Advice on Divorce - Euless,TX

I don't have advice for you because I've never been through it, but I just wanted to say good luck and hang in there.

And...

Don't you just love unwarranted advice?? Cheryl, pipe down. I'm pretty sure that she's thought this through enough.

R., I want to applaud you for co-parenting with your soon to be ex-husband, and not dragging your kid through a horrible, drawn out, emotional debacle. Far too many parents put their emotions first and don't think about the consequences that the kids have to deal with.

My thoughts are with you and your family, take care!

Hi R., it would be nice (and cheap) to use a mediator. But before you do, you REALLY should go to a consult with an attorney alone and find out exactly what your rights/responsibities ARE before agreeing to something else!
The $300 you pay for the consult (some will do it for free, but you get what you pay for there) will be WELL worth it. Then you can take what you KNOW to be true to the table at a mediator.

Good luck!

My ex and I used a mediator and it was considerably cheaper and easier than using lawyers and we got to put in place what we really wanted. We spent a total of 4 hours with the mediator and it cost about $1000 - 1500. We had a house.

After we had an agreement written up by the mediator, then we were required to have it read by and rewritten by a lawyer so that the court would accept it (this is in MN). That cost another $1500 because we used ONE lawyer, not two.

We got to completely define our parenting plan, 50/50 arrangement, and neither of us pays "support" to the other. What we do for our daughter's financial needs is that we have a joint checking account that we each contribute to monthly based on our incomes, then we each pay her expenses (lessons, daycare, clothing, etc.) from that account.

I strongly recommend using a mediator. Lawyers make more money the more adversity they create.

If you already have an agreement, then I would definitely go the mediation route. I actually did my divorce myself using the forms the county provides but unless you're REALLY familiar with the way TX divorce code is written, I wouldn't advise it.

the less money you give to lawyers, the more you have for your kids.

Try a mediator!
You seem to have an amicable relationship so that might be the way to go.

Please remember you do not have to agree on anything in front of the mediator if you feel pressured. It can be uncomfortable if your ex decides to pull anything with visitations.You don't have to give him 50/50 custody. If they do give him that much time you won't get any child support either just so you're prepared. Remember if you don't feel comfortable disagree and say you will get an attorney. How long were you with your ex?