How To Use Sample Forms

1.
The manual and sample forms are intended to be used as references for filing divorce yourself. This should not be a substitute for the advice of an attorney if you should encounter questions along the way.
2.
Any portion of the form which you see in italics is considered an instruction and/or explanation. If you wish to use these sample forms for filing your divorce, it will be necessary for you to remove all italic portions on the form and fill in the necessary information and/or make the necessary modifications in the gray highlighted areas.
3.
Areas where information is needed from you are highlighted in gray. To remove highlights please click on the highlighted portion on the form, locate the highlight toolbar in Word/Wordperfect and select "none."
4.
Before submitting any paperwork, please contact the District Clerk in the county where you are filing to ensure that there are no additional filing requirements such as font style/size, spacing, and/or margin requirements.
5.
As legislative updates may sometimes be made to Texas law before updates are made to the documents and materials on this site, please be sure to consult the Texas Family Code Ch. 6: Suit for Dissolution of Marriage before submitting your forms.

 




Plaintiff’s Original Petition and Application of Temporary Orders – This is the first filing and the form used to initiate divorce proceedings. Use this Petition if you wish to make an application for Temporary Orders. Please note, it will be necessary to attend a hearing on Temporary orders and notify your spouse of such hearing.

PDF Plaintiff’s Original Petition and Application of Temporary Orders

Plaintiff’s Original Petition – Use this form to initiate the divorce case. This form should be used if you do not wish to file an Application of Temporary Orders.

PDF Plaintiff’s Original Petition

Affidavit of Inability to Pay Costs – This form can be used if you are unable to pay Court fees and costs. It must be signed, notarized and accepted by the judge. Once accepted, court fees and costs will be waived.

PDF Affidavit of Inability to Pay Costs

Waiver of Citation Samples #1 – This form, or the one below, can be used if your spouses wishes to accept notice of the Petition without service of the citation and petition by a sheriff, constable, or private process server. You may choose which citation which best fits your situation.

PDF Waiver of Citation Samples #1

Waiver of Citation Samples #2 – This form, or the one above, can be used if your spouses wishes to accept notice of the Petition without service of the citation and petition by a sheriff, constable, or private process server. You may choose which citation which best fits your situation.

PDF Waiver of Citation Samples #2

Notice of Hearing for Temporary Orders – This form notifies your spouse of hearings on Temporary Orders.

PDF Notice of Hearing for Temporary Order

Temporary Order - While a suit for dissolution of a marriage is pending and on the motion of a party or on the court's own motion after notice and hearing, the court may render an appropriate order, including the granting of a temporary injunction for the preservation of the property and protection of the parties as deemed necessary and equitable and including an order directed to one or both parties.

PDF Temporary Order

lease see Texas Family Code § 6.502 for various reasons
a party may request Temporary Orders. Parenting Plan – A temporary or final court order that sets out the rights and duties of parents in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship and includes provisions relating to conservatorship, possession of and access to a child, and child support, and a dispute resolution process to minimize future disputes.

PDF Parenting Plan

Texas Family Code §153.601Settlement Agreement - A marital separation agreement is a written contract dividing your property, spelling out your rights, and settling problems such as alimony and custody. A marital separation agreement may be drawn before or after you have filed for divorce. It can be incorporated into your Divorce Decree and Final Judgment if presented to the Judge but it is not a required filing in Texas.

PDF Settlement Agreement

Order/Notice to Withhold Income for Child Support – This is an Order issued by the Court that directs and employer to withhold wages for child support. An employer must begin withholding for child support no later than the first pay period that occurs after the date the Order/Notice is received.

PDF Notice/Order to Withhold Income for Child Support

Employer's Order to Withhold Earnings for Spousal Maintenance – This is an order issued by the Court to the Employer directing employer to withhold wages for Spousal maintenance.

PDF Employer's Order to Withhold Earnings for Spousal Maintenance

Final Decree of Divorce - the legally binding court order that declares that your marriage is officially over. The action of the judge signing and entering this judgment represents the end of the divorce process and makes official the terms of any documented agreements reached by the spouses in the course of the divorce.

PDF Final Decree of Divorce