While most divorces can be granted on the grounds of “discord or conflict of personalities”, in a few cases, it may be appropriate to allege other grounds such as cruelty, adultery, abandonment, living apart, etc. Occasionally, a spouse will say, “I am not going to give you a divorce.” John K. Grubb and Associates will make sure you are going to get a divorce if you want it, regardless of what your spouse wants.

A potential client recently sent me an email that said: I have never been divorced before and have never been to Court.  What should I expect with the divorce courts in Houston? How long will it take? If we agree on everything do we still have to go to Court?  If we don’t agree on anything, how do the Courts operate in Houston?

My response: You are very justified in your concerns about going to Court.  It is a unique experience and one should prepare for it.

First, let me tell you how the Divorce Courts are organized  in Houston.  We have nine elected Judges.  Each elected Judge also appoints one Assoicate Judge, who can hear about any case that the elected Judge can hear.  The elected Judges have a large Courtroom in the Harris County Family Law Center located at 1115 Congress, Houston, Texas.  The elected Judges have offices that serve as Courtrooms.  So we really have 18 Judges hearing divorces, custody cases, child support matters, etc. in Houston.

The Courts break there hearings down into two basis types of matters — temporary hearings and contempts and final trials.  On temporary hearings the Court is interested in doing what ever is necessary to stablize the situation — who get the house on a temporary basis, who has custody on a temporary basis, etc.  On contempts the Court is interested in who did not follow the Court’s order.  On both temporary hearings and contempts the Court is not going to afford the parties much time — frequently 30 minutes to several hours.   Temporary hearings and contempts are all set at 9:00 or 9:30 a.m.  On final hearings or trials the Courts allocate to the parties how ever long it takes to try the entire case - 1 day, 1 week, etc.  Final hearings are set a particular time by the Court.

If you and your spouse have agreed upon everything, then the Court will hear your divorce as an uncontested divorce almost any day of the week at 8;30 a.m.  It only takes about 5 minutes if everything is agreed to in writing.

 Typically temporary hearings are withing 2 or 3 weeks of the filing of a divorce in Houston.  Final hearings usually occur withing the range of 6 to 12 months after the divorce is filed in Houston.

The Courts are crowded in Houston.  Frequently at 9:00 a.m. the Courtroom is entirely full and people are standing in the hall discussing various divorce issues.

If you are going to have a contested hearing, I suggest that if you have the time you go to the Courthouse a week or so before you case is set and sit in another Courtroom for several hours.  You will come away with a better understanding of how the Courts handle divorces in Houston.  It will help you prepare for your day in Court.

I recently received an email that brought up the following points: My husband and I lived in Houston for the last 22 years. We built up a pretty good business in Houston and I am certain that it is worth a lot of money.  I finally decided that I was tired of dealing with my husband and working in the business, so I just moved out of our house in Houston and moved up to the small town in Missouri where I grew up. Can I file a divorce in Missouri and get paid for the value of my share or the business, or do I have to file a divorce in Houston?