Austin Uncontested Divorce Lawyer

Published by Eric M. Willie, P.C. · Updated November 3, 2026

Is Your Divorce Really Uncontested?

A divorce is uncontested only when you and your spouse agree on everything. Before you call it agreed, check that you have settled each of these: who keeps the house and who pays the mortgage until it is sold or refinanced; how retirement accounts, pensions and investments are divided; who takes which debts and vehicles; whether either spouse will pay spousal support; and, if you have children, conservatorship, the possession schedule, child support, and the children's health insurance.

If one or two of those are still open, you are not contested yet; you are close. Mediation or a collaborative divorce can close the gap without a court fight. If you disagree on major issues, see the main Austin divorce lawyer page.

How an Uncontested Divorce Works in Travis County

Step 1, consultation: you tell the firm what you and your spouse have agreed to, and the attorney flags anything missing or anything that will not work the way you expect once it is in a court order.

Step 2, filing: the firm files the Original Petition for Divorce. Your spouse can sign a waiver of service after the petition is filed, which avoids formal service by a process server.

Step 3, the 60-day waiting period: Texas does not allow a divorce to be granted until 60 days after filing (with narrow exceptions for family violence). The firm uses this time to draft the Agreed Final Decree of Divorce and any settlement documents.

Step 4, signatures: both spouses review and sign the agreed decree. If something needs to change, it changes now, before the judge sees it.

Step 5, final hearing: after the waiting period, a short hearing (often called a prove-up) is held, and the judge signs the decree. In Travis County, family cases are heard at the Civil and Family Courts Facility, 1700 Guadalupe Street.

Step 6, after the decree: retirement accounts are divided with a QDRO sent to each plan, and real estate is transferred by deed. These steps are where agreed divorces most often go wrong, because nobody finishes them.

How Much Does an Uncontested Divorce Cost in Austin?

At this firm, an uncontested divorce typically costs $5,000 to $7,500 in attorney fees, plus about $300 to $400 in court costs. The range depends mostly on what has to be drafted: a short marriage with no children, no house and no retirement accounts sits at the lower end; a decree that divides retirement plans, transfers real estate and sets a detailed parenting plan sits at the higher end.

It is still far less than a contested divorce, which starts at $10,000. You get an estimate at the consultation, and the divorce cost guide explains every cost driver.

What People Overlook in an Agreed Decree

Retirement accounts: a 401(k) or pension is not divided by the decree alone. It needs a Qualified Domestic Relations Order that meets the plan's rules, and an order that is never sent to the plan administrator does nothing.

The house: if one spouse keeps the house, the decree should say who pays the mortgage, by when the loan must be refinanced out of the other spouse's name, and what happens if it is not.

Insurance and taxes: health insurance for each spouse and the children, life insurance to secure child support, who claims the children for tax purposes, and how the current year's return is filed.

Children: the possession schedule (including holidays and summer), any geographic restriction on where the children live, child support, medical and dental support, and how future decisions get made.

Each of these is easy to leave out of an agreed decree and expensive to fix later, often through a new lawsuit.

Can One Lawyer Represent Both Spouses?

No. Under the Texas lawyer ethics rules, an attorney in a divorce represents one spouse. In an agreed divorce, the firm represents you, drafts the documents and explains them to you. Your spouse may hire their own attorney to review the agreed decree, or may choose to review and sign it without one. Either way, the agreement only works if both of you understand what you are signing.

Uncontested Divorce With Children

An agreed divorce with children follows the same steps, but the decree has to include a complete parenting plan: conservatorship (usually joint managing conservators, with one parent designating the primary residence), a possession schedule such as the Standard Possession Order or a schedule you design, child support under the Texas guidelines, and medical and dental support. The judge reviews these terms to confirm they are in the children's best interest. See the child custody and child support pages.

Why Clients Choose Eric M. Willie, P.C. for an Agreed Divorce

The firm practices family law only. Eric M. Willie has worked in family law since 1998 and has practiced in Texas since 2004, with more than 4,000 family law cases behind him, and he oversees every case. An agreed divorce is treated like any other case: the decree is drafted to be enforceable, and the follow-through on QDROs and deeds is part of the job. Clients rate the firm 4.9 stars across 350+ Google reviews.

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