Counties

Where in Texas are you?

I am located in Plano, in Collin County, Texas. I work in Collin, Dallas, and Denton Counties. But at least twice a week I get an email from someone asking me about my fees and services, and the person gives no indication where they live. Upon inquiry I may find out that their case may have to be filed in El Paso County or Brownwood County, each of which is several hundred miles away. For me to be paid fairly for my time, I'd have to charge several thousand dollars extra just to pay for my time traveling to and from the courthouse.

A brief court appearance in one of my primary counties including travel time takes 3 or 4 hours of my time, but nearly a full day or more in counties that are farther away. So, it just doesn't make sense to hire me to represent you in a matter that requires me to drive four hours round trip (or more). Most agreed divorces only require one appearance in court.

You may be concerned that you are a distance from my office. For most cases, it's only necessary for my client to come to my office one time, for the initial consultation. Everything else is usually handled by telephone, email, and fax.

How do you know what county your case belongs in? There are two components: jurisdiction and venue. Generally, for a Texas court to have jurisdiction, at least one of the parties must have lived in Texas for the six months prior to filing of the suit. And for a particular county to be the proper venue for the suit, that same person must have lived in that county for the ninety days before suit is filed. So, if you and your spouse lived in San Antonio for years, and you just moved to Plano, you couldn't file for divorce in Collin County until you had lived in the county for ninety days. Or, if you and your spouse lived in Plano, and last week you moved to Houston and your spouse moved to Austin, there is no proper venue for either of you until one of you has lived in a particular county for ninety days. However, if you and your spouse lived in Collin County and you moved to El Paso last week, you could hire me to represent you, and we could file in Collin County based on your spouse's residence here.

An exception to jurisdiction and venue is for continuing, exclusive jurisdiction. If you and your spouse get divorced in Collin County, that court retains jurisdiction over any post-divorce problems, such as child support or custody problems, until and unless the case is transferred to another location.

So, before you ask me about my fees, look at a map. If it's more than 100 miles from Plano to the county where venue would be proper, I'll be prohibitively expensive compared to a local attorney.

Texas County Map with Collin County highlighted Warning: Big File (175 kb)

Texas Mileage Calculator (if the city is more than 100 miles from Plano, you'll probably want to find a local attorney.

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