Getting a divorce in Corpus Christi

Nueces County court has standing orders that affect every divorce and parent-child legal actions

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Overview available

For an overview of state divorce law, please see “Divorce in Texas,” where we include basic information plus the Texas Young Lawyers Association (TYLA) admonition that if domestic violence is part of your situation, said violence should be addressed as soon as possible. A trained, experienced divorce attorney can immensely valuable in this situation, providing not only legal help with such things as restraining and protective orders but also in finding qualified counselors and securing safe shelter.

Benefits of counseling

Another, perhaps under-utilized benefit of retaining a good lawyer is that a well established will also be able to make referrals to professional counseling. Often enough, when facing divorce many people are aware that an attorney should at least be consulted even for the simplest, most amicable of uncontested divorces. However, they forget that even the simplest divorce can also be full of guilt, grief–or both. Many people report after-the-fact that getting a divorce was among the most emotionally painful experiences of their lives.

Addressing domestic violence

However, if domestic violence is part of your family equation, there’s no time to worry about grief–you’ve got enough on your hands, including maybe even your own survival, or that of your children, or even a beloved pet. Fortunately, Corpus Christi and Nueces County offer numerous facilities and agencies that can help, including these online resources:

• Corpus Christi Police, Family Violence Unit;
• Nueces County Attorney (includes info about escape plans and protective orders);
• Nueces County, important phone numbers;
• Nueces County Sherrif;
• FCS Crime Victim Services;
• Women’s Shelter of South Texas;
• Twogether in Texas.

Nueces County divorce: basic information

Residency requirements

In order to file for divorce in Nueces County, either the Petitioner (the “one who files”) or the Respondent (the one “who gets filed on” or “served with papers”) must have been a Texas resident for six months (180 days) and a Nueces County resident for three months (90 days).

Venue for filing

You (or, of course, your attorney) will file the original petition and any subsequent motions through the Nueces County District Clerk’s office, at:

901 Leopard Street, Room 313
Corpus Christi, TX 78401
e-mail

Standing orders of the court

The clerk’s office also has this available online, Nueces County Standing Order Regarding Children, Property and Conduct of the Parties, which applies to “every divorce suit and every suit affecting the parent-child relationship filed in Nueces County.”

Reading that document is an eye-opening experience and is highly suggested reading material for anyone 1) considering divorce, and 2) considering doing so without aid of an attorney. On the one hand, it encourages the divorcing couple to use mediation (offered by the county’s Dispute Resolution Services); on the other, it very specifically forbids a number of disruptive and evasive behaviors, such as hiding children, moving them to another state or bothering them at school; hiding funds, bank accounts, etc.; same for insurance policies–basically anything that disrupts children’s lives or makes the job more difficult for the court and parties involved to get an accurate picture of the situation is forbidden. Reading that drives home the point of how valuable an experienced divorce attorney can be.

Free evaluation

No matter your marital situation, we can help. If you’re ready to begin the search for a compatible, well trained, experienced divorce attorney, you can start with our free case evaluation. If you need more information, please browse our site, using the tabs at the top of the page.