Does the firm have an office in Lakewood?
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 Lakewood and throughout the Dallas area.
Lakewood · East Dallas
Lakewood Family Law for Divorce With Children
When you have children, a divorce ends a marriage but not a family. Katie L. Lewis, P.C. Family Law, a Dallas family law firm, works with Lakewood parents who want to reach a thoughtful parenting plan and keep co-parenting as workable and respectful as their situation allows.
Who we work with
Serving Lakewood parents from our Dallas office
Lakewood is a residential neighborhood in East Dallas, near White Rock Lake. Our office is in Dallas at 10440 N. Central Expressway, Suite 1100. We do not have an office in Lakewood, and we work with clients who live there.
Katie L. Lewis is Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and the firm practices family law exclusively. For parents, much of that work centers on arrangements that will shape their children's daily lives for years after the divorce is final.
Child-centered planning
Building a parenting plan around your children
In Texas, the best interest of the child is the primary consideration in decisions about conservatorship, possession, and access. Below is a general overview of the parts of a parenting arrangement that Lakewood parents most often work through. It is meant to help you prepare, not to predict how any issue will be resolved in your case.
Decision-making for your children
Texas uses the term conservatorship for the rights and duties parents hold, such as deciding on education, medical care, and where a child primarily lives. In most cases the law presumes that naming both parents as joint managing conservators is in a child's best interest, although that presumption can be rebutted, and joint conservatorship does not necessarily mean equal time.
Working through these decisions one at a time, with your children's routines and needs in view, tends to produce arrangements both parents can actually follow.
Related: Child custody and visitation
A schedule your children can rely on
The Texas Family Code includes a standard possession order that serves as a common starting point for parenting time, including alternating weekends, holidays, and summer periods. Parents are generally free to agree to a different schedule that better fits their children's ages, school calendar, and activities.
Useful questions include where exchanges happen, how holidays and birthdays rotate, how summer is divided, and how the schedule should change as children get older.
Related: Texas standard possession calendar
Support and shared expenses
Texas has guidelines for calculating child support, along with requirements for health insurance and medical support. Beyond the guideline figure, many families benefit from deciding in advance how they will handle expenses such as extracurricular activities, school costs, and childcare.
Clear written terms on these items can remove a frequent source of friction between co-parents later on.
Related: Child support
How the two of you will communicate
A parenting plan can address more than the calendar. It can set expectations for how parents share information about school, health, and activities, how quickly they respond to each other, and how they raise disagreements without involving the children.
Some families find that a written method of communication keeps exchanges focused and gives both parents a shared record. The right approach depends on how the two of you communicate today.
Related: Child custody and support
Practical co-parenting
Keeping co-parenting amicable in Lakewood
An amicable divorce does not require parents to agree on everything. It usually means focusing the disagreements on the issues that matter, resolving them in a way both of you can live with, and protecting your children from the conflict along the way. Negotiation and mediation are common paths to agreed terms.
Habits like these, many of which can be written into a parenting plan, often help children adjust to life in two homes.
- Keep adult conversations about the divorce away from the children
- Agree on what you will tell the children, and when
- Plan exchanges so children are not carrying messages between homes
- Share the school calendar and activity schedules in one place
- Discuss how and when new partners will be introduced
- Expect the plan to need adjustments as children grow
An important caveat
When an amicable approach is not the right fit
A cooperative process depends on both parents being able to participate safely and honestly. It is not appropriate for every family. Your safety and your children's safety come before any goal of keeping things amicable, particularly when any of the following are present:
- Family violence, threats, or a history of abuse
- Fear for your safety or your children's safety
- A pattern of control or intimidation that makes negotiating as equals difficult
- Concerns about substance use affecting a parent's care of the children
- A spouse who is concealing assets or refusing to participate in good faith
In these situations, the priorities and the process can look very different, and protective orders may be available. Our family law attorneys can discuss the options. If you or your children are in immediate danger, call 911.
What to expect
From first call to a plan
Step 1
The initial intake call
A conversation with the firm's intake team about your situation, your children, and what you hope to accomplish.
Step 2
A consultation with an attorney
A meeting with one of the firm's attorneys to discuss your options and the questions your case is likely to raise.
Step 3
Engagement and next steps
If you decide to move forward, the firm explains how your case will be staffed and what happens next.
Learn more about how our intake process works, or meet the firm's attorneys.
Next step
Talk with a family law attorney about your Lakewood family
If you are considering divorce or have been served, and you want to put your children at the center of the process, contact the firm to begin the intake process. The team will learn about your circumstances and explain what happens next.
Frequently asked questions
Can we divorce without going to trial over the children?
Many parents resolve parenting issues by agreement, often with the help of negotiation or mediation. Whether that is realistic depends on both parents, the issues involved, and whether there are safety concerns. A consultation is the right place to talk through your specific circumstances.
Do we have to use the standard possession schedule?
Not necessarily. The standard possession order is a common starting point, and parents can often agree to a schedule that fits their family. A court reviews agreed terms involving children with their best interest in mind.
What if circumstances change after the divorce?
Children's needs and parents' lives change. Texas law provides a process for modifying custody, possession, and support orders when the legal requirements are met.
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.