Does the firm have an office in Frisco?
No. Katie L. Lewis, P.C. Family Law is based in Dallas at 10440 N. Central Expressway, Suite 1100, and works with clients who live in Frisco and throughout the Dallas area.
Frisco · Collin and Denton Counties
Frisco Divorce and Child Custody, Planned Around Your Children
For Frisco parents, divorce usually comes down to two questions: how to divide what the family has built, and how to share time with children whose weeks are full of school, practices, and activities. Katie L. Lewis, P.C. Family Law, a Dallas family law firm, works with Frisco families on both.
Who we work with
Serving Frisco clients from our Dallas office
Frisco is a fast-growing city north of Dallas that sits partly in Collin County and partly in Denton County. Our office is in Dallas at 10440 N. Central Expressway, Suite 1100. We do not have an office in Frisco, and we work with clients who live there and throughout the Dallas area.
Katie L. Lewis is Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and the firm practices family law exclusively. For Frisco parents, that work usually means handling the financial side of a divorce carefully while building a parenting plan the children can actually live with.
Divorce
Dividing a household without losing sight of the children
Most Frisco divorces involve the same core questions about the home, savings, and debts, and how those decisions affect two households going forward. Below is a general overview to help you prepare. It is not a prediction of how any issue will be resolved in your case.
The family home
For many families, the house is both the largest asset and the center of the children's routines. Texas presumes that property either spouse possesses when the marriage ends is community property, but a home bought partly with funds from before the marriage, or with help from family, may raise separate property questions.
Whether one spouse keeps the home, buys out the other, or the house is sold depends on the equity, the mortgage, each spouse's ability to qualify for financing, and what the children need. It helps to look at those questions together rather than deciding on the house first and working out everything else afterward.
Related: Property division
Retirement accounts and savings
401(k) plans, pensions, and IRAs often hold value that built up over many years, some of it before the marriage. The portion earned during the marriage is generally community property, while a balance that can be traced to before the marriage may be separate property.
Dividing an employer retirement plan usually requires a separate court order, often called a qualified domestic relations order, so the plan administrator can make the transfer. Account statements from around the date of marriage can make tracing much easier.
Related: Divorce planning
Debts and two household budgets
Mortgages, car loans, and credit card balances are part of the marital estate too. A Texas court divides the community estate in a manner it considers just and right, which takes into account debts as well as assets and is not always an equal split.
One household becoming two is often the hardest practical adjustment. Child support, who pays for extracurricular activities and health insurance, and how each parent will cover housing all bear on what a fair and workable division looks like.
Related: Child support
Residency and timing
To file for divorce in Texas, one spouse generally must have lived in the state for six months and in the county where the case is filed for the preceding 90 days. Frisco crosses the line between Collin County and Denton County, so where you live within the city can affect where a case is filed.
Texas also has a 60-day waiting period after filing before a divorce can generally be granted, with limited exceptions. Many cases take longer, depending on how much the spouses agree on and how complex the estate is.
Related: Divorce
Child custody
Common possession schedules in Texas
Texas calls custody conservatorship, and the best interest of the child is the primary consideration in decisions about conservatorship, possession, and access. In most cases the law presumes that naming both parents joint managing conservators is in a child's best interest, though that presumption can be rebutted.
These are some of the schedules families most often start from. The Texas possession calendar shows how the standard order falls across a year, and the parenting time calculator illustrates how each of these schedules plays out over a regular week.
- Standard possession order
- The schedule set out in the Texas Family Code: generally the first, third, and fifth weekends of each month, a weekday evening during the school year, alternating holidays, and extended time in the summer.
- Expanded standard possession
- A variation that typically lengthens those weekends so they run from when school lets out to when it resumes, with weekday time that may include an overnight. For many parents who live within 50 miles of each other, this is the default unless a parent elects otherwise.
- 2-2-3 rotation
- An equal-time schedule that alternates two days, two days, and three days between homes, so younger children are not away from either parent for long.
- Alternating weeks
- Children spend a full week with one parent, then a full week with the other. Often easier for older children with demanding school and activity schedules.
Parenting plans
The details that make a schedule work
A possession schedule says when the children are with each parent. A good parenting plan also covers the practical questions that come up every week, especially when children have busy school and activity calendars and parents are juggling commutes.
Settling these details early tends to mean fewer disputes later. Learn more about child custody and visitation and child support.
- Which parent's address determines the children's school attendance zone
- How weekend tournaments, practices, and activity costs are handled across both homes
- Exchange times and locations that work with school pickup and each parent's commute
- How holidays, spring break, and summer are divided in alternating years
- Whether a parent offers time to the other before using a sitter
- How parents share school, medical, and activity information
- Whether the children's residence is limited to a particular county or area
Looking ahead
When a move or a new school changes the plan
In a growing area, moves are common: a new house across town, a job that changes a commute, or a child starting a different school. Some custody orders limit where the children may live, and a parent who wants to move outside that area may need the other parent's agreement or a court order.
A Texas court may modify a custody or possession order when circumstances have materially and substantially changed and the modification is in the child's best interest. When that happens, our family law modifications page explains the process, and the firm's attorneys can discuss your situation.
Next step
Talk with a family law attorney about your Frisco divorce or custody case
If you are considering divorce, have been served, or need a custody and possession arrangement for your children, contact the firm to begin the intake process. The team will learn about your circumstances and explain what happens next. Read more about how our intake process works.
Frequently asked questions
Will my case be in Collin County or Denton County?
It depends on where you and your spouse live and, in custody matters, where your children live. Because Frisco spans both counties, the right county is a fact-specific question that is worth confirming with an attorney before anything is filed.
Does joint managing conservatorship mean equal time?
Not necessarily. Joint managing conservatorship describes how parents share rights and duties, such as decisions about education and medical care. The possession schedule, which sets when the children are with each parent, is a separate part of the order.
Can we agree to a schedule other than the standard possession order?
Often, yes. Parents can propose their own schedule, such as a 2-2-3 rotation or alternating weeks. A court will consider whether the agreed schedule is in the child's best interest before approving it.
Is the information on this page legal advice?
No. This page provides general information about Texas family law. Every case depends on its own facts, and you should speak with a licensed attorney about your situation before making decisions.