Family Law Attorney
Pearland, Texas

Texas imposes a mandatory 60-day waiting period after filing. From that point:

• Uncontested (no children): 60–90 days
• Uncontested (with children): 60–120 days
• Contested — moderate complexity: 6–12 months
• High-asset with medical practice, real estate, or retirement accounts: 12–24 months

Yes. Assets obtained during the marriage are typically community property subject to a just and right division — not an automatic 50/50 split. Judges weigh earning capacity, the children's needs, fault, and additional factors. Separate property — held before marriage, received as a gift, or inherited — falls outside division but must be established by clear and convincing evidence.

Yes — the share built up during the marriage is generally community property. Splitting it, however, calls for a QDRO — a separate court order delivered to the plan administrator. Without that order, the administrator has no legal authority to divide the account. Withdrawing early brings income taxes plus a 10% penalty. Your family law attorney Pearland TX manages the QDRO from the divorce decree through plan administrator approval.

Executive pay earned during the marriage is generally community property. RSUs and stock options are classified according to their grant date and vesting schedule — not the date received. Deferred compensation has to be covered in the divorce decree or it can be forfeited. Yearly bonuses earned during the marriage are community property no matter when they are paid. Retirement plans call for a QDRO.

Income a medical professional earns during the marriage is generally community property — including base salary, call pay, partnership distributions, and practice buy-in interests. Central issues include:

• Medical practice ownership — may be partially or fully community property depending on when established and how it grew during the marriage
• Goodwill valuation — personal goodwill vs. enterprise goodwill is frequently contested in physician divorce cases
• Call pay and variable income — must be averaged over a representative period for child support calculations
• Retirement accounts — 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and pensions require a QDRO to divide correctly

Yes. Once the paying parent's net resources climb above $9,200 per month, a court may award extra support tied to the child's proven needs — including private school costs, extracurricular activities, the family's established standard of living, and medical care. Your family law attorney Pearland TX assembles the evidentiary record showing both the child's actual needs and the paying parent's ability to provide.

Harris County family courts apply the best interest of the child standard under TFC §153.002 — looking at each parent's day-to-day involvement, home stability, the child's current relationships, each parent's physical and mental health, any record of family violence or substance abuse, and each parent's willingness to foster the child's bond with the other parent. When a child is 12 or older, the court weighs the child's stated preference. Texas law is gender-neutral.

Pearland ISD ranks among the most respected school districts in the Houston area. The parent given the right to set primary residence decides which school the child attends. If both parents stay inside Pearland ISD, enrollment tends to draw less dispute — but where a geographic restriction exists and one parent wants to move, Pearland ISD boundaries turn into a key factor in modification proceedings. Harris County courts frequently limit primary residence to Harris County and the counties bordering it.

The Expanded Standard Possession Order (ESPO) under TFC §153.317 grants the noncustodial parent considerably more time. Weekend possession starts at school dismissal Friday instead of 6:00 PM and runs until school resumes Monday morning. Thursday possession starts at school dismissal. Summer can stretch to 42 days. The Expanded SPO must be elected in writing at or within 30 days of the final order — it is not automatic. Miss that window and you default to the Standard SPO permanently.

Texas figures child support under TFC §154.125 by applying guideline percentages to the paying parent's monthly net resources: 1 child — 20%, 2 children — 25%, 3 children — 30%, 4 children — 35%, 5 or more — 40%. Net resources under TFC §154.062 cover the first $9,200 per month. In high-income Pearland cases, courts may order above-guideline support when the child's proven needs exceed what the guidelines provide.

Child support in Texas usually stops when the child turns 18 or graduates from high school — whichever comes later. Where the child has a physical or mental disability, support can extend past age 18 under TFC §154.302. It does not end on its own — the paying parent may have to formally terminate the obligation through the court to halt wage withholding.