The Colony, Denton County
The Colony Divorce Lawyer
Texas is a no-fault state, but it is not a simple one. What your divorce costs, how long it takes and what you walk away with are decided by rules that most people meet for the first time on the worst month of their life.
Divorce in The Colony
Two things drive the calendar in a The Colony divorce: the Denton County docket and whether the estate needs valuing. Counties differ in how quickly they set contested hearings and in how firmly they require mediation before granting a trial date. The 60-day statutory wait (Tex. Fam. Code § 6.702) is almost never the constraint.
The Colony's profile — a city with a large renting population and comparatively young estates — tends to shape the asset side more than the parenting side. Where a household's wealth sits in home equity, retirement accounts and an employer's equity plan rather than in cash, the question is rarely who gets what percentage. It is how you divide an estate without forcing a sale that costs both people money.
What Texas actually requires before you can file
Two clocks have to have run before a Texas court will hear your case. One of you must have been a domiciliary of Texas for the six months before filing, and a resident of the county you file in for the 90 days before filing (Tex. Fam. Code § 6.301). Move here in March and you cannot file in September in a county you reached in August — the state clock is satisfied and the county clock is not.
The ground for most Texas divorces is insupportability (Tex. Fam. Code § 6.001), which means the marriage has become insupportable because of discord that destroys the legitimate ends of the relationship. Nobody has to prove anybody did anything. Fault grounds still exist and still matter, mostly because fault can influence how a judge divides property — but the divorce itself does not depend on them.
The 60-day wait, and why it is not the timeline
A Texas court cannot grant a divorce before the 60th day after the petition is filed (Tex. Fam. Code § 6.702). People hear "60 days" and plan around it. That number is a floor, not an estimate. It is the shortest a fully agreed divorce with no children and no contested property can take.
What actually sets the length is disagreement. An agreed case where both spouses have already decided who keeps the house can finish shortly after the waiting period. A case with a business to value, a custody dispute, or a spouse who will not produce financial records runs on the court's docket, and the docket belongs to the county.
More on divorce for The Colony specifically is at The Colony Divorce.
Questions
Where is a The Colony divorce case filed?
In Denton County. Texas Family Code § 6.301 requires that at the time of filing, one spouse have been a domiciliary of Texas for the preceding six months and a resident of the county of filing for the preceding 90 days. The Denton County courthouse is located at Denton County Courts Building, 1450 E. McKinney St., Denton, TX 76209.
Do I have to live in The Colony to file there?
You have to meet the county residency requirement for Denton County, not for the city itself. Under Texas Family Code § 6.301 that means 90 days of residency in the county before filing, in addition to six months of domicile in Texas. Neighbouring cities in the same county satisfy it equally.
How does the Lewisville ISD calendar affect my possession schedule?
Substantially. A standard possession order keys holiday and summer periods to when school recesses and resumes rather than to fixed dates, so the district calendar determines the actual exchange days. Naming Lewisville ISD in the order avoids arguments in years when the district's calendar differs from a neighbouring district's.
Is divorce handled differently in Denton County?
The governing law is identical statewide — Denton County applies the same Texas Family Code provisions as every other county. What differs locally is procedure: how quickly the court sets contested hearings, its standing orders, and whether it requires mediation before granting a trial setting. Those differences affect timing and cost more than outcome.
How long does a divorce take in Texas?
At an absolute minimum, 60 days from the date the petition is filed, because Texas Family Code § 6.702 bars the court from granting a divorce before the 60th day. Agreed cases often finish shortly after that. Contested cases — particularly ones involving custody, a business, or a spouse who will not produce records — commonly run several months to well over a year, and the county's docket has as much to do with it as the facts.
Do I need a reason to divorce in Texas?
No. Texas Family Code § 6.001 allows divorce on the ground of insupportability, which requires no proof of wrongdoing by either spouse. Fault grounds such as cruelty or adultery still exist, and they can affect how a judge divides the community estate, but they are not required to obtain a divorce.
Is everything split 50/50 in a Texas divorce?
No. Texas Family Code § 7.001 directs the court to divide the community estate in a manner that is just and right, having due regard for the rights of each party and any children. Judges routinely award more than half to one spouse based on earning capacity, fault, health, custody of children, or the size of each spouse's separate estate.
Lisa G. Garza represents The Colony families from the firm's Dallas and McKinney offices.