Divorce Lawyer in Houston, TX
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Divorce stops being an argument and becomes a case the day one of you decides to file. The house, the retirement accounts, the business built during the marriage, and ordinary weeknights with your children become things a Harris County court can divide or schedule. A Houston divorce lawyer enters at that point, when the decisions stop being private.
The months before a filing are not neutral. The other spouse may already be moving money, meeting with counsel, or building the version of events a judge hears first. Temporary orders entered early can decide who stays in the house and how the parenting schedule runs long before anything final is signed.
You do not have to face that alone or unprepared. Our Houston divorce team steps in at the start, when early filings and financial records still shape everything that follows. We handle the strategy and the paperwork so your attention can stay on your children and your future.
Why Houston Families Work With Horak Law
A Harris County divorce with real assets or a disputed parenting schedule can end in a courtroom, and the preparation a trial requires begins long before a trial date. Matt Horak has spent more than 23 years trying cases in Texas courtrooms, and we build Houston divorce files to that standard from the first week. We document the financial record and the parenting history before either one is in dispute.
Matt Horak earned Texas Super Lawyer selection in 2025 and 2026, an honor his peers base on courtroom results. Behind him, two senior paralegals with 14 and more than 20 years in Texas family law keep the case file in order, and our team works in both English and Spanish. Our Memorial Drive and Montrose Boulevard offices sit in the county where your case is filed and heard.
Client Testimonials
“I could spend hours talking about how incredible Matt Horak and his team are. From my very first phone call with Matt, I knew I was in the best hands. He was on top of everything—and I mean everything—right down to filing notices with the court just to inform them of his brief vacation. We were up against an attorney who seemed inexperienced and unresponsive, leaving us hanging for months. Despite that, Matt never let up. He fought hard—submitting motions to compel, motions for sanctions, and doing whatever was needed to move things forward. He even checked in on me emotionally, telling me how well I handled mediation when I was overwhelmed. I will forever be grateful. My kids won today—and that’s because of Matt. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.” — Brooke
“Mr. Horak and his team are truly exceptional and I’m very grateful for their expertise! I was embarking on a very tough divorce journey, and Matt and all the others at Horak law made the experience as smooth as possible with a positive outcome. His team is very responsive to messages and they were always willing to set up a meeting to discuss in more detail if I had questions or didn’t understand something. I would absolutely recommend Matt Horak and his team for a family law matter.” — Emily
“I wish I had known about Matt when I first filed for my divorce. He and his team were excellent. They provided guidance for both child support modifications and adjustments to my original decree. I highly recommend Matt Horak.” — Eddie
What a Houston Divorce Lawyer Does for You
A divorce lawyer carries the procedural and financial work so your attention can stay on the decisions only you can make. That work starts at the petition and runs through temporary orders, financial discovery, negotiation, mediation, and a trial on anything left unresolved.
- Filing or answering the original petition and requesting temporary orders for support, possession, and use of the house
- Gathering the financial record, including tax returns, account statements, retirement plans, and business valuations
- Building the parenting case, from the current schedule to the school, medical, and childcare arrangements behind it
- Preparing for and attending mediation, which a Texas court may order before a final trial
- Trying the contested issues if the case does not resolve by agreement
Much of that happens before either spouse sees a courtroom. Our work on a Houston divorce runs from the first filing through the final decree, including divorce mediation if the court sends the case there.
How the Divorce Process Works in Harris County
A Houston divorce moves through the Harris County district courts in a set order, and the early steps often carry the most weight.
- One spouse files an original petition for divorce in the county district court.
- The other spouse is served and given a limited window to file an answer.
- Either spouse can request temporary orders covering support, the parenting schedule, and use of the house.
- Both sides exchange financial information through discovery.
- The case goes to mediation and to trial on any issue still unresolved.
Your lawyer handles steps two through four, responding to the petition, requesting temporary orders, and exchanging discovery. That work also preserves the financial record a Harris County judge would review if the case reaches trial.
Where Your Case Gets Filed
Where a Texas divorce is filed depends on residency rather than on where the marriage happened. Under Texas Family Code § 6.301, a divorce suit may not be maintained unless one spouse has been a Texas domiciliary for the preceding six months and a resident of the filing county for the preceding 90 days.
For a couple living in Harris County, that means they must file in Harris County. For a family split between Houston and The Woodlands, the answer may be either county depending on which spouse files and where each has lived. The filing county affects the judge, the local rules, and your place on the docket, so it can be worth reviewing before a petition goes out.
What the 60-Day Waiting Period Means for You
Texas requires a waiting period between filing and finalizing. Under Texas Family Code § 6.702, a court may not grant a divorce before the 60th day after the suit is filed, with a narrow exception in cases involving family violence.
Those 60 days are only the minimum. A Houston divorce with disputed property or a contested parenting schedule can run well past it, and the Texas divorce timeline varies with the level of conflict more than with anything else. Temporary orders and discovery can both move during that window.
How Texas Courts Divide Property in a Divorce
Texas divides marital property under a community property system, but the division ordered by the court is not automatically an even split. Texas Family Code § 7.001 directs the court to divide the community estate in a manner it deems just and right, with due regard for the rights of each party and any children. A court may weigh earning capacity, fault in the breakup, health, and who has primary care of the children.
Community Property and Separate Property
Almost everything either spouse acquires during the marriage is community property, and both spouses own it. Texas Family Code § 3.003 presumes that property either spouse holds during the marriage or at its dissolution is community, and clear and convincing evidence is required to establish that an asset is separate.
Separate property generally covers what a spouse owned before the marriage and what came by gift or inheritance. That burden of proof is what makes characterization a live issue. An account that began as separate can lose that character once marital income flows through it, and tracing it back to its origin is asset division work that depends on records.
When One Spouse Controls the Money
Disagreement concentrates in the assets that are hardest to value.
- A closely held business or professional practice
- Retirement accounts, pensions, and deferred compensation
- Real estate owned before the marriage but paid down during it
- Stock options, restricted units, and bonuses tied to work during the marriage
- Accounts one spouse managed alone
When one spouse handles the money, the other can start the case without knowing what exists. Reconstructing the estate is the first task in a high-net-worth divorce, and protecting what you built during a Texas marriage starts with those same records.
Where accounts appear to have moved or statements go missing, hidden assets become their own line of work. A CPA working alongside your lawyer can weigh how tax treatment changes what an asset is worth after division.
Custody and Support Decisions in a Texas Divorce
Property is one half of a divorce with children in it. The other half is the daily time you have with your children and whether it survives the case.
Texas courts decide conservatorship and possession under Texas Family Code § 153.002, which makes the best interest of the child the primary consideration. Conservatorship covers decision-making rights over school, medical care, and residence, and possession covers the schedule itself. Child custody terms follow that standard rather than the parent who files first.
Child support runs on a formula. Texas Family Code § 154.125 applies guideline percentages to the paying parent’s monthly net resources up to a cap published by the state Title IV-D agency, currently $11,700 effective September 1, 2025. Above that figure, a court can order more based on the proven needs of the child.
Spousal maintenance is separate and more limited. Texas Family Code Chapter 8 sets eligibility conditions and caps on amount and duration. Those same ceilings govern alimony in a high-net-worth Texas divorce. Both custody and support orders are enforceable, and a Texas court can act when a parent violates a custody order.
How to Choose a Divorce Lawyer in Houston
A first conversation is a chance to ask questions that reveal how a firm works. These are worth asking of anyone you consider.
- How many contested divorce cases have you tried, and when was the most recent one
- Which Harris County or Montgomery County courts do you appear in
- Who handles the day-to-day work on my file, and how will I hear about it
- How do you approach assets like a business, retirement accounts, or property owned before the marriage
- What happens to the cost and the timeline if the case does not resolve by agreement
We answer those questions the same way each time. We appear in the Harris County family courts, build the financial record before it is contested, and prepare a contested divorce as though it will be tried whether or not it ever is.
Frequently Asked Questions About Divorce in Houston
How Long Does a Divorce Take in Harris County?
Sixty days is the statutory minimum. A Houston divorce settled on every issue can finish near it, while a case with contested property or a disputed parenting schedule can run six months to well over a year. The drivers of this timeline are Harris County docket congestion, the amount of financial discovery, and the wait for a trial setting.
Do I Have to Live in Harris County to File Here?
You need 90 days of residence in Harris County and six months of Texas domicile, held by either you or your spouse when the petition is filed. A family living between Houston and The Woodlands may be able to file in either county. If you moved recently, the 90 days run from your arrival, not your separation.
What Does a Divorce Lawyer in Houston Cost?
Two things drive the cost: the level of conflict and the complexity of the assets. A case that resolves at mediation costs less than one requiring depositions, a business valuation, and a trial setting. Houston divorce attorneys bill their work differently, so it can help to ask how fees are calculated.
Do I Have to Go to Court to Get Divorced?
A Texas judge signs the final decree, so your case reaches a courtroom in some form. Beyond that, a Houston divorce can resolve at mediation without a contested final trial. A temporary orders hearing may also put you in front of a judge early, and your lawyer carries the argument there.
What Happens If My Spouse Does Not Respond to the Petition?
After service, your spouse has a limited window to file an answer. If none is filed, the case can move toward a default. Even then, a Texas court still applies the 60-day waiting period and reviews what is being ordered. What a default produces depends on the facts, so it is worth reviewing first.
Get a Confidential Case Review Before Your Houston Divorce Moves Forward
The first weeks of a Houston divorce often set the terms the rest of the case follows. We represent clients across Harris County and Montgomery County in contested divorce, property division, custody, and support, from offices on Memorial Drive, Montrose Boulevard, and in The Woodlands. Before you sign a temporary agreement or answer a petition, a confidential case review can tell you what the filing county, the community estate, and the parenting schedule are likely to mean for you.
Call 713-225-8000 or contact us online to schedule a confidential case review at either of our Houston offices.
Written By Matt Horak
Matt Horak is a Board Certified and experienced attorney with over 20 years of courtroom experience in South Texas, including more than 100 contested trials. A former Harris County prosecutor and 2025 Super Lawyer®, he represents clients in high-stakes family law disputes with a strategy grounded in compassion and preparation.
