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Uncontested divorce in Texas with no children - do we have to wait 61 days to finalize?

Anonymous Oct 20, 2012 Divorce 3 views 3 answers

My husband and I are getting divorced in Harris County. There are no children of the marriage. The divorce is uncontested. Do we have to wait 61 days to finalize the divorce, or is there any way to bypass the waiting period?

Attorney Answers

M Gunn

M Gunn · Jun 15, 2026

Well, there is ONE exemption--it's just very limited in scope and hopefully doesn't apply in your case. If the judge makes a specific type of family violence finding, the 60 days can be waived. It takes a showing that the person who did not file for divorce (who's called the respondent), either has an active protective order due to family violence against the petitioner or another member of the household, or that he or she has a conviction or deferred adjudication probation judgement for a family violence offense. Other than that, you really are out of luck on this, no matter how good a lawyer you have or what you claim to the court--sorry.

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Fran Brochstein

Fran Brochstein · Jun 15, 2026

You have to wait. There is no way to bypass the waiting period. You can read the TX Family Code on-line. There is no exemption to the waiting period. Good question - I haven't seen this one in quite awhile.

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Dawn Renken

Dawn Renken · Jun 15, 2026

Uncontested or contested divorces, where there is no issue of violence have a minimum statutory waiting period of 60 days before you can finalize. So the short answer is yes - you have to wait 61 days.

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