Where is a Mesquite divorce case filed?

In Dallas County. Texas Family Code § 6.301 requires that at the time of filing, one spouse have been a domiciliary of Texas for the preceding six months and a resident of the county of filing for the preceding 90 days. The Dallas County courthouse is located at George L. Allen Sr. Courts Building, 600 Commerce St., Dallas, TX 75202. A portion of Mesquite extends into Kaufman County.

Do I have to live in Mesquite to file there?

You have to meet the county residency requirement for Dallas County, not for the city itself. Under Texas Family Code § 6.301 that means 90 days of residency in the county before filing, in addition to six months of domicile in Texas. Neighbouring cities in the same county satisfy it equally.

How does the Mesquite ISD calendar affect my possession schedule?

Substantially. A standard possession order keys holiday and summer periods to when school recesses and resumes rather than to fixed dates, so the district calendar determines the actual exchange days. Naming Mesquite ISD in the order avoids arguments in years when the district's calendar differs from a neighbouring district's.

Dallas County

Mesquite Family Law Attorney

Divorce, custody, child support and property division for Mesquite families — from a firm whose attorney is Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

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Family Law in Mesquite

Mesquite is an eastern Dallas County city with a high proportion of first-time homeowners and estates that are almost entirely community property. For purposes that matters in a specific way: a Mesquite case is filed in Dallas County, heard by Dallas County judges, and governed by Dallas County's local rules and standing orders. A portion of Mesquite extends into Kaufman County.

The courthouse is at George L. Allen Sr. Courts Building, 600 Commerce St., Dallas, TX 75202. Families here are usually served by Mesquite ISD, which is the practical anchor for school-calendar questions in a possession schedule — exchanges, spring break, and the start and end of the summer period all key off the district calendar rather than a generic date.

Filing in Dallas County. Texas requires that one spouse have lived in the county of filing for the 90 days before the petition (Tex. Fam. Code § 6.301), on top of six months' residency in the state. A recent move between Dallas County and a neighbouring county can reset that 90-day clock even though nothing about the marriage changed.

How We Help Mesquite Families

Divorce in Mesquite

Texas is a no-fault state, but it is not a simple one. What your divorce costs, how long it takes and what you walk away with are decided by rules that most people meet for the first time on the worst month of their life.

Child Custody in Mesquite

Texas does not use the word custody. It uses conservatorship, possession and access — three separate questions that people collapse into one, and that courts decide separately.

Child Support in Mesquite

Child support in Texas starts as arithmetic and turns into an argument about one number: what counts as your net resources.

Property Division in Mesquite

Dividing a Texas marital estate is two jobs in sequence: decide what is in the estate, then decide who gets it. Most of the money is won or lost in the first one.

About the Firm

Lisa G. Garza has practiced Texas family law for more than 30 years and is board certified in the specialty. The firm keeps offices on the Dallas North Tollway and in McKinney, and represents families throughout Dallas County and the wider metroplex.