Title FA, Family Code

Sec. 6.005. ABANDONMENT. The court may grant a divorce in favor of one spouse if the other spouse: (1) left the complaining spouse with the intention of abandonment; and (2) remained away for at least one year. Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, Sec. 1, eff. April 17, 1997.

Sec. 6.006. LIVING APART. The court may grant a divorce in favor of either spouse if the spouses have lived apart without cohabitation for at least three years. Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, Sec. 1, eff. April 17, 1997.

Sec. 6.007. CONFINEMENT IN MENTAL HOSPITAL. The court may grant a divorce in favor of one spouse if at the time the suit is filed: (1) the other spouse has been confined in a state mental hospital or private mental hospital, as defined in Section 571.003, Health and Safety Code, …

Sec. 6.008. DEFENSES. (a) The defenses to a suit for divorce of recrimination and adultery are abolished. (b) Condonation is a defense to a suit for divorce only if the court finds that there is a reasonable expectation of reconciliation. Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, Sec…

Sec. 6.102. ANNULMENT OF MARRIAGE OF PERSON UNDER AGE 18. (a) The court may grant an annulment of a marriage of a person 16 years of age or older but under 18 years of age that occurred without parental consent or without a court order as provided by Subchapters B and E, Chapter …

Sec. 6.103. UNDERAGE ANNULMENT BARRED BY ADULTHOOD. A suit to annul a marriage may not be filed under Section 6.102 by a parent, managing conservator, or guardian of a person after the 18th birthday of the person. Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, Sec. 1, eff. April 17, 1997.…

Sec. 6.104. DISCRETIONARY ANNULMENT OF UNDERAGE MARRIAGE. (a) An annulment under Section 6.102 of a marriage may be granted at the discretion of the court sitting without a jury. (b) In exercising its discretion, the court shall consider the pertinent facts concerning the welfare…

Sec. 6.105. UNDER INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL OR NARCOTICS. The court may grant an annulment of a marriage to a party to the marriage if: (1) at the time of the marriage the petitioner was under the influence of alcoholic beverages or narcotics and as a result did not have the capacity …

Sec. 6.106. IMPOTENCY. The court may grant an annulment of a marriage to a party to the marriage if: (1) either party, for physical or mental reasons, was permanently impotent at the time of the marriage; (2) the petitioner did not know of the impotency at the time of the marriag…

Sec. 6.107. FRAUD, DURESS, OR FORCE. The court may grant an annulment of a marriage to a party to the marriage if: (1) the other party used fraud, duress, or force to induce the petitioner to enter into the marriage; and (2) the petitioner has not voluntarily cohabited with the o…

Sec. 6.108. MENTAL INCAPACITY. (a) The court may grant an annulment of a marriage to a party to the marriage on the suit of the party or the party's guardian or next friend, if the court finds it to be in the party's best interest to be represented by a guardian or next friend, i…

Sec. 6.109. CONCEALED DIVORCE. (a) The court may grant an annulment of a marriage to a party to the marriage if: (1) the other party was divorced from a third party within the 30-day period preceding the date of the marriage ceremony; (2) at the time of the marriage ceremony the …

Sec. 6.110. MARRIAGE LESS THAN 72 HOURS AFTER ISSUANCE OF LICENSE. (a) The court may grant an annulment of a marriage to a party to the marriage if the marriage ceremony took place in violation of Section 2.204 during the 72-hour period immediately following the issuance of the m…

Sec. 6.111. DEATH OF PARTY TO VOIDABLE MARRIAGE. Except as provided by Subchapter C, Chapter 123, Estates Code, a marriage subject to annulment may not be challenged in a proceeding instituted after the death of either party to the marriage. Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, …

Sec. 6.201. CONSANGUINITY. A marriage is void if one party to the marriage is related to the other as: (1) an ancestor or descendant, by blood or adoption; (2) a brother or sister, of the whole or half blood or by adoption; (3) a parent's brother or sister, of the whole or half b…

Sec. 6.202. MARRIAGE DURING EXISTENCE OF PRIOR MARRIAGE. (a) A marriage is void if entered into when either party has an existing marriage to another person that has not been dissolved by legal action or terminated by the death of the other spouse. (b) The later marriage that is …

Sec. 6.203. CERTAIN VOID MARRIAGES VALIDATED. Except for a marriage that would have been void under Section 6.201, a marriage that was entered into before January 1, 1970, in violation of the prohibitions of Article 496, Penal Code of Texas, 1925, is validated from the date the m…

Sec. 6.204. RECOGNITION OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE OR CIVIL UNION. (a) In this section, "civil union" means any relationship status other than marriage that: (1) is intended as an alternative to marriage or applies primarily to cohabitating persons; and (2) grants to the parties of the…

Sec. 6.205. MARRIAGE TO MINOR. A marriage is void if either party to the marriage is younger than 18 years of age, unless a court order removing the disabilities of minority of the party for general purposes has been obtained in this state or in another state. Added by Acts 2005,…

Sec. 6.206. MARRIAGE TO STEPCHILD OR STEPPARENT. A marriage is void if a party is a current or former stepchild or stepparent of the other party. Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 268 (S.B. 6), Sec. 4.17, eff. September 1, 2005. SUBCHAPTER D. JURISDICTION, VENUE, AND RESIDENCE Q…

Sec. 6.301. GENERAL RESIDENCY RULE FOR DIVORCE SUIT. A suit for divorce may not be maintained in this state unless at the time the suit is filed either the petitioner or the respondent has been: (1) a domiciliary of this state for the preceding six-month period; and (2) a residen…

Sec. 6.302. SUIT FOR DIVORCE BY NONRESIDENT SPOUSE. If one spouse has been a domiciliary of this state for at least the last six months, a spouse domiciled in another state or nation may file a suit for divorce in the county in which the domiciliary spouse resides at the time the…

Sec. 6.303. ABSENCE ON PUBLIC SERVICE. Time spent by a Texas domiciliary outside this state or outside the county of residence of the domiciliary while in the service of the armed forces or other service of the United States or of this state, or while accompanying the domiciliary…

Sec. 6.304. ARMED FORCES PERSONNEL NOT PREVIOUSLY RESIDENTS. A person not previously a resident of this state who is serving in the armed forces of the United States and has been stationed at one or more military installations in this state for at least the last six months and at…

Sec. 6.305. ACQUIRING JURISDICTION OVER NONRESIDENT RESPONDENT. (a) If the petitioner in a suit for dissolution of a marriage is a resident or a domiciliary of this state at the time the suit for dissolution is filed, the court may exercise personal jurisdiction over the responde…

Sec. 6.306. JURISDICTION TO ANNUL MARRIAGE. (a) A suit for annulment of a marriage may be maintained in this state only if the parties were married in this state or if either party is domiciled in this state. (b) A suit for annulment is a suit in rem, affecting the status of the …

Sec. 6.307. JURISDICTION TO DECLARE MARRIAGE VOID. (a) Either party to a marriage made void by this chapter may sue to have the marriage declared void, or the court may declare the marriage void in a collateral proceeding. (b) The court may declare a marriage void only if: (1) th…

Sec. 6.308. EXERCISING PARTIAL JURISDICTION. (a) A court in which a suit for dissolution of a marriage is filed may exercise its jurisdiction over those portions of the suit for which it has authority. (b) The court's authority to resolve the issues in controversy between the par…

Sec. 6.401. CAPTION. (a) Pleadings in a suit for divorce or annulment shall be styled "In the Matter of the Marriage of __________ and __________." (b) Pleadings in a suit to declare a marriage void shall be styled "A Suit To Declare Void the Marriage of __________ and __________…

Sec. 6.402. PLEADINGS. (a) A petition in a suit for dissolution of a marriage is sufficient without the necessity of specifying the underlying evidentiary facts if the petition alleges the grounds relied on substantially in the language of the statute. (b) Allegations of grounds …

Sec. 6.403. ANSWER. The respondent in a suit for dissolution of a marriage is not required to answer on oath or affirmation. Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, Sec. 1, eff. April 17, 1997.

Sec. 6.4035. WAIVER OF SERVICE. (a) A party to a suit for the dissolution of a marriage may waive the issuance or service of process after the suit is filed by filing with the clerk of the court in which the suit is filed the waiver of the party acknowledging receipt of a copy of…

Sec. 6.404. INFORMATION REGARDING PROTECTIVE ORDERS. At any time while a suit for dissolution of a marriage is pending, if the court believes, on the basis of any information received by the court, that a party to the suit or a member of the party's family or household may be a v…

Sec. 6.405. PROTECTIVE ORDER AND RELATED ORDERS. (a) The petition in a suit for dissolution of a marriage must state whether, in regard to a party to the suit or a child of a party to the suit: (1) there is in effect: (A) a protective order under Title 4; (B) a protective order u…

Sec. 6.406. MANDATORY JOINDER OF SUIT AFFECTING PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP. (a) The petition in a suit for dissolution of a marriage shall state whether there are children born or adopted of the marriage who are under 18 years of age or who are otherwise entitled to support as pro…

Sec. 6.407. TRANSFER OF SUIT AFFECTING PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP TO DIVORCE COURT. (a) If a suit affecting the parent-child relationship is pending at the time the suit for dissolution of a marriage is filed, the suit affecting the parent-child relationship shall be transferred a…

Sec. 6.408. SERVICE OF CITATION. Citation on the filing of an original petition in a suit for dissolution of a marriage shall be issued and served as in other civil cases. Citation may also be served on any other person who has or who may assert an interest in the suit for dissol…

Sec. 6.409. CITATION BY PUBLICATION. (a) Citation in a suit for dissolution of a marriage may be by publication as in other civil cases, except that notice shall be published one time only. (b) The notice shall be sufficient if given in substantially the following form: "STATE OF…

Sec. 6.410. REPORT TO ACCOMPANY PETITION. At the time a petition for divorce or annulment of a marriage is filed, the petitioner shall also file a completed report that may be used by the district clerk, at the time the petition is granted, to comply with Section 194.002, Health …

Sec. 6.411. CONFIDENTIALITY OF PLEADINGS. (a) This section applies only in a county with a population of 3.4 million or more. (b) Except as otherwise provided by law, all pleadings and other documents filed with the court in a suit for dissolution of a marriage are confidential, …

Sec. 6.501. TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER. (a) After the filing of a suit for dissolution of a marriage, on the motion of a party or on the court's own motion, the court may grant a temporary restraining order without notice to the adverse party for the preservation of the property…

Sec. 6.502. TEMPORARY INJUNCTION AND OTHER TEMPORARY ORDERS. (a) 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 tempor…

Sec. 6.503. AFFIDAVIT, VERIFIED PLEADING, AND BOND NOT REQUIRED. (a) A temporary restraining order or temporary injunction under this subchapter: (1) may be granted without an affidavit or a verified pleading stating specific facts showing that immediate and irreparable injury, l…

Sec. 6.504. PROTECTIVE ORDERS. On the motion of a party to a suit for dissolution of a marriage, the court may render a protective order as provided by Subtitle B, Title 4. Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, Sec. 1, eff. April 17, 1997. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 119…

Sec. 6.505. COUNSELING. (a) While a divorce suit is pending, the court may direct the parties to counsel with a person named by the court. (b) The person named by the court to counsel the parties shall submit a written report to the court and to the parties before the final heari…

Sec. 6.506. CONTEMPT. The violation of a temporary restraining order, temporary injunction, or other temporary order issued under this subchapter is punishable as contempt. Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, Sec. 1, eff. April 17, 1997.