Fullenweider Wilhite is a prominent Texas family law firm with over 200 years combined experience. Our family law attorneys are ready to put their experience to work for you. Many of our attorneys are Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization: Randall Wilhite, Michael Childs, Susan McLerran, Katie Custer, Ellie Natenberg, Grady Reiff, and Stephen Post.
With more than two centuries of combined experience, the attorneys at Fullenweider Wilhite provide comprehensive family law services, with a special focus on complex issues.
We provide a level of exceptional service and results that have garnered client loyalty and extensive peer recognition.
With over 80 years of combined experience, Mr. Donn Fullenweider and Mr. Randall Wilhite founded the Fullenweider Wilhite family law firm in 2008 to deliver superior legal advice and representation in family law matters.
With offices in Houston and Austin, the law firm of Fullenweider Wilhite focuses exclusively in family law matters including divorce, complex asset division, property settlements, child custody, spousal support, and pre-and post-marital issues. Our attorneys are dedicated to family law practice and can help:
Our founding partners are legends and have been recognized by their peers as being among the most accomplished family law attorneys in the country.
Donn C. Fullenweider was an experienced trial lawyers who was consistently recognized by his peers for his accomplishments – as his impressive list of national and state honors and associations can attest. Admitted to the Texas Bar in 1958, his legal career earned him a unique spot in the Hall of Legends of the State Bar of Texas. Donn Fullenweider passed away in April of 2023. His legacy will continue to live on through the immeasurable impact he has had on this firm, and throughout the legal community as a whole.
Randall Wilhite is regarded as one of the most distinguished family law attorneys in Texas and has represented clients in a full range of family law matters for over 38 years. He is experienced in litigation, arbitration, and mediation. He specializes in complex property disputes, stock options, and restricted stock issues, retirement assets, employee benefits, taxation issues, characterization of assets as separate or community property, business valuation and division and other valuation issues. As a mediator, he has settled over 2,600 family law cases, with an emphasis on complex legal issues, valuation disputes, tax issues, and business divisions.
Our exclusive focus is family law. We combine our substantial knowledge of Texas marital property law and child-related legal issues, including international divorces and custody disputes with an unwavering drive and commitment to protect what you value most.
The amount of spousal maintenance depends on factors such as
The Texas Family Code places limitations on the amount and duration of spousal support. Generally, spousal maintenance is limited to the shortest reasonable time that allows the spouse seeking maintenance to earn sufficient income to provide for his or her minimum reasonable needs. Before September of 2011, this was largely limited to three years; however, the Texas legislature has implemented a system that also considers the length of the marriage and the basis for the award.
Spousal maintenance after the dissolution of the marriage is limited to narrow circumstances. Typically, there are four bases in which a person may receive spousal maintenance:
In addition to one of the four bases, it must be established that the spouse seeking maintenance cannot provide for his or her reasonable needs. In Texas, the court will not award contractual alimony, unless it’s an agreement between the parties.
As with other property, retirement benefits can either be community or separate property. If the benefits are community property they will be subject to a “just and right” division on divorce. If they are separate property, they will remain the earning spouse’s separate property. Because of this, characterizing your retirement benefits as either community or separate property is essential.
The characterization of your benefits will depend on such factors as:
The characterization of stock options and restricted stock plans depends on whether they were granted before or during marriage, and whether you have to work during or after the marriage to exercise your right in the options or plan.
Like assets, debts can be considered as community or separate debts. All debt(s) must be characterized as one or the other.
A debt incurred before the marriage is considered separate and is not subject to division. A debt incurred during the marriage is presumed to be a community debt and must be divided between the spouses in a “just and right manner.”
In the case of community debts, how the liability is assigned depends on many factors. For example, the court may consider a spouse’s ability to pay, which spouse was awarded the property securing the liability, or which spouse created the liability.
However, there is an important caveat: even if one spouse is assigned liability, creditors are not automatically precluded from proceeding against the other spouse for payment, or from foreclosing on community property that was awarded to the other spouse on divorce. To discharge you from a liability not assigned to you, further action must be taken such as refinancing the debt or seeking an agreement with the creditor that holds only one spouse responsible for repayment.
If you’re considering marriage, divorce or other family law matters, your top priority should be to protect the things you value most. Fullenweider Wilhite is ready to help you explore your options and develop a strategy that will best serve your interests through the years ahead. To request additional information, arrange a consultation or refer a client, submit our website’s form or contact one of our Texas-based offices.
At Fullenweider Wilhite, we dedicate our practice exclusively to Texas family law. Our firm offers you experience, preparation, attention, and guidance on how to get through this difficult time of your life. We fight to accomplish your goals, whether that be through settlement at mediation, direct negotiation, or through contested trial or arbitration. From a complex divorce involving a large estate to a contested custody battle, we are prepared to protect your interests. We are experienced in effectively negotiating and settling cases, but should settlement fail, we know how to be aggressive trial attorneys in the courtroom.
We are a Houston-based family law firm that serves clients all around Texas, such as Harris County, Montgomery County, Galveston County, Fort Bend County, Tarrant County, and many more. We pride ourselves on being one of the largest Houston family law firms which gives us a wider range of resources and expertise resulting in an advantage for our clients. We have a reputation for success when it comes to cases in which substantial assets, investments, trusts and business holdings are at stake.
We understand the profound importance of any legal issue concerning your family.
We Provide Exceptional Service that has Garnered Client Loyalty and Extensive Peer Recognition.
The team at Fullenweider Wilhite is comprised of some of the most highly-regarded names in family law. Our peers and professional organizations alike have recognized our attorneys for both their legal skill and their unwavering drive to deliver exceptional client service.
Rated in US News Best Law Firms – Each year, U.S. News and Best Lawyers combine their resources to rank more than 11,000 U.S. law firms in the U.S. Rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys in their field and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process.
We don’t take these honors lightly. Our team strives to uphold them on every case.
How to Contact Us
You have serious questions. We have experienced insights. When it comes to Texas family law, you can trust us to respond with proven expertise at every turn. Schedule a consultation with one of our capable attorneys by calling 713-624-4100 or by emailing info@fullenweider.com .