Schooley 
This is one of the most emotionally loaded questions I get, and it usually arrives in the same form. My spouse cheated, and I want the judge to know. Or, my spouse made my life hell for nine years, and I’m not going to stand up in court and call it irreconcilable differences like nothing … Read more
Most people filing their own divorce start by looking for the forms, and I understand the impulse, because the forms feel like the actual work. But there are three threshold questions that come before any of that, and getting one of them wrong means you file, pay, wait, and then find out the court can’t … Read more
There’s a mindset problem that shows up in almost every person who gets served, and I want to name it early because it costs people more than any single filing mistake I see. The mindset is this: they filed, so it’s their case, and my job is to respond to whatever they do. That’s wrong, … Read more
When you got served, you probably focused on the petition, because that’s the document with your name on it and your ex’s accusations in it. But if your case was filed in one of the many Texas counties that use them, there was another document in that stack, and it’s the one that’s going to … Read more
So you got served. Somebody knocked on your door or caught you in the parking lot at work, handed you a stack of paper, and now you’re sitting at the kitchen table trying to make sense of what just happened to your life. I’ve been in that chair myself, and I’ve walked hundreds of people … Read more
A mediated settlement agreement in Texas isn’t a proposal, and it isn’t a draft you get to sleep on and revise in the morning. If it meets the requirements in the Texas Family Code, it’s about as close to bulletproof as anything gets in family law, and most pro se litigants don’t find that out … Read more
I get some version of this question every week: “What is the judge actually looking at when they decide who gets primary custody?” People assume it’s about who’s the better person, or who makes more money, or who has the bigger house. It’s not. Texas courts use a specific framework that’s been the law since … Read more
If you are trying to modify custody, possession, or child support in Texas, there is one phrase you need to get comfortable with: material and substantial change. Texas Family Code section 156.101 requires it, and I see people lose modification cases constantly because they walk into court with a story instead of evidence of an … Read more
A divorce or custody case can take months to finalize, but life doesn’t pause while you wait. That’s what temporary orders are for — interim decisions about custody, possession, support, and use of property while the case is pending. Here’s how to request one and what to expect. I’m a pro se coach, not an … Read more
This is one of the most consequential parts of the Texas Family Code and one of the least understood by people representing themselves, on both sides of the allegation. Texas Family Code Section 153.004 deals with a history of family violence or sexual abuse, and it doesn’t just get factored in as one more piece … Read more