Texas divorce FAQ: What if I don't show up in Court?
Failure to appear for a hearing or trial can result in a default being taken against you. In other words, whatever the other party asks for at the hearing, they will win in your absence. If this happens, talk to an attorney immediately. Sometimes, if you have a valid reason for not being in court, a judge will give you a second chance.
I need serious help. I am in a domestic violence marriage 2nd marriage now five years. Our first was 11. I defaulted on that one due to his threats. Now again he filed for divorce 3 times in the last 1 1/2 years. He stole cash inheritance I had in my personal vault which I was trustee stated I have no proof. All trust property autos in our trust he has removed from home. Tells courts its his prior to marriage. I currently have no job. He left when my father died, spent all took all. Left on my fathers one year death, stealing his inheritance. spending leaving with with no money every time. He highers the best dirty lawyer filing cruelity. Told me he was working marriage out coming home that the divorce was postponed and forced me to waste more time trying to get court appointed atty. He comes in and out of home stealing more property. Initially left telling me that if i didn't leave peacefully he would get me and a dog would come up messing. I go to police they do nothing. I complete a protective order with the county da and hear nothing. He comes to the home another time even after I say I don't want him to come here that we need to meet in private location. He comes busting through the door and comes on to me sexually stating, I know I want it. Forces sex on me. Then he see I moved autos that were in trust me as trustee out of the garage for safe keeping due to him breaking garage doors and removing them. he has a screaming fit. pushes me down to the ground running past me for the door. Stating he is going to get me. If his car is not returned by that following morning he is going to get me and a dog will surely get it too. I call police they state that it is a conditional threat. I am so upset. i tell them, what if he forced sex on me. I tell them what happen down to me fighting with husband to keep my panty hose on. I went to the hospital with CID. I repeating what I told the county da 's office on 12/27 the day after my husband left the home. I had to wait because when my husband left he left a car that he was trying to steal in the middle of the road because I drove up and caught him yet again trying to steal trust property from the home. I had to call my niece to come down from Killen to help me secure the asset back into the garage that he damaged ripping the door almost off. Then she went with me that day to the court house. the incident of rape and physical abuse occurred on 1/10. Spouse had not served me yet because out of fear when he left making threats on 12/26 when he left I stayed in Killeen with my dogs over the holiday scared. I seen on the website for the city that he did file for divorce but sub suited service was sought after. I seen it stated exparte hearing on 1-11 when i asked why I wasn't served or knew of this hearing he stated it was cancelled because they could not get in touch with me. That following Tuesday there was a paper on the door for that hearing which was not cancelled and a divorce suit. Hearing on 1/28 and restraining mutual. I didn't arrive home until the evening of 1/16 but in the system they put 1/15. I didn't have any funds for a lawyer. For five years my husband has not given me access to any of the accounts that he has his income, retirement or va posting into. He has 5 credit card debits to which he was responsible for paying in our last divorce but had not yet paid. Instead when we reconciled he told me I had to work on getting them paid down. Do his debt consolidation work and be his lawyer. All of the debt was for items in the previous marriage that he kept. He removed then a boat, motorcycle, trailer, truck and hid money under his apartment bed. he sold all those assets and didn't give me half. Instead I find out now that when he stated then that he put all the money on our debt it was a lie. He threaten me then not to go to that divorce that they would throw me under the jail. Because when I found the 5k he hid under his apartment bed while living apart but still married I took it. Because our marriage I paid the first six month while separated and he promised to pay the next six months. He didn't pay and we were in default. He spent the whole time living it up in the bars with women. While I stayed in our home taking care of everything and using my 401k to live off of. I find out now looking through documents that when he called the police about the money under the bed he stated, ex wife stated that I was his ex wife on the police report. That is not true. We were still married and had a divorce suit pending. Really that was hidden assets under his bed and he was telling me to move in that apartment to get out of the house so he could sell. Pretending to work it out. I need so much help. I didn't go to the pre hearing on 1/28 and tried to send a continuance from to the court and his lawyer by email. lawyers came back wrong address and court never replied. I went to Lousianna cause my brother called my mom saying he got into a motorcycle accident. I knew that I didnt want to walk in the court room without my due right to counsel and felt surely I would be granted the continuance. Wrong they didn't get and of course I didn't do in time. Which i figured I would much rather deal with trying to get reheard then facing the court with no lawyer and not having my witnesses or material ready.
I get a text from my husband at 11:30 the night of the prehearing when supposedly we are not suppose to contact late hours or use profanity all of which he always does. He tells me I am a vindictive woman. More of the same domestic violence. That the court states I need to be out of the house in 3 days, have his car there, (which is currently under the name of our trust and he is not trustee) tax documents, and his tools. Part of the property is has already removed and much more from the home! I am shocked. How could they grant a man who is accused of sexual rape, domestic violence. I even inform the police of a incident on 11/28 where in kicked every door down in the home to get to me. Until he kicked the back door in and the panel came off hitting me in the head and I was bleeding on the floor. Husband told me be still he couldn't stop the bleeding yet refused to take me to the hospital. I have pictures of my busted head. And more pictures of this past summmer with black eyes. He got a protective order on me by falsely calling police when we he left once before. He again only wanted the car that I removed from his access due to him stating he was leaving the state and him stealing my families money from the home. he came home pretending to work it out. He would yell and scream, "bring home the car tomorrow, when he would come home see it not there, he would whisper, you know I have a gun, you are messing with a man that has a gun. he would go into great detail about how he thought of ways to kill me with a hammer or chopping me up in tiny pieces and putting me under the pool at our home. he said, you know I know where you mother lives. Or one day a dog will be missing. Or you don't know who you are messing with. Each time it wasn't getting him the car he one night called the police. Stating that I grabbed clothes from his suit case and the clothes touched his face. What actually happened was, he went in the room saying I better bring him his car tomorrow or I will regret it. I said, stop. He and my dads ashes in his hands. He closed the door. Then i heard my little dog make a cry sound from behind the door and heard my husband laugh. I yelled, open the door. I heard my dog cry. i started to kick the bottom part of the door, yelling open the door. this is when I heard him on the phone. Then a knock at the door. I open the door and lights are flashing in my face. someone says, step outside. I say, calmly raising my hand to cover my eyes from the flashing light why? Needless to say, I was arrested and had to stay away from my home for 30 days. I have had my husband recorded stating that he did that charge out of revenge.,for the abuse and call i made on him in 2008. Which is then demanded and threaten that I have dropped at all costs or my dogs and I would be on the streets.
He got exclusive use of the home due to me being in default on 1/28. Every lawyer want 7k and I applied for aid and have heard nothing. How can I not get a protective order that should be in place for this man threatening and hitting way back. how can he keep all income and assets from me, change locks, steal property and never have to answer to it. Why each time he leaves he can get away with not giving me a dime for food, gas, bills, while he lives it up spending not only the cash he stole from my family but the marital cash. He has 2 credit card suits from our previous marriage right now in court he avoids. And he hasn't completed the taxes from 2010, 2011 . he is trying to state that I normally do the taxes and just took the money and didn't do. Actually he didn't want to report income he made under the table and i refuse to do. I didn't work he did. He states he stole inheritance for the money I took out of a vault that he didn't give me the combo to when our marital money was in there to include a tax refund. That total was 5.7 but he sold over 25 in autos to which I never got any of. Yet he still 48k of inheritance stating that was for the 5.7 I took. its a mess. He wants all. On our first divorce because I was in default he was awarded the home. But he never took my name off anything. We divorced in 1/07 and i moved back in 12/07.
this whole thing is a mess. Please help me to stop the exclusive use of home. I have no place to go , no money and 3 dogs. he is living with his girlfriend.
please help