielich Law Firm, 2205 Martin Dr., Ste. 200-K, Bedford, Texas 76021
 Serving all of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas
 Learn more about uncontested divorce at
http://www.kielichlawfirm.com/family-law/uncontested-divorce and law
firm blog on site