Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. How much is the final price of my divorce?

That will depend on your specific needs. We offer an unconventional flat-fee pricing model that is fully transparent and allows you to only pay for the services you need. For example, we do everything from reviewing your DIY divorce documents for $450 to mediated divorce packages beginning at $3,800.

Click here to see our Pricing page.

2. Why not DIY my divorce?

There are solid forms that empower you to do your own divorce. If you and your partner can agree on the terms of your divorce and your divorce is relatively straight-forward (i.e. no children, limited assets, no debt), then you may very well be able to figure it out and handle your own divorce.

You don’t even need to pay for these forms. TexasLawHelp.org is a great resource, and the product of a joint effort between legal aid organizations and Texas courts to help people handle their own legal matters. On the website you will find free resources that empower you to do your own divorce.

If you are going to go this route, you *must* be sure to read all the instructions to ensure that you do it right. For example, we recently helped a couple that had filled out the form themselves, only to figure that that, had they filed it with the court and a judge had approved it, they would not have been legally divorced.

Mr. and Mrs. X (as we will call them) had separated 2 years ago, and in that time, Mrs. X became pregnant with another man’s child. Mr. and Mrs. X did not disclose this in the divorce documents, and a judge would likely not have asked about the pregnancy. This alone would have nullified their divorce.

Another couple tried to do their own divorce documents without counsel. A judge rejected their divorce on the basis that no one was paying child support, and it was sent to mediation. (While a couple can agree to non-standard provisions, some judges will not agree to those terms when the parties are unrepresented by attorneys, unless they can prove that those terms are truly in the best interests of their child/ren.)

When we dug into the documents, we realized that the child was receiving Medicaid, which triggers a notification requirement of the divorce to the Attorney General’s office. The couple had not done that, and had the judge granted their divorce, it could have been undone because of their failure to inform the Attorney General of the divorce.

The bottom line is that there can be more at stake than you realize. We know that the conventional model is out-of-reach and overkill for a lot of families. That is why we have come up with a better way to divorce.

3. What about the ads I see for divorces for $150? What’s wrong with them?

If you do want to go the DIY route, there is no reason that you should pay for these services. TexasLawHelp.org puts out quality forms for free. These services for suspiciously cheap divorces basically charge you for their forms without providing you additional value.

In fact, they can do the opposite. Because the people you interact with are not attorneys, they can do real harm to you, by providing you the wrong information, which can end up costing you more, both in money and time, and even result in an invalid divorce. How would you like to be remarried in 10 years, only to discover that your first divorce wasn’t valid? It happens.

Also, what you don’t realize is what isn’t included. What you pay these companies does not cover the entire cost of your divorce. You will still have to pay court fees, around $350.

4. How long will it take from the time I contact you to the finalization of my divorce?

Texas law requires that couples wait a minimum of 60 days after filing before a judge will grant a divorce.

That said, a conventional (or “contested”) divorce can literally take years before a couple is able to legally divorce, as it relies on a lengthy process of back-and-forth between each side’s lawyers. When the lawyers can’t agree, they must wait for a judge to schedule a hearing on the issue, which can take months. The result is a long, drawn-out process that not only takes a lot of time and money, but carries incredibly high stakes, allowing a stranger to decide the fate of a family.

In contrast, our goal is to be ready to finalize a divorce when the 60-day waiting period expires, empowering couples to divorce as quickly as possible, at a fraction of the cost, and on their terms.

5. How often will we need to meet?

The answer really depends on what you want and need. For 90% of our clients, we never physically meet. Most everything can be done via phone, email and videochat, including court appearances.

If you do prefer in-person meetings, we can be sure to include in that in our flat-fee proposal after we have had the opportunity to speak to you and your spouse to determine the best, most efficient, path to your best divorce.

With our Guided Divorce package, we typically speak with couples two to four times on average, with each meeting lasting one to two hours. However, depending on your family’s needs, we may increase or decrease the number of meetings.

That said, with our Guided Divorce package, we meet with couples two to four times on average, with each meeting lasting an estimated 2 hours. However, depending on your family’s needs, we may increase or decrease the number of meetings.

Regardless, if at any point you want to speak to an attorney, we are just a phone call or email away.

6. What sort of couples are good candidates for an uncontested divorce?

Couples who successfully divorce without a legal fight are more different than they are alike. They come from different socioeconomic levels, religious backgrounds, years of marriage, history of divorce, races and ethnicities, and number of children.

They may consider each other friends, or can’t even manage to be in the same room together.

The common thread that connects all successful couples is a strong desire to avoid the typical divorce and a shared commitment to the process. The motivations to divorce differently vary and include:

• the high cost of a traditional divorce
• the appeal of a speedier divorce
• the desire to decide for themselves the custody schedule, child support, division of property, etc.
• the desire to minimize the trauma of divorce, particularly if there are children
• fear of what a judge would decide is in the best interests of their family
• a desire to keep private information out of the public domain

Ultimately, all that is required is a commitment to two things- honest yet productive communication and reasonableness.

7. What percentage of couples that undertake divorce mediation are successful?

The success rate of couples that not only successfully divorce utilizing mediation, but in addition, who abide by the terms of their divorce is impressive. Nearly 90% of couples successfully divorce, in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost typically required in a conventional divorce.

Because we specialize in the uncontested divorce process, we do not accept all matters. We must first speak to both you and your partner in order to determine whether we are confident we will be able to help you achieve an agreed divorce using our methodology. If we determine we are not a good fit for your needs, we will happily recommend other attorneys to you that we would entrust with our own matters.

8. Where are your offices?

While we maintain an office centrally located in downtown Houston, Texas, we also utilize secure, multi-feed videoconferencing for face-to-face meetings, affording us the convenience to meet with clients across the state of Texas, safely and securely. We have appeared in courts across the state, from El Paso to Jefferson County, and everything in between.