Representing Yourself in the 387th District Court Fort Bend County, Texas This guide is written to explain in general terms the process of representing yourself or acting “pro se” in the 387th District Court of Fort Bend County, Texas. The process for a contested divorce is different. Your divorce is considered “uncontested” when you and your spouse agree in a written Decree on how to divide the property and debts you built up during your marriage and all other issues. If you have children, it also means that you agree on Conservatorship (custody), possession (visitation), and child support. Many name change suits are also pro se. If you are thinking about handling your divorce by yourself, pro se, without an attorney, make sure you fully understand all of the steps involved in getting divorced. Make sure you understand all of your legal rights. You will be solely responsible for protecting yourself. Only a licensed attorney is allowed to give you legal advice. Some attorneys will require you to hire them as your personal attorney before they advise you. Other attorneys may allow you to pay for their advice, as you need it. Librarians and courthouse staff want to help you get the information you need, but they are not lawyers, and they cannot give you legal advice. You might consider contacting the Fort Bend Bar Legaline at (281) 325-1015. Judges are also prohibited from giving you legal advice. You are encouraged to hire a lawyer to protect your rights. If you choose to begin to represent yourself, but later: • You find the process too difficult; • You realize that you and your spouse can’t reach an agreement; • Your spouse has hired an attorney; or • You fear for your safety; You may need to employ an attorney to complete your divorce for you. Residency Requirements In order to get divorced in Fort Bend County, either you or your spouse must have lived in Fort Bend County for at least 90 days and in Texas for at least 6 months, immediately prior to filing for divorce.
Remarriage Although your divorce is final at the time the Judge signs your Decree of Divorce, you cannot remarry for 30 days after the final Decree is signed by the Judge, unless you remarry the spouse you have just divorced, or the Judge who granted your divorce waives the waiting period for good cause. Rarely is a waiver granted. Think about Your Decision When you and your spouse decide that you want to divorce, think long and hard about your decision. Ending your marriage is a big decision, especially if you have children together. If you do have children, you are inviting the Court into your family life until the day your youngest child reaches 18 and graduates from high school. Think about how your decisions will affect your family. If you have any doubts, seek marriage counseling. There are many good counselors in our area. Most divorces in Texas are no fault divorces. If your spouse has decided that he or she wants a divorce, and you do not want to be divorced, you will not be able to stop them from divorcing you. If both of you can convince a Judge that there is a chance that you can work things out, you may be able to get the Judge to order the two of you to attend marriage counseling, but if your spouse is determined to get divorced, you will not be able to stop it. Suggestions for the Courtroom In order to feel comfortable before the Judge at the uncontested docket, treat the Courtroom with the same type of respect that you would for a church or religious sanctuary. * * * * You should leave all food, drinks, gum and candy outside of the courtroom Stand and address the Judge as “Your Honor” and answer his or her questions in a truthful and courteous manner. It is best not to lean on any furniture or the bench when standing before the Judge If you need to speak with someone while you are in the courtroom, speak in a very quiet voice. The Judge must be able to give his or her full attention to the people appearing before the bench.
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This Court has a dress code. Wear appropriate clothing: no shorts, thong sandals, hats, sunglasses, revealing or dirty or unkempt clothing. All men’s shirts must be tucked in. Be on time i.e. promptly at 1:30 p.m. in the appropriate courtroom. Judge Kern holds Court on the second floor of the old Courthouse, Judge Mullinix on the first floor. You can ask which one will be hearing your case when you sign up. REMEMBER!
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Judges, the Associate Judge, judicial aides, librarians, court coordinators, court reporters, bailiffs and courthouse clerks CANNOT: ♦ Give you legal ADVICE, ♦ Tell you what you should do or not do, or ♦ Interpret the law for you. Steps in the Uncontested Divorce Process: 1. Write your Original Petition for Divorce: forms are available in the law library of the old Courthouse and at the George Library in Richmond. Some lawyers will prepare the forms for you, charging just for their time. Many Internet forms do not comply with Texas law. A marital settlement agreement is not a Texas form. File your Petition with the District Clerk’s Office. Pay the filing fee. Give your spouse legal notice, called service, of the divorce, using either: A) Personal service of citation by a licensed process server; B) Waiver of Citation signed by your spouse and notarized; or C) Service by Publication/Posting. A waiver must be SIGNED AND NOTARIZED AFTER you have filed for divorce. You must get Court permission before giving notice by publication. The District Clerk can also send notice by certified mail to the last address of your spouse, if you have no children. Wait the mandatory 61 days after your Petition is filed. If there are children of the marriage who are under the age of 18 you must both take the appropriate parenting class prior to the finalization of the divorce.
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Write your final Decree of Divorce addressing the divorce, conservatorship, possession and support of children, what you and your spouse will keep and what bill each will pay. You must sign up before 9:00 Thursday before your Friday hearing, on the Pro Se sign up sheet in Room 105 of the District Clerk’s office. File the Decree and all other final papers in the District Clerk’s Office, Room 105 at the same time you sign up. The District Clerk has a Pro se Pleadings Checklist of what you must file. This packet contains the checklist. If you do not file all necessary papers at your sign up, the Judge may not hear your divorce. The divorce will be heard at 1:30 p.m. Friday in the 387th District Court. You may find out which Courtroom when you sign up. Step 1. Start with the Petition
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To start your divorce, you will need to file an Original Petition for Divorce. The Petition tells the judge and your spouse that you want to be divorced. It also tells whether you had children during this marriage and provides information on them. If you had children by another person during this marriage, they must be identified. You can have an attorney write your Petition for you. It is wise to at least talk to an attorney about your case before you decide to handle it yourself, particularly if there are children. Your legal rights become especially important when it comes time to divide up the property and debts that you and your spouse acquired during your marriage. There may be substantial retirement benefits involved. Your legal rights are even more important if you have children together. If you decide to write your own Petition for Divorce, you will be representing yourself in your divorce, without an attorney. You may use the forms that are provided in the library or write your own Petition. The forms available in the library have been reviewed by several attorneys, and have been accepted for use by the Fort Bend County District Judges. They are updated regularly so that they comply with current Texas law. Be careful that the address for the child support payments is the State Disbursement Unit, P.O. 659791, San Antonio, Texas 78265-9791. You may also request to change of your name in the Petition. You cannot change your spouse’s name unless they sign a written request included in the Waiver of Citation or the Decree of Divorce.
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Be particularly careful about using internet or packaged forms. Don’t copy someone else’s divorce papers. A divorce is personal to that specific family involved. You may find examples of Petitions in formbooks or do-it yourself legal kits. If you choose to use these forms you are responsible for making sure that they comply with current Texas law. Make sure you fill in all the blanks and strike through anything not applicable. Step 2. File the Petition Once you have written your Original Petition for Divorce, you will need to file it in the District Clerk’s Office, located in Room 104, 105 or 106 (1st floor) of the Old Courthouse. When you go to file your Petition: Be prepared to pay the filing fee (around $245). Tell the clerk that you are there to file a Petition for Divorce, and hand them your original. The clerk will ask you to pay your filing fee. The clerk will “file stamp” your papers, showing the date and time that you filed your Petition. At this time, your Petition will be assigned to a District Court and will be given a Cause Number. The clerk only needs the original of the Petition. He/she will file stamp a copy of you if you ask. If you are indigent and unable to pay the filing fee, you may also file an Affidavit of Inability to Pay, which states, under oath, that you are unable to pay the filing fee. Be prepared to prove that you are indigent. The District Clerk’s Office will review your Affidavit, and determine whether to waive the filing fee. Step 3. Give Your Spouse Legal Notice You formally notify your spouse that you intend to get a divorce. This is called “service”. The Court file must contain proof that you did so. There are three ways to do this. You must file proof you did one of them, even if the divorce is agreed
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A) Service of Citation You may have your spouse served with the Petition by contacting a private process server or the Constable’s Office. There is a fee to have your spouse personally served. If your spouse is served, he or she has until 10am on the Monday following 20 days after he or she was served to file an Answer. (To calculate this time period, start with the day after your spouse was served and count out 20 days. Go to the next Monday on the calendar, and this is your spouse’s deadline to answer.) If an Answer or response is filed, you case becomes contested. This paper does not address contested divorces. After your spouse is served, the process server will file proof of service (called a Return of Service) with the District Clerk. Before you can get your divorce this Return of Service must be on file for at least ten days, and your spouse’s answer deadline must have passed, as well as the required 61 day waiting period. B) Waiver of Citation You may also “give notice” to your spouse if you give him or her a file stamped copy of your Original Petition for Divorce and he or she signs a Waiver of Citation in front of a notary. The Waiver of Citation waives your spouse’s right to have a process server give him or her a copy of the Petition. A Waiver of Citation must also waive your spouse’s right to know when the case will heard. This would mean that your spouse would waive his or her right to tell his or her side of the case. The Waiver of Citation must be signed and notarized at least one day after your Petition is filed. C) Alternative Service by Publication, Certified Mail or Posting If you are unable to locate your spouse, you may have him or her served by placing a public notice in the newspaper. You must first file a sworn written request with the Judge setting out the steps you have taken to locate your spouse and the Judge must sign an Order approving your request. OR If you did not have any children during this marriage who are now under 18 years of age, then notice can be posted for seven days at the courthouse door or you can ask the District Clerk to send notice by certified mail, return receipt requested. If you serve your spouse by publication, he or she may be entitled to have an attorney appointed to represent his or her interests. You would be responsible for paying for the attorney’s services. You must see the Judge to make those arrangements before appearing in Court.
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Step 4. Wait You must wait at least 61 days from the day you filed your Original Petition for Divorce, before you can go before the Judge to finalize your divorce. Step 5. Write your Decree of Divorce While you are waiting for the 61 days to pass, you can begin working on your final Decree of Divorce. The final Decree of Divorce is the document that the Judge will sign, granting your divorce. The final Decree divides your marital property and states who will be responsible for paying which debts. If you have children, the final Decree will state which parent the children will live with most of the time, how major decisions concerning the children will be made (Conservatorship), who pays child support (and how much), and will describe the visitation (Possession) schedule. If you choose to write the final Decree of Divorce yourself, you may use the forms that are available in the library. A Decree of Divorce involving children will be 4550 pages long. Just remember, forms cannot replace the advice that only an attorney can give you regarding your legal rights. It is best to try to reach agreements with your spouse about your property, debts, and children, if you plan to complete your divorce without an attorney. If you are having trouble reaching an agreement, you might consider going to mediation. In mediation, an unbiased person tries to help two sides reach an agreement. Once you and your spouse have reached an agreement, you will need to write the terms of your agreement into the final Decree of Divorce. After you have written your final Decree, both you and your spouse should sign it to show that you agree to its terms. Having your spouse’s signature on the final Decree will really simplify things when it is time to finalize your divorce.
Step 6. Finalizing your Divorce After you have: ♦ FILED your Petition, and ♦ SERVED your spouse or obtained a Waiver of Citation, and ♦ WAITED at least 61 days from the time you filed, and
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♦ WRITTEN your final Decree of Divorce, You are ready to finalize your divorce. Take the original Decree of Divorce and file the original and all of the other pleadings listed in the Pro se Pleadings Checklist with the District Clerk at the same time you sign up on the uncontested docket. The Pro Se Uncontested Docket Court In Fort Bend County you can then complete your divorce at the uncontested docket. YOU CANNOT FINALIZE THE DIVORCE IF THE WIFE IS PREGNANT AT THE TIME OF FINAL HEARING. IF EITHER PARTY HAS PARENTED A CHILD WITH SOMEONE ELSE DURING THE MARRIAGE, THAT CHILD AND THAT OTHER PARENT MUST BE ADDRESSED IN THE DECREE OF DIVORCE. THE PRO SE DOCKET IS HEARD ON FRIDAYS AT 1:30. YOU MUST SIGN UP IN THE DISTRICT CLERK’S OFFICE ON OR BEFORE 9:00 A.M. ON THE THURSDAY BEFORE YOU WANT TO HAVE YOUR CASE HEARD. REMEMBER THE PRO SE DOCKET FILLS UP FAST SO YOU SHOULD BE PREPARED TO SIGN UP SEVERAL WEEKS PRIOR TO THE DATE YOU WOULD LIKE THE DIVORCE HEARD. You will need to know the Cause Number (found at the top of your Petition, Waiver and Decree), so that the clerk can pull the file for you. Ask the clerk which Courtroom you will report to. At the time you sign, you must make sure that your spouse was given proper notice. The file must contain either the original signed and notarized Waiver of Citation, or if your spouse was served, the completed Return of Service (which would be completed by the process server), the newspaper affidavit or certified mail receipt in the file. If your spouse was served, the completed Return of Service must be file stamped with a date that is at least 10 days before the day you go to finalize your divorce is in the file MAKE SURE ALL FINAL PAPERWORK IS IN THE FILE WHEN YOU SIGN UP. At 1:30, go to the appropriate 387th District Court Courtroom and then, sit down and wait for the Judge to call your case. When it is your turn, the Judge will call your case by its Cause Number (the number at the top of your paperwork), and maybe by the parties’ names. At this time, stand up, and walk to the front of the Judge’s bench. * The Judge will swear you in (ask you to be truthful).
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The Judge may ask you to “proceed,” in which case you should be prepared to give your testimony. The Judge has an outline if you don’t know what to say. Be prepared to answer the Judge in a courteous, respectful, and honest manner.
After the Judge has finished hearing your testimony and reviewing your paperwork, he or she will sign your final Decree of Divorce and grant your divorce. Step 7. Copies You might consider asking the clerk to print a certified copy of your Final Decree of Divorce for you. The certified copy may be needed to prove that you are divorced, or to reflect your name change, or to record the transfer of real property. The clerk charges a fee for certified copies, approximately $1.00 per page. If you have child support ordered, you will be required to set up a child support account with the Fort Bend County Child Support Office. Your payments will be mailed to the State Disbursement Unit, PO Box 659791, San Antonio, Texas 78265-9791. Both state law and local rules require payments to be made through the child support registry. You can also file a Withholding Order to have support deducted from the party’s paycheck. That is a separate order. This is only a general outline of the steps involved in securing a divorce in the 387th District Court. This outline DOES NOT APPLY to the other courts. Remember the old advice: “If you don’t know the law, know a lawyer.” Good luck.
__________________________ Robert J. Kern Presiding Judge
_________________________ Brenda G. Mullinix Associate Judge
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