Family Law Attorneys in Central Texas

If your family is going through a divorce, a custody change or another hard transition, a family law attorney can help you understand your options under Texas law before you make decisions that last. Key Law Office represents parents, spouses and families in Austin and across Central Texas, from the first question about filing to the final order and the changes that come after it.

Divorce, property and marital agreements

Much of our work starts with a marriage that is ending or changing. Before a court can hear a Texas divorce case, one spouse must have lived in Texas for six months and in the filing county for 90 days (Texas Family Code §6.301), and the court generally cannot grant the divorce until 60 days after the petition is filed (§6.702). Texas is a community property state, so dividing your home, accounts and retirement starts from the presumption that property either spouse has at divorce belongs to both of you (§3.003). When a family business, stock compensation or several properties are involved, we handle divorces with significant assets through careful tracing and valuation. We also help with requests for spousal maintenance, agreements signed before a wedding and agreements that divide property during a marriage.

Child custody, support and parenting time

Texas law calls custody “conservatorship,” and every decision about it turns on the best interest of the child (§153.002). Our custody and conservatorship work covers who makes decisions for your child, where your child lives and the possession schedule each parent follows. Support follows the guidelines in Chapter 154, which set a percentage of the paying parent’s net resources, and we help parents reach a fair support amount along with health insurance for the child. Related questions include limits on how far a child can move, a parent turning a child against the other parent, legally establishing a father’s rights and the narrow situations where grandparents can ask for access.

Protective orders, CPS cases and family changes

Some cases start with safety. If someone in your home has hurt or threatened you, a protective order can put court-ordered limits on contact. If the Department of Family and Protective Services has contacted you, our CPS defense work helps you understand the investigation and protect your relationship with your children. Families also grow and change in happier ways. We handle stepparent, relative and other adoptions, legal name changes for adults and children, and the parentage and property questions that LGBTQ+ families often bring to us.

Settling, trying and revisiting a case

Most family cases settle, often in mediation with a neutral third party, and many Texas courts expect parties to try it before trial. When agreement is not possible, Texas lets a party ask for a jury in a family case, and the court may not override a jury’s decision on which parent designates a child’s primary residence (§105.002). After a judgment, we also handle appeals of family court rulings. Life keeps moving after the final order. A material and substantial change can support changing a custody or support order (§156.101), and when the other side stops following an order, we can ask the court to enforce the order, including past-due child support.

Family law practice areas

Each area below has its own page with more Texas-specific detail.

Where our family law attorneys practice

Key Law Office has offices in Austin, Buda, Bastrop, New Braunfels and Victoria, and our attorneys regularly appear in the family courts of Travis, Hays, Bastrop and Comal counties. Local courts and filing details differ from county to county, so we keep separate pages for families in Austin, Buda, Bastrop, New Braunfels, Victoria, San Marcos, Kyle, Lakeway and Caldwell. Our newest office, in Victoria, serves families in Victoria County.

What to expect when you call

Your first conversation is about your situation, not a sales pitch. We will ask where you and your children live, whether a court order already exists and whether anyone’s safety is a concern, because those answers decide which court hears your case and what has to happen first. From there, a family law attorney on our team can explain the realistic paths forward, the documents worth gathering now and the decisions that can wait. With nine attorneys across five offices, Key Law Office can usually match you with someone who knows the court where your case will be heard.

If you would like to talk through your situation, contact Key Law Office to schedule a consultation.