Does the firm have an office in Lake Highlands?
No. Katie L. Lewis, P.C. Family Law is based in Dallas at 10440 N. Central Expressway, Suite 1100, and works with parents who live in Lake Highlands and throughout the Dallas area.
Lake Highlands, Dallas
Lake Highlands Divorce and Custody for Parents
When a family is organized around school days, practices, and shared calendars, divorce raises practical questions about where children will be and who will be there for them. Katie L. Lewis, P.C. Family Law, a Dallas family law firm, works with Lake Highlands parents on custody, parenting plans, and divorce.
Schedule a ConsultationWho we work with
Serving Lake Highlands families from Dallas
Lake Highlands is a neighborhood in northeast Dallas, and many families there plan their weeks around school and children's activities. Our office is in Dallas at 10440 N. Central Expressway, Suite 1100. We do not have an office in Lake Highlands, and we work with parents who live there and throughout the Dallas area.
Katie L. Lewis is Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Our approach is to keep the process as steady as the facts allow, so that children's routines are disrupted as little as possible while their parents work through the larger decisions.
Focus areas
Divorce when children are at the center
Below is a general overview of issues that often come up when divorcing parents have school-age children. It is meant to help you understand the questions involved, not to predict how they will be resolved in any particular case.
Conservatorship and decision-making
Texas law uses the term conservatorship for what most people call custody. In most cases there is a presumption that naming both parents joint managing conservators is in the child's best interest, though that presumption can be rebutted. Joint conservatorship describes how parental rights and duties are shared; it does not by itself mean equal time.
An order also allocates specific rights, such as who designates the child's primary residence and how decisions about education, medical care, and similar matters are made. Those choices shape everyday school life, so it helps to understand what each one means before agreeing to it.
Related: Child custody and visitation
A schedule that follows the school year
The Texas Standard Possession Order is the starting point for many families, and many of its terms are tied to the school calendar: when school is dismissed, when it resumes, and how the regular school term, spring break, and summer are treated.
Parents can also agree to a different schedule if it better fits their children, their work, and the distance between homes. The question is usually less about the label on a schedule and more about whether it works on an ordinary Tuesday in October.
Related: Texas standard possession calendar
The details that keep routines steady
Much of the friction between co-parents comes from details an order never addressed: where exchanges happen on school days, who handles pickup when a child is sick, how activities and their costs are handled, and how parents share report cards, teacher messages, and event dates.
Thinking through those details early, and writing down the ones that matter, gives children more predictability and gives parents fewer things to renegotiate each week.
Related: Child custody and support
When the plan needs to change
Children grow, schools change, and parents' jobs and homes change. 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.
Parents who agree on a change should still consider whether it needs to be reflected in a court order. An informal arrangement can be hard to rely on if a disagreement comes up later.
Related: Family law modifications
Through the school year
What a parenting plan should account for
A workable plan follows the shape of a real year, not just a typical week. To see how common schedules fall across the calendar, try the parenting time calculator or review the Texas standard possession calendar.
- School-week routine
- Morning drop-off, afternoon pickup, homework, and where the children sleep on school nights.
- Weekends and exchanges
- When weekend time begins and ends, and whether exchanges happen at school or between homes.
- Breaks and holidays
- Spring break, Thanksgiving, winter break, and long weekends, which often alternate from year to year.
- Summer
- Extended time with each parent, camps, travel, and the notice each parent needs to plan ahead.
- Activities and school events
- Practices, games, performances, and conferences, including who attends and who pays.
- Communication
- How parents share school information, schedule changes, and day-to-day news about the children.
Before a consultation
Information that is often useful
You do not need to have everything worked out before reaching out. If it is easy to gather, information like this can make a first conversation more productive, and the firm's attorneys can explain what matters for your family.
- Your children's current school-year calendar
- A typical week: who handles mornings, pickups, and evenings now
- Activities, practices, and any recurring commitments
- Each parent's work schedule and travel
- Any existing court orders, agreements, or temporary arrangements
- Questions or concerns about a particular child's needs
Next step
Start with a conversation about your family
If you are considering divorce, have been served, or need to revisit an existing custody order, contact the firm to begin the intake process. The team will learn about your circumstances and explain what happens next.
Frequently asked questions
Does joint custody mean the children split their time equally?
Not necessarily. In Texas, joint managing conservatorship describes how parents share rights and duties. The possession schedule, which sets when the children are with each parent, is a separate part of the order and may or may not be equal.
Can my child choose which parent to live with?
A child's wishes may be considered, and Texas law provides ways for older children's preferences to be heard, but a child's preference does not decide the case. The court's primary consideration is the child's best interest.
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.