Leander Divorce Lawyer & Family Mediator

New city, established counsel

Leander is full of families who just arrived: new houses, new schools, and sometimes a marriage that did not survive the move. Relocation questions, out-of-state property and long-distance co-parenting come up constantly here.

Most Leander addresses sit in Williamson County, so most Leander cases are heard in Georgetown. Part of the city is in Travis County, and what actually settles the county is where each of you has lived for the last 90 days, so we check both addresses before anything is filed. Nearly everything short of a contested hearing can run over Zoom: consultations, mediation sessions and signings. You will rarely need the drive.

What actually makes a divorce uncontested

Most Leander divorces are agreed before anyone calls a lawyer. Uncontested does not mean easy or friendly. It means you agree on all of it: the property, the debts, the children and the schedule. One disagreement left open makes the case contested.

The mechanics are straightforward once you agree. One of you files the petition. The other signs a waiver of service or files an answer. We draft an agreed decree that says exactly what you decided, and one of you appears briefly to prove it up. Texas still requires the court to wait sixty days after filing before it signs.

This is the cheapest route through a Texas divorce, and it is the one we point people toward whenever it is honest to do so. If you agree on almost everything, mediation usually closes the gap. Our mediation rates are flat and published: $550 per party for four hours and $1,100 per party for a full day.

New to Texas? Start with the residency rule

Texas requires that, when the petition is filed, one of you has been a Texas domiciliary for the previous six months and has lived in the filing county for the previous 90 days. It does not have to be the spouse who files. So if you have only just arrived but your husband or wife already meets those periods, the case can be filed now.

A recent move complicates two other things. Property you still own in another state has to be identified and divided, even though a Texas court cannot always order a deed there directly. And if one parent may move back, the decree needs a geographic restriction written before it is signed, not argued about afterwards.

Custody for families who moved here for the schools

Texas starts from the Standard Possession Order, and where the possessory parent lives within 50 miles of the child’s home the court must order the expanded version of it, with the longer Thursday and weekend periods, unless that parent declines it in writing or the court finds it is not in the child’s best interest. An agreed schedule built around the actual school week and the actual commute is also approved routinely when it is written properly.

That is the plan mediation produces. It is also where child support gets set: the guideline percentages, the September 2025 cap and what counts as net resources are on our child support page, and conservatorship and possession explains the terms you will see in the order.

Why even an agreed divorce benefits from a mediator

Couples who agree on the big things often stall on the last two or three, and that is where an uncontested case quietly turns into a contested one. A single mediation session, over Zoom, settles those remaining points and produces a signed agreement that is binding under the Texas Family Code. The decree is drafted from it, and the Georgetown court signs. Rates are flat and published: see how a session runs. If you already agree on everything, skip straight to how an uncontested divorce is filed.

Practical notes on the Williamson County courthouse

Leander cases are filed with the Williamson County District Clerk and heard at the Justice Center in Georgetown, twenty minutes east. A county standing order takes effect the moment a divorce or custody case is filed, and it differs from the Travis County version. It applies to you from day one whether or not anyone has told you about it.

Most Leander clients never make the drive. Uncontested finals are increasingly handled by submission or a brief Zoom prove-up, so it is entirely normal to go from first consultation to signed decree without a trip to Georgetown. Where a contested hearing is unavoidable, we prepare you for the courtroom you will actually be in.