Dallas Divorce Lawyer

Dallas, Texas skyline at night - CoilLaw serves divorce and family law clients across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex

By Jill Coil, Founder and Family Law Attorney, State Bar of Texas. Last updated September 2026.

Quick answer: Dallas–Fort Worth spans several counties, and your divorce is filed where you or your spouse lives, not simply “in Dallas”: Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Denton, or Rockwall. In each one, a spouse must have lived in Texas at least six months and in that county at least 90 days before filing. Texas imposes a 60-day waiting period before any divorce is final, and marital property is divided in whatever way the court considers just and right. CoilLaw’s family law attorneys serve families across the Metroplex from our office in the Crescent, in Uptown Dallas.

Choosing a Dallas divorce lawyer is a decision you make at one of the hardest moments of your life, and it deserves counsel who knows both the Texas Family Code and the particular courts that serve North Texas. CoilLaw represents clients throughout the Metroplex in divorce, child custody, and the full range of family law matters, from agreed filings that finish quickly to contested cases involving businesses, professional practices, and substantial property.

This page explains how divorce works across the Dallas–Fort Worth area and cites the Texas Family Code sections behind each rule, so you can see where the law comes from.

Family Law Services in Dallas–Fort Worth

A divorce is never a single problem. It reaches your income, your home, your retirement, and above all your children, and our practice is built to handle every piece of it:

Contested and uncontested divorce. Whether you and your spouse agree on everything or on nothing at all, we protect what matters to you and keep the case moving forward.
Child custody and conservatorship. As your Dallas child custody lawyer, we work to secure fair conservatorship rights and a possession schedule that actually fits your children’s lives.
Child support. We apply the Texas guidelines correctly the first time, and return to modify an order when your circumstances genuinely change.
Property and asset division. Community property gets complicated fast once a house, retirement accounts, stock compensation, or a closely held business are in play.
High-net-worth and complex-asset divorce. Business valuations, executive compensation, commercial real estate, and commingled accounts get the scrutiny these cases require. See our Dallas high-net-worth divorce practice.
Spousal maintenance. Texas is restrictive here, so eligibility, amount, and duration each have to be argued carefully.
Modifications and enforcement. When an order no longer matches your life, or the other parent simply will not follow it, we help you change it or enforce it.
Mediation and collaborative divorce. When privacy, cost, and a workable co-parenting relationship matter, we push hard for a resolution that never reaches a courtroom.

To talk through your situation with a Dallas family law attorney, call 469-552-5992 for a consultation.

Divorce in the Dallas–Fort Worth Area: What to Expect

The Metroplex is not one jurisdiction. It is a cluster of counties, each with its own district clerk, its own family courts, and its own local practices, and your case is heard where you or your spouse lives. Knowing what is ahead takes most of the fear out of it.

Where you file depends on your county

Each county handles its own family docket:

Dallas County files at the George L. Allen, Sr. Courts Building, 600 Commerce Street in downtown Dallas, home to the county’s seven family district courts (the 254th, 255th, 256th, 301st, 302nd, 303rd, and 330th).
Tarrant County files at the Family Law Center, 200 East Weatherford Street in Fort Worth, where the 231st, 233rd, 322nd, 324th, 325th, and 360th District Courts hear family cases.
Collin County files at the Russell A. Steindam Courts Building, 2100 Bloomdale Road in McKinney.
Denton County files at the Denton County Courts Building, 1450 East McKinney Street in Denton.
Rockwall County files with the district clerk at 1111 East Yellowjacket Lane in Rockwall, where family cases are heard by the 382nd and 439th District Courts and County Court at Law No. 1.

Several Metroplex cities sit on a county line. Grand Prairie spans Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties. Frisco spans Collin and Denton. Richardson spans Dallas and Collin. We confirm your county before anything is filed, so your case begins in the right court.

Who can file

You meet the residency requirement when at least one spouse has been domiciled in Texas for the preceding six months and has lived in the filing county for the preceding 90 days (Texas Family Code § 6.301). If you recently moved to North Texas, this is usually the first thing your attorney checks.

How long it takes

A Texas court generally cannot grant a divorce until at least 60 days after the petition is filed (Texas Family Code § 6.702). That minimum applies even when spouses agree on everything. Agreed cases commonly wrap up in roughly 60 to 90 days. Contested cases run several months to well over a year, depending on how much is genuinely in dispute and on the court’s docket.

The 60-day wait can be waived only in narrow situations set by statute, such as when the other spouse has been convicted of, or received deferred adjudication for, family violence against you or a member of your household, or when you have an active protective order based on family violence during the marriage.

Grounds for divorce

Most Texas divorces are filed on the no-fault ground of insupportability, meaning discord or conflict has destroyed the marriage and there is no reasonable expectation of reconciliation (Texas Family Code § 6.001). Texas also recognizes fault grounds: cruelty, adultery, felony conviction, abandonment, living apart for at least three years, and confinement in a mental hospital (§§ 6.002 to 6.007). Fault does not change the residency or waiting-period rules, but a judge may consider it when dividing property.

Community and separate property

Texas is a community property state. Property acquired during the marriage is generally divided in a manner the court finds “just and right,” with due regard for the rights of each spouse and any children (Texas Family Code § 7.001). That is not the same thing as an even split.

Property owned before the marriage, or received individually by gift or inheritance, is generally separate property. The spouse claiming it must prove it is separate by clear and convincing evidence (§ 3.003), which often means tracing it through bank, brokerage, and business records.

Texas divorce rules at a glance

Legal question	Texas rule
Where do I file?	District court in the county where you or your spouse lives
Residency required?	6 months in Texas and 90 days in the county
Minimum timeline?	60 days from filing to final decree
No-fault ground?	Insupportability
Property division standard?	“Just and right,” not automatically 50/50
Legal term for custody?	Conservatorship; the schedule is “possession and access”

Steps in a Dallas–Fort Worth Divorce

Confirm residency and county. Make sure one spouse meets the six-month and 90-day rule, and identify which county is the proper place to file, especially if you live in a city that crosses county lines.
File the original petition. Your attorney files the petition with the county district clerk. Your spouse is formally served or signs a waiver of service.
Temporary orders, if needed. Either spouse can ask the court for temporary orders covering who stays in the home, temporary child support, and a temporary possession schedule while the case is pending.
Disclosures and discovery. The parties exchange required disclosures and discovery, typically including financial records and property information. This step takes longer when a business, stock compensation, or multiple properties are involved.
Negotiation or mediation. Metroplex family courts commonly send contested cases to mediation before trial. Many cases settle at this stage, though whether settlement is right depends on the facts and each spouse’s position.
Trial, if unresolved. If the spouses cannot agree, the remaining issues go to a contested hearing or trial, and the judge decides them.
Final decree. After the 60-day waiting period, the judge signs the final decree of divorce, which governs property division, conservatorship, and support going forward.

To discuss your next step with a Dallas divorce lawyer, call 469-552-5992.

Child Custody in Dallas

For parents, custody is usually the real case. Texas family law typically uses conservatorship for each parent’s rights and decision-making duties, and possession and access for the schedule of time each parent has with the children, rather than “custody” and “visitation.” Cases involving children are called Suits Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship (SAPCR).

Every decision turns on the best interest of the child (Texas Family Code § 153.002). Parents are frequently named joint managing conservators. For children age three and older, the Standard Possession Order is presumed to be a reasonable minimum schedule, though courts can adjust it to fit a family’s facts. As your Dallas child custody lawyer, we work to protect your relationship with your children and to build a parenting plan that reflects how your family actually lives.

Spousal Maintenance in Texas

Texas limits court-ordered spousal maintenance more than many states (Texas Family Code Chapter 8). A spouse seeking maintenance must show they will lack enough property after the divorce to meet their minimum reasonable needs. They must also meet one of the statutory conditions, such as:

The marriage lasted 10 years or longer and the spouse cannot earn enough income to meet their minimum reasonable needs.
The spouse cannot support themselves because of an incapacitating physical or mental disability.
The spouse is the custodian of a child of the marriage who requires substantial care because of a disability.
The other spouse was convicted of, or received deferred adjudication for, family violence within the statutory time frame.

When maintenance is awarded, the monthly payment is capped at the lesser of $5,000 or 20 percent of the paying spouse’s average monthly gross income. The length of maintenance is also limited based on how long the marriage lasted, except in some disability cases. Spouses can agree to contractual alimony on different terms as part of a settlement.

Modifications and Enforcement

A final decree is not always the end of the story, but it can be changed only when the legal standard is met. For conservatorship or possession and access, the court generally must find that the change is in the child’s best interest and that circumstances have materially and substantially changed since the last order (Texas Family Code § 156.101). Child support modifications follow their own standards. When the other party ignores an existing order, we pursue enforcement.

Areas We Serve Across Dallas–Fort Worth

We represent families throughout the Metroplex. Find the county and community nearest you:

For complex, high-value cases, see our Dallas high-net-worth divorce practice. Families in the Houston area can reach our Houston divorce lawyers instead.

Why Dallas–Fort Worth Families Choose CoilLaw

Divorce and family law are the core of our practice, and our attorneys handle these cases every day. From our office in the Crescent in Uptown Dallas, we represent families across every county in the Metroplex, with straight answers, communication you do not have to chase, and advocacy shaped around your goals and your children’s wellbeing.

We are candid about outcomes. Family law offers no guarantees, and any attorney who promises you a specific result should worry you. What we do commit to is thorough preparation, prompt and plain-spoken communication, and real care for the families we represent. Where a case can be settled through negotiation or mediation we will pursue that, and where it has to be tried, we are ready to try it.

Learn more about Jill Coil, who founded the firm, and about the attorneys and staff who make up our team.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do I file for divorce if I live in the Dallas–Fort Worth area?

You file in the county where you or your spouse lives: Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Denton, or Rockwall, not simply “in Dallas.” Dallas County divorces are filed with the Dallas County District Clerk at the George L. Allen, Sr. Courts Building, 600 Commerce Street. Because several Metroplex cities cross county lines, we confirm your correct county before your case begins.

Do I have to live in Dallas to file here?

One spouse must have lived in Texas for six months and in the filing county for 90 days immediately before filing. If either you or your spouse meets that test, the case can be filed in that county even if the other spouse lives elsewhere.

How long does a divorce take in Texas?

Texas sets a minimum 60-day waiting period from the day you file before a divorce can be finalized. An agreed, uncontested divorce often finishes in about 60 to 90 days. A contested divorce takes several months to more than a year, depending on how complicated the property and custody questions turn out to be.

How much does a divorce cost in Dallas?

Cost tracks two things: whether the case is contested, and how complex your assets and custody issues are. An agreed divorce costs a fraction of one that goes to trial. In your consultation we explain our fees plainly and tell you what actually drives them, so nothing arrives as a surprise.

Is Texas a community property state?

Yes. Most property acquired during the marriage is community property, divided in whatever way the court finds just and right. Separate property, meaning what you owned before the marriage or received by gift or inheritance, generally stays yours when it is proven by clear and convincing evidence.

How is child custody decided in Texas?

Texas decides parenting through conservatorship and through possession and access, both governed by the best interest of the child. Parents are frequently named joint managing conservators, with a possession schedule setting each parent’s time. Custody is not awarded to either parent on the basis of gender.

How is child support calculated in Texas?

Texas uses guideline percentages of the paying parent’s net resources: 20 percent for one child, 25 percent for two, and more for additional children. Courts can adjust support based on the child’s needs and other factors, and the guidelines apply up to a net-resources cap the state updates periodically.

Can I get spousal maintenance in a Dallas divorce?

Possibly, but Texas limits it. You must lack enough property to meet your minimum reasonable needs and meet a statutory condition, such as a marriage of 10 or more years plus an inability to earn sufficient income. Payments are capped at the lesser of $5,000 or 20 percent of the paying spouse’s gross monthly income.

Can I get divorced if my spouse will not agree?

Yes. Texas allows no-fault divorce, so one spouse can obtain a divorce even when the other objects. If your spouse refuses to participate after being properly served, the court can still move forward and may enter a default judgment.

What happens to the house?

The family home is usually community property. The realistic options are selling it and dividing the proceeds, one spouse buying the other out, or one spouse keeping the house in exchange for other assets. Which one fits depends on your finances and on where your children need to be.

Do you handle high-asset and complex divorces?

Yes. We regularly handle divorces involving closely held businesses, professional practices, executive compensation and equity awards, multiple properties, and retirement accounts, bringing in valuation experts when the case calls for one.

Can we stay out of court?

Often, yes. Most Texas divorces settle through negotiation or mediation, which keeps your affairs more private and usually costs far less than a trial. We pursue settlement wherever it serves you, while staying fully prepared to litigate if it does not.

Talk to a Dallas Divorce Lawyer Today

You do not have to work this out alone. CoilLaw’s family law attorneys are ready to listen, lay out your options in plain language, and stand with you at every stage of your case.

Call 469-552-5992 or request a consultation online. CoilLaw, 100 Crescent Court, Suite 0429, Dallas, TX 75201.

This page is for general information and is not legal advice. Every case is different. For advice about your specific situation, speak with a licensed Texas attorney.