I recently had a potential new client ask me how long they have to wait before the court can enter a divorce decree. As a Dallas divorce attorney, I get this question a good bit. Because of the frequency I receive this questions, I felt it would be a good idea to post the basis of Texas family law jurisdiction and the "waiting period" required before a court can enter a divorce decree.
A suit for divorce must be filed in a county where the suit can be properly maintained. Under the Texas Family Code, a suit for divorce is proper in the county where the parties have lived for the past 90 days. In addition to the 90 day requirement, at least one of the parties has to have been a resident of Texas for the past 6 months. Note that only one party to the divorce is required to meet the 6 month and 90 day residency requirements in order to bring a suit for divorce.
Once the residency requirements are met, the next step is to file a suit for divorce in the appropriate county. Once the suit is on file for at least 60 days, the court can enter a final decree of divorce.
In sum, assuming the residency requirements are satisfied, the "quickest" someone can get a divorce in Texas is 60 days after they have filed their suit for divorce.