The Travis County standing order applies to both parties the moment a divorce or custody case is filed in Travis County. It prohibits hiding a child or changing the child’s home or school without a written agreement or court order, harassing the other party, and selling, hiding, or spending down property beyond normal living and legal expenses. It also bars cutting off insurance or utilities and excluding a spouse from a home you shared in the 30 days before filing.
Nobody asks for this order. The Travis County district courts adopted it for every family case, and it stays in place until a final order is signed or the case is dismissed. If you’ve just filed, or just been served, here’s what the current version actually says, in plain language, and how it can be changed.
What the Travis County standing order is and who it binds
The Travis County Standing Order for Family Law Cases took effect for every family case filed on or after January 1, 2020. Signed by the civil district judges, it binds both parties in every divorce and custody case filed in the county, plus anyone acting with them who has notice of it.
The judges filed it with the District Clerk in December 2019. It’s posted on the county’s Family Law Forms and Standing Orders page, and the petitioner must attach a copy to the petition. If the petitioner doesn’t, the District Clerk attaches it.
A suit affecting the parent-child relationship includes modification cases, paternity cases, and original custody suits, so a parent who never married the other parent is bound too.
The order also reaches beyond the two parties. Anyone who acts in concert with a party, or a party’s agent or attorney, is bound once they have actual notice of it. A new partner, a relative, or a friend who helps hide property or a child can’t sidestep the order just because they aren’t named in the case.
What the order says about your children
The children’s section is short, but it shapes daily life during a custody case or divorce. Under the order, no party may hide a child from another party. You also may not change the child’s current residence, or withdraw the child from school or day care, unless one of three things is true:
- All parties agree to the change in writing.
- The court orders the change.
- An active order already gives you the exclusive right to decide the child’s residence (or, for school changes, the child’s education), and any move stays within the geographic limit in that order.
The fourth rule is easy to break without realizing it. The order bars derogatory comments about the other party, that party’s family members, or that party’s dating partner. That applies in the child’s presence, within the child’s hearing, or on social media the child can see.
Our managing attorney, Tyler Key, has served as a Guardian ad Litem and an Amicus Attorney, roles focused on the child’s side of a case. From that seat, a comment overheard in the back seat or a post a teenager scrolls past is exactly the kind of detail that can come up later.
Conduct rules while the case is pending
The conduct rules apply to every party in every covered divorce case or custody case, whether or not children are involved. They bar threats, harassment, messages at unreasonable hours, opening the other party’s mail, and getting into their accounts, so a hard season doesn’t turn into a dangerous one.
Under section 3, no party may communicate with another in a threatening or harassing way, or threaten unlawful action against a party, a household member, a pet, or property. Calls, texts, and emails at unreasonable hours, in an offensive or repetitious manner, anonymously, or without a legitimate purpose are off limits. You can’t open or divert the other party’s mail or access their email, financial, or social media accounts, even if you know the password. Illegally intercepting or recording their electronic communications is barred too.
One rule surprises people: the order protects pets and companion animals. No party may harm or interfere with the care or custody of a pet that belongs to another party, a family or household member, or a child in the case.
Money, property and the house in a Travis County divorce
For divorcing spouses, section 4 of the Travis County standing order freezes the financial picture so neither spouse can change it alone, from the filing date until the court says otherwise. It covers separate and community property alike, along with financial records and insurance. Among other things, neither spouse may:
- Sell, transfer, borrow against, hide, damage, or reduce the value of either spouse’s property.
- Take on new debt, withdraw money from accounts, or spend cash, except as the order specifically allows.
- Withdraw or borrow from a retirement account, pension, or employee benefit plan.
- Cancel or change utilities or services, close the other spouse’s credit cards, or alter federal tax withholding.
- Exclude the other spouse from a residence you shared at any time in the 30 days before the divorce petition was filed.
- Enter a safe deposit box without a later court order or a written agreement signed by both spouses.
The records rules are just as broad. Spouses may not conceal, destroy, or falsify records, and they may not alter the native format or metadata of any record, including texts, emails, photos, and cloud files. The order also bars deleting data from a social network profile used by either spouse or a child in the case.
Insurance stays put, too. Neither spouse may cash out or borrow against life insurance, change a beneficiary on a policy covering either spouse or a child, or cancel the family’s health, auto, or property coverage.
What you can still do under the order
The standing order isn’t meant to stop normal life. Section 4.4 specifically authorizes each spouse to keep running their usual business or job, to pay reasonable attorney’s fees and expenses for the case, and to cover reasonable and necessary living expenses for the family.
Living expenses under the order cover food, clothing, shelter, transportation, school, and medical care, including the children’s needs, and each spouse may spend money or take on debt for them. Withdrawals from financial accounts are allowed only for the purposes the order authorizes. If something doesn’t fit, such as selling a car or paying off a large debt, get a court order first, which can be agreed temporary orders. A private side agreement between spouses isn’t listed as an exception for property in the order. An Austin divorce lawyer can help you decide which route makes sense.
How long the order lasts and how to change it
The Travis County standing order starts as a temporary restraining order when the original petition is filed. If no party contests it by presenting evidence at a hearing on or before the 14th day after filing, it continues as a temporary injunction until further order. It ends when the court signs a final order or the case is dismissed.
That 14-day window is the formal way to challenge the order itself. Most families change how it applies in other ways. Section 1.2 says that if any active order conflicts with the standing order, the active order controls. That includes a protective order, a Child Protective Services order, or temporary orders in your divorce or custody case. For safety concerns, our protective order attorneys can explain how a protective order fits alongside it.
Temporary orders are the usual tool. They can set a possession schedule, temporary support, and who stays in the house. Travis County has five associate judges in its civil and family courts, and a temporary orders hearing may be set before one. Our post on Travis County associate judges explains how those hearings work. Nearby counties differ. Bastrop County, for example, uses its own standing order that remains a restraining order until further order, without Travis County’s 14-day conversion.
If someone violates the standing order
The order says it may be enforceable by contempt, and under section 1.5 the court may order a party who violates it to pay the other party’s reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees to enforce it. Those remedies come on top of anything else the court can do.
If you think the other party has violated it, write down dates, save messages and statements in their original form, and avoid responding in kind. A violation can also come up when the court sets temporary orders. Raising it through a motion, rather than self-help, keeps you on the right side of the same order. You can read more about the steps in a Travis County case in our guide to filing for divorce in Travis County.
Talking with an Austin divorce lawyer
The standing order is one of the first things we review with clients at the start of a Travis County case, because it shapes what you can do with your money, your home, and your schedule from the first day. Key Law Office has an office at 1611 West Avenue in Austin, and you can learn more about our divorce and family law work in Austin. This article is general information, not legal advice for your situation. If you’d like to talk through your case, request a consultation or call (512) 400-2350.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Travis County standing order prohibit?
It bars hiding a child, changing a child’s home or school without a written agreement or court order, disparaging the other parent where the child can hear or see it, harassing the other party, and selling, hiding, or spending down property beyond living, business, and legal expenses.
Does Travis County have a standing order for divorce?
Yes. The Travis County Standing Order for Family Law Cases applies to every divorce and every suit affecting the parent-child relationship filed on or after January 1, 2020. It takes effect when the original petition is filed and must be attached to the petition.
How long does the Travis County standing order last?
It begins as a 14-day temporary restraining order. If no party contests it with evidence at a hearing by the 14th day after filing, it continues as a temporary injunction until the court signs a final order or the case is dismissed.
Can I move out or change the locks during a Travis County divorce?
The standing order itself doesn’t bar moving yourself out, but it prohibits excluding your spouse from a residence you shared in the 30 days before the petition was filed. Changing the children’s residence requires a written agreement, a court order, or an existing order giving you that right.
Does the standing order apply to custody modification cases?
Yes. The order defines a suit affecting the parent-child relationship to include modification cases, paternity cases, and original custody suits, so parents in those cases are bound from the day the petition is filed, along with anyone acting with them who has notice.