Texas Divorce Question

[Shepx]

I am a resident of Texas.

Wife and I are common law married (undeclared).

I have filed a divorce petition, anticipating uncontested. As such, I have not had her served yet.

Am I obligated to tell her the Cause number, if she asks
for it?

If not required to, is it advisable to do so, or not?

Many thanks,
Shep

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

I am a resident of Texas.

Wife and I are common law married (undeclared).

I have filed a divorce petition, anticipating uncontested. As such, I have not had her served yet.

Am I obligated to tell her the Cause number, if she asks
for it?

If not required to, is it advisable to do so, or not?

Many thanks,
Shep

My response:

What do you mean by "cause" number? Do you mean the court's "case" number? If so, why would you want to keep that a secret?

IAAL

 

[Boxcarbill]

I am a resident of Texas.

Wife and I are common law married (undeclared).

I have filed a divorce petition, anticipating uncontested. As such, I have not had her served yet.

Am I obligated to tell her the Cause number, if she asks
for it?

If not required to, is it advisable to do so, or not?

Many thanks,
Shep

She either (a) receives service of process or (b) signs a waiver of service of process. Whether "a" or "b" a true and correct copy of the Petition for divorce must be included. Since the cause number appears at the top, she will have it. So not only is she entitled to know the cause number but she is entitled to be provided with a true and complete copy of the petition that was filed.

 

[Shepx]

I thank you both for your replies.

I don't want to keep it a secret, I just wondered if it were in my best interest not to tell her.

As yet, she has not been served, nor presented with a waiver to sign.

The attorney I'm using to draw up the necessary documents has a method which, frankly, bothers me.

His stated that he will send her a copy of the petition, but will not send a waiver. He says that he will simply work with us to draft an Agreed Statement of Facts, and then a final judgement document (the exact name escapes me at the moment).

The most worrisome part...this is from his website:

"In most AGREED TO AND UNCONTEST DIVORCES there is no necessity for an in court appearance by either you or me. The evidence required in such divorce procedures can usually be done by Stipulation of Evidence."

I am unsure about his method, to say the least.
He says that he submits the documents, when final, to the court along with a Memorandum of Law (because most people are unaware that a divorce can be finalized in this manner, he says).

Strange? Unheard of?

 

[Boxcarbill]

I thank you both for your replies.

I don't want to keep it a secret, I just wondered if it were in my best interest not to tell her.

As yet, she has not been served, nor presented with a waiver to sign.

The attorney I'm using to draw up the necessary documents has a method which, frankly, bothers me.

His stated that he will send her a copy of the petition, but will not send a waiver. He says that he will simply work with us to draft an Agreed Statement of Facts, and then a final judgement document (the exact name escapes me at the moment).

The most worrisome part...this is from his website:

"In most AGREED TO AND UNCONTEST DIVORCES there is no necessity for an in court appearance by either you or me. The evidence required in such divorce procedures can usually be done by Stipulation of Evidence."

I am unsure about his method, to say the least.
He says that he submits the documents, when final, to the court along with a Memorandum of Law (because most people are unaware that a divorce can be finalized in this manner, he says).

Strange? Unheard of?

Your lawyer, to put it delicately, does not know what the hell he is talking about. He obviously is of the school, if you cannot persuade them with logic and reason, dazzle them with bull****. I seriously question whether he has a TX state bar number. This would account for your attorney's unwillingness to appear in court!

"No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property with due process of law." ( Even us ignorant folks in Texas recognize this constitutional law principle!) Due process of law requires at a minimum notice of the allegations against you and an opportunity to defend. "Notice" in a divorce suit occurs by service of process or by the respondent's signing and having notarized a "Waiver of Service of Process." Proof of service of process or the Waiver of Service MUST appear in the official file for the court to enter a decree.

Next, one of the parties to the suit must appear at the final hearing. Now, in an uncontested case, this involves a five minute hearing, usually in chambers, but the party does swear an oath that the testimony they will give is the truth. If represented by an attorney, the petitioner basically responds "yes" to the questions asked by the attorney.

Next a "statement of facts" is done when the other party although duly served fails to appear or to otherwise enter an appearance in the case and the petitioner receives a default judgment of divorce. The Petitioner takes the witness stand and testifies. Then the Judge grants the divorce and orders the attorney to also draft a "statement of facts. "

 

[Shepx]

Thanks, Boxcarbill.

It all does seem rather strange. He is a member of the bar, though his license was revoked many years ago and he has another rather serious sounding mark on his record (misappropriation of State funds).

And he has offered his services, including to duly appear, if the case becomes contested.

Well, at this point, I'm only into him for the time spent drafting the petition and for a couple phone calls and sending one fax.

Of course, I've sent the petition copies to him. I still have one official copy.

Assuming I dump him, can my new lawyer send my copy to my wife? There were two copies I sent him. Is that third copy important also? If I pay him for his time, is he obligated to send me both copies upon request?

(He spent time in TDC for failing to return a client's files - haha)

Strange day, so far...

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

Is there really any question whether or not you should dump this guy like a bad habit?

How fast can you run?

IAAL

 

[Shepx]

No, there's not. And yes, I worded that poorly. I most definitely am going to dump him.

Is he obligated to send me the petition copies?

I mailed them return receipt requested.

If he isn't, or won't, is the one copy I have sufficient to continue with?

If not, may I obtain official copies from the courthouse? Are official copies even necessary, or will photocopies do as well?

Many thanks, once again.

Shep

 

[Boxcarbill]

No, there's not. And yes, I worded that poorly. I most definitely am going to dump him.

Is he obligated to send me the petition copies?

I mailed them return receipt requested.

If he isn't, or won't, is the one copy I have sufficient to continue with?

If not, may I obtain official copies from the courthouse? Are official copies even necessary, or will photocopies do as well?

Many thanks, once again.

Shep

Oh man! This guy is bad news. Can we say, "he is practicing law without a license. " That is a criminal offense in itself. An attorney whose license has been revoked is NO LONGER A MEMBER OF THE BAR.

From what you have told me I don't know that his petition is drafted correctly. Did he sign the petition as "Attorney for Petitioner." Whose name appears on the line under "Respectfully Submitted?" Yes, an ethical attorney would provide you with a copy of your file. But we have established that this person is neither ethical nor an attorney. (Graduation from law school makes one have a degree in law but it is the license which makes one an attorney.) If the case has been filed, you can obtain copies from the official file (They will charge you for the copies) but like I said, I don't know whether this petition was done correctly. Your next attorney can tell you that. Make sure this next attorney is licensed and in good standing!

 

[KYSassy]

Am I divorced???

I divorced my first husband in 1987. We used the same attorney because it was uncontested. I gave my deposition at the attorney's office. He gave his deposition at another time. Neither of us attended the divorce hearing. The attorney called me and told me that the divorce was final. I paid the county sheriff a fee in order to have him deliver my ex's papers to him at work. This was all done without having any actual face to face meetings after my deposition.

Since neither one of us appeared at the hearing, was our divorce really legal?

 

[Boxcarbill]

Re: Am I divorced???

I divorced my first husband in 1987. We used the same attorney because it was uncontested. I gave my deposition at the attorney's office. He gave his deposition at another time. Neither of us attended the divorce hearing. The attorney called me and told me that the divorce was final. I paid the county sheriff a fee in order to have him deliver my ex's papers to him at work. This was all done without having any actual face to face meetings after my deposition.

Since neither one of us appeared at the hearing, was our divorce really legal?

I have no idea how it is done in KY or wherever you got your divorce but I do know that in TX one of the parties to the suit appears in person to finalize the divorce.

 

[Shepx]

Actually, Boxcarbill, he was disbarred in the 80's, and reinstated in '96. He is a member of the bar. I had his report faxed to me.

He mailed the petition to me.

He pulled the wrong form when drafting the petition, however. It was the form for "Attorney for Respondents". I pointed this out to him (by phone) before I filed it. I replaced the phrase with "Petitioner". His signature, name, State Bar number, mailing address, phone numbers and email address appear on the line under "Respectfully Submitted".

The clerk noted this, and filed it.

The Discovery Level section may interest you.
It states,
"Discovery in this case is intended to be conducted under level 1 of rule 190 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. This is an uncontested divorce and Petitioner believes the parties will [another hand edit I had to make - "agree"] to a division of the community property. It is anticipated the case will be submitted on an Agreed Statement of Facts."

At any rate, other issues have arisen. I rather expect that this will not proceed smoothly as uncontested for various reasons, the most interesting one being that I am reasonably sure that I did not sign the Note for the home. The bank has verified that my wife is the sole borrower on the loan. I am on the deed, however. I really don't know how these facts figure into the mix. Neither of us can afford the home by ourselves. I certainly don't have any interest in keeping it, nor want any claim to any portion of it. When she mentioned the possibility of foreclosure, I initially balked. Later, the reality started sinking in and I told her that the idea is looking more attractive every day (it's a buyer's market here...it's not going to sell any time soon). She is being advised, obviously...she told me that I could sign a quit-claim deed and pay her for half of the estimated upside-down on the house were it to be foreclosed on, and that she would discount the selling price by that amount and sell it...and continue with an uncontested divorce. Which, of course, she could reneg on at the drop of a hat.

Sounds raw to me, but what do I know? I have not responded to that, yet. I don't even know if I can legally just move out and stop paying for my half of the mortgage. Currently, I reside there and maintain the place.

At the moment, I have this lawyer's activities on hold. He has not contacted her nor sent her a copy of the petition.

Tomorrow I will receive a copy of the Note on the home, and will know with certainty whether or not I signed it.

Boxcarbill...if I did not sign that Note, am I obliged to continue paying the mortgage payments? Lawyer says, "absolutely not".

If not...and I do stop paying, is that likely to affect me adversely?

Many thanks,
Shep

 

[kdowd771]

Shepx


I live in Texas also. In Texas you have the RIGHT to have a divorce by jury trial. I know this because my psychotic delusional wife dropped $50 down 2 days before the final hearing we were to have to end this fiasco. Be prepared to rack up some serious bills, I am up to $8,000 already and still no end in sight. You will also sign a paper stating that you agree to mediation to solve the case before going to a jury trial. Of course we did that and nothing was resolved.
Another thing I have found out is that lawyers love to get you talking. Just racking up the hours. Mine cost $175 an hour. Talk to him for 2 min and it cost $17.50.
No matter what you do DEFINETLY talk to a couple of different lawyers. Seems I get a more answers the more I talk to,
Good luck

 

[Shepx]

kdowd771, if you don't mind me asking, how much did/do you each make per year, and how long were you married?
Don't mean to be personal, but knowing will help me a lot.


Thanks

 

[kdowd771]

Hey no problem.
We got married 7/95. Seperated in 7/01. Filed for divorce in 1/02. No kids. 2 houses. 2 cars. Little personel property. She has a Florida and New Mexico real estate licenses. I am in the USAF coming up on 13 years this Aug. This is the kicker on my nightmare. She wants a check for $20,000!!! the house in New Mexico, with me carrying the loan and paying on it for 18 months. and both cars. Every lawyer I have talked to said this case would take a little over an hour in court, because we have nothing to argue about. yet here I am 17 months later and $8,000 in lawyer fees.
After you have her served she has 30 days I think it is to respond to it. With or without counsel. Then you will probably have 45 days from then I think it is ( at least for me it was) to have a temporary orders hearing. In mine I was ordered to pay $1234 mortgage on the house she lives in. The $400 mortgage on the rent house that she collects $500 a month rent on. I get none of that mind you. I also was told to continue paying $225 a month on the 98 saturn she gets to drive of and keep it insured too. She in turn was told to pay me $400 per month for the rent on the apartment I am liveing in. Well that just opened the door for the jury fee to be dropped. Why would she want to settle? SHe gets all these things at a cost of $400 per month. and all the military beneifits that go with still being my spouse.
Thenthewre is the little games of not showing up to mediation, cancelling them an hour before they happen. Not returning or responding to her lawyer. mailing the $400 check she is to give me each month to addresses that I have not used in 2 years then mailing it to the correct address without an apartment number so they returned to her I am still waiting for Aprils check.
Whatever you do don't say to yourself "oh she's not that type, she won't do this or that" WRONG!!!!! She might, can and probably will do the most unexpected things you can imagine. Especially if you are ordered to pay a bunch and then wait for the final hearing. if you can reach an agreement that you can live with do it. She asked for $10,000 and both cars after the Temp order hearinf I had in 7/02. Should have done it then, Its cost me well over $20k since then between lawyer fees and continuingto pay on the houses. Not to mentiopn the fact that I will probably file for bankruptcy over this whole fiasco.