87R10035 MLH-D
By: Krause H.B. No. 3190
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the waiting period for a divorce on the grounds of
insupportability.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 6.702, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsections (a-1) and
(d) to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1) or (c), the court
may not grant a divorce before the 60th day after the date the suit
was filed. [A decree rendered in violation of this subsection is
not subject to collateral attack.]
(a-1) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the court may
not grant a divorce on the grounds of insupportability before the
180th day after the date the suit was filed if the household of one
of the spouses is the primary residence for:
(1) a child under the age of 18;
(2) a child 18 years of age who is attending high
school; or
(3) an adult disabled child as described by Section
154.302.
(c) A waiting period is not required under Subsection (a) or
(a-1) before a court may grant a divorce in a suit in which the court
finds that:
(1) the respondent has been finally convicted of or
received deferred adjudication for an offense involving family
violence as defined by Section 71.004 against the petitioner or a
member of the petitioner's household; or
(2) the petitioner has an active protective order
under Title 4 or an active magistrate's order for emergency
protection under Article 17.292, Code of Criminal Procedure, based
on a finding of family violence, against the respondent because of
family violence committed during the marriage.
(d) A decree rendered in violation of Subsection (a) or
(a-1) is not subject to collateral attack.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act to Section
6.702, Family Code, applies only to a suit for dissolution of a
marriage filed on or after the effective date of this Act. A suit
for dissolution of a marriage filed before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the suit was
filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.