Legal Separation in Texas

Texas laws do not have any provisions to allow “legal separation.” Because there is no legal separation in Texas, the best thing to do is to file for divorce if the marriage is beyond repair and you desire a court order to address any matters that require immediate attention. Once a divorce is filed (initiated), the court can issue Temporary Orders to protect the spouses’ property, order which spouse may live in the family home, and address custody, visitation and child support for any minor children born during the marriage.

Temporary orders may be necessary when matters require action before the divorce is finalized. The minimum waiting period before a Texas divorce can be finalized is 60 days. In cases involving contested matters requiring the judge to make rulings, cases may take months to reach finality. Any temporary orders that are put in place are just that, temporary, until the final divorce decree is signed finalizing the divorce. Once the divorce is finalized, temporary orders essentially go away, and everything in the divorce decree becomes the new, final, orders of the court. The divorce decree spells out the court’s order regarding division of property and debts, spousal support, if any, and all child related matters.