The Divorce Process in El Paso, Texas: From Beginning to End
The Cooling Off Period
You are not eligible to get your divorce until 60 days after the original divorce petition has been filed. This "cooling off" period is built into the law in order to facilitate reconciliation in marriages.
Even if you are in complete agreement with your spouse as to the terms of the divorce, you have a typed divorce decree and everybody has already signed it, the judge will not grant your divorce until after that 60th day.
The COPE Class
If you are getting divorced in El Paso, Texas and your divorce involves children, you must complete the COPE class first. The judge will not grant your divorce unless and until you have presented your certificate of completion.
The COPE class is offered at the YWCA on the east side of El Paso. It is also offered online by an organization called Family Matters. Click here for more information on these classes.
The class is for divorcing parents. It is approximately four hours long and is designed to make divorcing parents aware of the emotional issues that children of divorce face. The basic message is this: Just because you stop being husband and wife does not mean that you stop being parents.
The children come first. If your divorce is characterized by petty squabbles and loud arguments, you must learn to keep the children out of it.
