Navigating the Harris County (Houston) Family Courthouse to File a Pro Se Divorce – Part VI

The Uncontested Divorce Hearing

To reiterate: Before you head to the courthouse, make sure that you know to which courthouse you need to go by visiting http://www.justex.net/courts/family/familycourts.aspx.  The Harris County Family Courthouse is located at 1115 Congress, Houston, Texas 77002.  Some of the family court judges have, however, moved to the “new” civil courthouse at 201 Caroline, Houston, Texas 77002.  You do not want to spend time clearing security at the Family Courthouse, only to find out that you should be at the Civil Courthouse a block away.

The family courtrooms typically “open” at 8:00 a.m. for the uncontested docket.  Again, however, you will want to call the courthouse sometime before your hearing to ensure that court is open on that specific day.  You can find the court’s phone number by clicking on the appropriate court at http://www.justex.net/courts/family/familycourts.aspx.

When you arrive at the courtroom, you will sign in with the clerk (sitting next to the judge’s bench in the front of the courtroom) and “file” any paperwork that you haven’t already filed.  The clerk will keep the originals, file-stamp your two copies, and return the copies to you.  (Most of the clerks prefer for you to hand them a stack of originals and a stack of copies.  Don’t however, be surprised if you get the one clerk who wants them ordered differently.  Just continue to smile and reorder the documents.  Remember, even for lawyers, it’s called the practice of law. 

Once you’ve signed in and filed your documents, take a seat in the gallery and wait to be called.  The clerk will put all of the files in a pile for the judge.  Typically, the judge will go through the entire stack asking for appearances (think of roll call in grade school).  When your name is called, stand up and acknowledge the judge (Say something like “here” or “that’s me.”)  After the judge knows who is present, he/she will begin calling cases.  Some judges just dive right in and start calling cases.  Don’t panic!  Most of the judges are very friendly and will help you get through everything.  After all, this isn’t their first rodeo. 

The hearing itself is usually very short.  There is a list of about 20 questions, often called a “prove up script,” that you will need to be prepared to answer/read.  The judge may ask a few more questions after you’ve read the script, but if you have done all of your paperwork (dotted all the “I”s and crossed all the “T”s), it should be a fairly straightforward hearing.  If you’ve missed anything, the judge will tell you what it is and give you time to fix it.  Some things can be fixed in court with additional testimony or a form that is available in the courtroom.  Other things might require you to return at a later date.  Just remember to keep smiling and keep breathing.  Everything will be fine.  It just might take a bit longer than you planned.

Navigating the Harris County (Houston) Family Courthouse to File a Pro Se Divorce – Part V

Scheduling Your Uncontested Divorce Hearing

You may schedule your uncontested divorce hearing any day after sixty days (including weekends and holidays) from the date on which you filed your Original Petition (i.e.  if you file on January 1^st, you can set your hearing any day after March 3^rd).  Typically, uncontested divorce hearings are held Monday through Friday between 8 and 9 a.m.  You don’t have to schedule a hearing time; you merely have to show up and prove up your divorce. 

Before making the trek to the courthouse, however, you will still want to call the court clerk to make sure that the court will be available on your chosen day.  (The call goes something like: “Hi.  I’d like to schedule a hearing on the uncontested docket.  Is there an uncontested docket on March 3^rd?  Between 8 and 9 a.m.?  Thanks!”)  You can find the court’s phone number by clicking on the appropriate court at http://www.justex.net/courts/family/familycourts.aspx.  (FYI… The clerk wrote the court number at the top of your Original Petition.)

Navigating the Harris County (Houston) Family Courthouse to File a Pro Se Divorce – Part IV

Filing Your Waiver

If you and your soon to be ex-spouse have already agreed to everything, you may be tempted to try to file everything at once.  Don’t!  The Waiver of Citation cannot be signed or dated before the Original Petition is filed.  Thus, unless your soon to be ex-spouse is with you when you file the Petition, you cannot file a valid Waiver at the same time that you file your Petition.  The Waiver can, however, be signed, dated, and filed at any time after the Original Petition is filed. 

To file your Waiver, you will return to the basement of the Family Courthouse.  (I won’t repeat everything from the previous “Filing Your Petition” blog, so you may want to read that one first.)  This time, when you exit the elevator or stairwell, you will turn right into the open area just past the elevator bank and walk to the far wall, where you will see three windows next to a door, next to more windows (and the snack bar off in the distance).  The first window is the official “no-fee window,” where you will typically file your Waiver. 

If there is no one at the “no-fee window” (number 4), walk up and file your documents.  As with the Petition, you’ll want to have the original and two copies.  The clerk will keep the original, and will file-stamp your copies and give them back to you.

The system has recently been changed, and now you can allegedly file your documents at any window.  Thus, if there is a crowd at the “no-fee window,” you will want to take a number from the roll in front of the second window (despite the fact that the sign says numbers are only for copies).  The clerks will call out numbers, but if you’re concerned, the number display is on the far right wall, behind the glass of the third “attorneys” window. 

Filing All Other Documents

If you happen to like going to the courthouse, you can file all of your remaining documents at any time after you file your Original Petition and the Waiver.  If, however, you are lazy like most lawyers, you will likely want to take your papers with you to the courtroom at the time of your hearing.  Make sure that you have the original and two copies of each document, so that you can have file-stamped copies for your records.

Navigating the Harris County (Houston) Family Courthouse to File a Pro Se Divorce – Part III

Filing Your Petition

To start the divorce process, you must file an Original Petition.  Petitions are filed in the basement of the Harris County Family Courthouse, located at 1115 Congress, Houston, Texas 77002.    

There are two entrances to the Family Courthouse that both lead to the same elevators.  When you enter the Family Courthouse, you’ll have to go through security, which requires you to remove your shoes and any large metal items, including jewelry and belts.  Thus, like at the airport, you might consider dressing specifically for security, with slip-on shoes and few accessories.  Also like at the airport, the lines, especially first thing in the morning, can be long and slow, so leave sufficient time to clear security.

Once you’ve cleared security, you will round the corner to the elevator banks.  These are old, slow elevators that take forever no matter what time of day you are there.  You might consider taking the stairs down the one floor to the basement.  The stairwell door is on one end, beside the elevators.  You will have to go through two doors to reach the down staircase, so don’t give up. 

When you reach the basement, there are two ways to turn.  One way takes you to the snack bar; the other takes you to the “fee filing room.”   The “fee filing room” is the first door on the right just past the open space where you’ll see the lawyer’s assistance cubicle and the “no-fee window.”

When you enter the “fee filing room,” take a number from the holder to the right, then take a seat and wait for your number to be called.  When your number is called, you will give your Original Petition (plus two copies) and the filing fee to the clerk.  The clerk will keep the original, file-stamp your two copies, write the case and court number in the caption at the top of the pages, and give you back the two file-stamped copies and a receipt.  The clock is now running on your sixty-day waiting period. 

You will likely be tempted to ask the clerk a lot of questions.  Unfortunately, the clerk is not a lawyer and is not allowed to answer most of your questions.  It never hurts to ask, but don’t get frustrated if she can’t answer.

Navigating the Harris County (Houston) Family Courthouse to File a Pro Se Divorce – Part II

Finding where to go

You’ll be visiting the courthouse at least three times during this process.  Thus, before you head to the courthouse, make sure that you know to which courthouse you need to go by visiting http://www.justex.net/courts/family/familycourts.aspx.  The Harris County Family Courthouse, where you’ll file most of your documents, is located at 1115 Congress, Houston, Texas 77002.  Some of the family court judges have, however, moved to the “new” civil courthouse at 201 Caroline, Houston, Texas 77002.  So, where you need to go on any given day depends on what you need to do.

If you are not familiar with the downtown courthouse district, this can be a little confusing.  The courthouse district is created by the intersections of four streets: San Jacinto, Franklin, Caroline, and Congress.  There are three very new, very tall courthouses around a central block containing the new glass jury assembly building.  The fourth side of the square is a very short, very old, very ugly building.  That short, old, ugly courthouse is the Family Courthouse.  The courthouse directly across the square from the Family Courthouse is the Civil Courthouse.  (The other two courthouses are the Juvenile and Criminal courts.)

There are a couple of parking garages behind the newer courthouses and sometime you can get lucky with a metered street space, but don’t hold your breath.  Be sure to leave plenty of time to find parking.  And…be sure to feed the meter properly. Your visit might take a bit longer than you expect.  Better safe, than sorry!

Navigating the Harris County (Houston) Family Courthouse to File a Pro Se Divorce

I remember the first time that I had to file a divorce petition in the Harris County Family Courthouse like it was yesterday.  After spending three years in law school, passing the Texas bar exam, and practicing law for a number of years at a downtown law firm, navigating the family court system was probably the scariest – and hardest – thing I had ever done.  No matter how prepared I thought I was, when I stepped off the elevator in the basement, I was sunk. 

So, I shouldn’t be surprised that non-attorneys attempting to file their own divorces face this same task with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.  They are secure in the knowledge that they can do this, but terrified by the mixed messages they receive from all directions.  To help alleviate some of those fears, I’m posting a series of articles on how to navigate the courthouse. 

As a simple Google search has already told you, an uncontested Texas divorce is (allegedly) simple and easy, and can be accomplished without the aid of a lawyer.  This is, for the most part, true.  For example, you likely already know that you need to file a Petition for Divorce, a Waiver of Citation, and a Final Divorce Decree that includes a Maritime Settlement Agreement, a Parenting Plan, and if you have children, a Standard Possession Order and Order Withholding from Earnings for Child Support.  What you may not know is that you also need to file two child support forms, the Austin Form (Information on Suit Affecting the Family Relationship) and an untitled child support form from the Attorney General’s office, both of which are available in your assigned courtroom.  The rest of the documents are available in books (at the local law library or bookstore), online, and/or in the courtroom.  But that’s a topic for another blog.  After all, if I gave away all of our secrets, I might get disbarred….  

This blog assumes that you already have all of the necessary paperwork and just need help getting it filed.  So, if you’re ready to tackle the courthouse, come back tomorrow and good luck!