A stipulated divorce in Texas—known locally as an "agreed divorce"—is an uncontested case where both spouses sign a written settlement resolving property, debt, support, and children. Texas requires a 60-day waiting period under Tex. Fam. Code § 6.702, six months of state residency, and a filing fee of roughly $300–$365 in 2026.
Key Facts: Stipulated Divorce in Texas (2026)
| Requirement | Texas Rule | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Filing Fee | ~$300–$365 (Harris County: $350 without children, $365 with children; Travis County: $350 base) | Set by county district clerk |
| Waiting Period | 60 days minimum after the petition is filed | Tex. Fam. Code § 6.702 |
| Residency Requirement | 6 months domiciled in Texas + 90 days in the filing county | Tex. Fam. Code § 6.301 |
| Grounds | No-fault (insupportability) or 6 fault grounds | Tex. Fam. Code § 6.001 |
| Property Division Type | Community property, divided "just and right" (not automatically 50/50) | Tex. Fam. Code § 7.001 |
As of August 2026. Verify filing fees with your local district clerk, because each of Texas's 254 counties sets its own surcharges.
What Is a Stipulated Divorce in Texas?
A stipulated divorce in Texas is an uncontested case in which both spouses agree on every issue and file a signed written settlement, so no trial is needed. Texas statutes call this an "agreed divorce," and the governing agreement is authorized by Tex. Fam. Code § 7.006. When a court finds the terms "just and right," the agreement binds the court.
The word "stipulated" comes from civil litigation, where a stipulation is a binding agreement between parties on a fact or outcome. Texas courts and clerks use "agreed divorce" instead, but the concept is identical: a consent divorce built on a mutual divorce agreement rather than a judge's contested ruling. Other states use "settled divorce" or "consent divorce" for the same path. In every version, both spouses sign, and the court reviews the settlement for fairness before entering the final decree. Roughly 90% of all U.S. divorces settle without a full trial, and an agreed divorce simply formalizes that reality from the start, saving months of litigation and thousands of dollars in attorney fees.
How an Agreed Divorce Differs From a Contested One
An agreed divorce differs from a contested divorce because the spouses resolve all disputes privately before asking the court to sign, while a contested divorce leaves unresolved issues for a judge to decide. This distinction controls both timeline and cost, as the table below shows.
| Feature | Agreed (Stipulated) Divorce | Contested Divorce |
|---|---|---|
| Typical timeline | 61 days to 3 months | 6 months to 2+ years |
| Total typical cost | $300–$1,500 | $15,000–$23,500+ |
| Court appearances | Often 1 brief "prove-up" hearing | Multiple hearings + trial |
| Attorney involvement | Optional or one drafting attorney | Two attorneys, ongoing |
| Control over outcome | Spouses decide all terms | Judge decides disputed terms |
The cost gap is the strongest reason spouses pursue a stipulated divorce. A national contested divorce averages $15,000–$23,500 per person, while an uncontested Texas divorce can close for the filing fee alone if the couple uses the state's free forms. Before deciding, a personalized divorce roadmap can help you confirm whether your situation truly qualifies as uncontested.
Do You Meet Texas Residency Requirements?
Texas requires at least one spouse to be domiciled in Texas for six months and to have lived in the filing county for 90 days before filing, under Tex. Fam. Code § 6.301. Either spouse can satisfy this jurisdictional test, so if your spouse meets both thresholds, you may file even if you recently moved.
The six-month domicile requirement protects Texas courts from becoming a "divorce mill" for out-of-state couples, and it is jurisdictional, meaning a court cannot grant your divorce without it. Domicile means physical presence plus intent to remain, so a Texas driver's license, voter registration, and utility bills all support the claim. The 90-day county requirement determines venue, which is simply the correct county for filing. If spouses live in different Texas counties, either county is proper as long as one spouse has lived there for 90 days. Military members stationed outside Texas but who claim Texas as their home of record generally keep residency under Tex. Fam. Code § 6.303, which counts time at a military installation toward both the state and county requirements. Missing residency is the single most common reason clerks reject an otherwise clean agreed-divorce petition.
Grounds: Why Insupportability Powers Most Agreed Divorces
Most stipulated divorces in Texas are filed on the no-fault ground of "insupportability" under Tex. Fam. Code § 6.001, which requires only that discord or conflict of personalities has destroyed the marriage with no reasonable expectation of reconciliation. No spouse must prove wrongdoing, which keeps the case cooperative and private.
Texas recognizes seven grounds for divorce total: one no-fault ground and six fault grounds—cruelty, adultery, felony conviction, abandonment, living apart for three years, and confinement in a mental hospital. Fault grounds appear in Tex. Fam. Code §§ 6.002–6.007. In an agreed divorce, spouses almost always choose insupportability because alleging fault invites a contested fight over evidence, and fault must be proven, not merely claimed. A 2026 Texas appeals court decision confirmed that a trial court can grant a divorce solely on insupportability even when adultery evidence exists, underscoring how central no-fault has become. Choosing insupportability does not waive property rights; spouses still divide everything through their written mutual divorce agreement. Fault matters only if a spouse wants a larger property share or spousal maintenance, which defeats the purpose of a consent divorce. Despite 2025 legislative debate, no-fault divorce remains fully legal in Texas in 2026.
The 60-Day Waiting Period and Realistic Timeline
Texas law bars a court from granting any divorce before the 60th day after the Original Petition is filed, under Tex. Fam. Code § 6.702. This mandatory cooling-off period means the fastest possible stipulated divorce takes 61 days, and most agreed cases finalize within 61 to 90 days.
The 60-day clock starts on the filing date, not the date your spouse is served or signs a waiver. During this window, spouses finalize their settlement, prepare the Final Decree of Divorce, and schedule a brief prove-up hearing. The waiting period is waived only in narrow family-violence circumstances: when the respondent has a family-violence conviction or deferred adjudication against the petitioner or a household member, or when an active protective order exists. If domestic violence is a factor in your case, a personalized divorce roadmap routes you to safety resources first, including the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. For everyone else, the 60 days is unavoidable, so filing early and completing paperwork during the wait is the single best way to keep a settled divorce on the fastest track.
What Extends the Timeline
Even an agreed divorce can stretch past 90 days when court dockets are congested, when a spouse delays signing the waiver of service, or when a judge requires corrections to the decree. Counties with heavy caseloads, such as Harris and Dallas, may take several weeks just to schedule a prove-up. Retirement account divisions requiring a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) frequently add 30 to 90 days after the decree, because a separate order must be drafted and sent to the plan administrator. Planning for these realities keeps expectations grounded.
What a Texas Agreed Divorce Costs in 2026
A stipulated divorce in Texas costs about $300–$365 in court filing fees in 2026, with total costs ranging from the filing fee alone (using free state forms) up to roughly $1,500 when a single attorney drafts the paperwork. Contested divorces, by contrast, average $15,000–$23,500 per spouse nationally.
Filing fees vary by county because each district clerk adds its own surcharges on top of the base civil filing fee. Harris County charges $350 for a divorce without children and $365 with children as of July 2026, while Travis County lists a $350 base fee plus payment surcharges. Mandatory add-ons commonly include a $20 court facility fee, $20 courthouse security fee, $10 county jury fee, and a law library fee. The table below breaks down the typical cost components.
| Cost Component | Typical 2026 Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| District clerk filing fee | $300–$365 | Varies by county |
| Issuance/service of process | $0–$150 | $0 if spouse signs a Waiver of Service |
| Free state agreed-divorce forms | $0 | Available via TexasLawHelp.org |
| Single drafting attorney (flat fee) | $500–$1,500 | Optional for a clean agreed case |
| QDRO for retirement split | $300–$750 | Only if dividing a 401(k)/pension |
As of August 2026. Verify with your local clerk. If you cannot afford the fee, Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145 lets you file a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs, and courts routinely grant waivers to applicants receiving government benefits or earning below 125% of the federal poverty level. To estimate your own numbers, try the divorce cost estimator for Texas.
Dividing Property in a Community Property State
Texas is one of nine community property states, so all assets and debts acquired during the marriage are presumed jointly owned and are divided in a "just and right" manner under Tex. Fam. Code § 7.001. "Just and right" does not mean automatic 50/50; a court may award an unequal share based on the circumstances, though agreed divorces usually split near evenly.
Under Tex. Fam. Code § 3.002, community property is everything either spouse acquires during marriage except separate property. Separate property—defined in Tex. Fam. Code § 3.001—includes assets owned before marriage, plus gifts and inheritances received during the marriage, and it is not divided. The key advantage of a stipulated divorce is that spouses design their own split through a mutual divorce agreement rather than accepting a judge's "just and right" determination. Under Tex. Fam. Code § 7.006, a written agreement dividing property, debts, and maintenance is binding on the court once it is found just and right. This gives couples control over who keeps the house, how retirement accounts split, and how to handle jointly titled vehicles. Understanding community property rules before you negotiate protects you from unknowingly waiving separate-property claims, which cannot be recovered after the decree is signed.
Debts Are Divided Too
Community debts—credit cards, auto loans, and mortgages incurred during the marriage—are divided alongside assets in a settled divorce. A critical caveat: the divorce decree binds the spouses to each other, but it does not bind outside creditors. If your ex fails to pay a joint debt the decree assigns to them, the creditor can still pursue you. Refinancing joint loans into one name and closing joint accounts before finalizing protects your credit far better than the decree language alone.
Children: Custody, Conservatorship, and Support in an Agreed Divorce
When minor children are involved, a Texas agreed divorce must include a parenting plan addressing conservatorship, possession and access, and child support, and the court reviews it against the child's best interest under Tex. Fam. Code § 153.002. Even fully agreed terms must meet this standard before a judge signs the decree.
Texas uses the term "conservatorship" instead of "custody." Most agreed divorces name both parents Joint Managing Conservators, with one parent designated to determine the child's primary residence. The possession schedule usually follows the Standard Possession Order in Tex. Fam. Code § 153.312, though parents can agree to a customized schedule. Child support follows statutory guidelines in Tex. Fam. Code § 154.125: 20% of net monthly resources for one child, 25% for two, 30% for three, rising by 5% per additional child. Effective September 1, 2025, the cap on net monthly resources rose from $9,200 to $11,700, which can add $500 to $1,000 per month in support for higher earners. Estimate your number with the Texas child support calculator. Even in a consent divorce, a judge can reject a support figure that falls below guideline levels without adequate justification.
Step-by-Step: How to File a Stipulated (Agreed) Divorce in Texas
Filing an agreed divorce in Texas follows six core steps, from confirming residency to attending a short prove-up hearing after the 60-day wait. The entire process can be completed with free state forms and, for most uncontested cases, a single brief court appearance.
- Confirm residency. Verify one spouse meets the 6-month state and 90-day county thresholds under Tex. Fam. Code § 6.301.
- File the Original Petition for Divorce. Submit it to the district clerk with the filing fee (~$300–$365) or a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment. The 60-day clock starts here.
- Handle service. The other spouse signs a Waiver of Service (notarized after the petition is filed) to avoid formal service costs, or is served by a constable or process server.
- Draft the settlement and Final Decree. Put every agreed term—property, debts, conservatorship, support—into the Final Decree of Divorce, the controlling document both spouses sign.
- Wait 60 days. Use the cooling-off period to finalize paperwork and, if needed, prepare a QDRO for retirement accounts.
- Attend the prove-up hearing. After day 60, the petitioner appears briefly (in some counties by affidavit or Zoom) to testify that the terms are agreed, and the judge signs the decree.
Free, court-approved agreed-divorce forms are available through TexasLawHelp.org, a service of the Texas Legal Services Center. For cases with significant assets, retirement accounts, or a business, having a Texas divorce attorney review the decree before signing prevents costly drafting errors that are difficult to reverse once the judge signs.
2025–2026 Texas Family Law Changes That Affect Agreed Divorces
Texas enacted several 2025 Family Code changes—effective September 1, 2025—that directly affect agreed divorces, most notably raising the child support cap from $9,200 to $11,700 in net monthly resources and tightening the property reimbursement statute. No-fault divorce remains fully legal in 2026 despite legislative debate.
The reimbursement changes matter for settled divorces because claims to be repaid for one estate's contributions to another (for example, using separate funds to pay down a community mortgage) now require more detailed proof and face tighter deadlines. Spouses negotiating a mutual divorce agreement should document these contributions carefully. House Bill 2350 removed the dedicated stepparent standing provision formerly at Section 102.003(a)(11), narrowing who can intervene in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship. Protective orders in divorce cases now extend until two years after the final decree is signed, and starting January 1, 2026, custody evaluators must complete at least three hours of training on children with intellectual or developmental disabilities. None of these changes block an agreed divorce, but they reshape the details couples must address in their paperwork.
When an Agreed Divorce Is the Wrong Choice
An agreed divorce is the wrong choice when there is a significant power imbalance, hidden assets, domestic violence, or genuine disagreement on major issues, because the process assumes both spouses negotiate freely and disclose fully. In those situations, the speed and low cost of a stipulated divorce can mask an unfair or unsafe outcome.
Red flags that a consent divorce may not fit include a spouse who controls all financial information, suspected undisclosed accounts or income, or any history of family violence. Texas allows a spouse to set aside an agreed decree obtained through fraud, but doing so is expensive and uncertain, so prevention beats cure. If one spouse hires an attorney and the other does not, the unrepresented spouse should still have the decree independently reviewed, because the drafting attorney represents only their client. High-asset estates, complex retirement or pension divisions, closely held businesses, and disputes over children's primary residence all warrant professional guidance even when the couple is otherwise amicable. The goal is a fair, durable outcome—not merely a fast one. When in doubt, a short consultation with a Texas divorce attorney costs far less than reopening a decree later.