When you decided to marry your spouse, you probably planned for a life-long marriage. Even if you are heading for a divorce, you may not feel animosity toward your spouse. Fortunately, Texas law does not require you to assign blame to dissolve a marriage.  

If your marriage is not working, you may know exactly why. On the other hand, you may have a general sense that there is nothing you can do to fix your union. Either way, you should know about Texas’s no-fault divorce statute. 

No-fault divorce  

Gone are the days when you had to show fault to end a marriage. If you want to divorce your spouse, you only must indicate that your marriage has become insupportable. That is, because of personality conflicts or discord, your union is beyond repair. Testifying to such is likely sufficient to secure a divorce in the Lone Star State. 

Filing for a no-fault divorce has some advantages. For example, you may reduce the friction between you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse. This may make reaching an acceptable agreement easier. Furthermore, no-fault divorces are often cheaper than fault-based ones. 

Fault-assigned divorce  

Not all divorcing spouses remain amicable. Sometimes, husbands and wives behave in ways that ruin the marriage. If you want to blame your spouse for your divorce, Texas law allows you to do so. Cruelty, abandonment and adultery are some common fault-based reasons to divorce, although there are others. 

You should realize, though, that mere testimony is usually insufficient to obtain a fault-assigned divorce. Instead, you must provide evidence that proves your partner is to blame for the end of the marriage. Of course, proving fault may be both time consuming and expensive. 

If you are planning to divorce your spouse, you have some decisions to make. By understanding the difference between no-fault and fault-assigned divorce, you can choose the best path forward.