Texas Family Law Insiders

Hosted by Holly Draper

Business Management Kids FamilyInterviews guests

RSS feed

Episodes

148

Latest episode

Oct 2026

Language

About the show

The Texas Family Law Insiders podcast brings together top divorce and family law attorneys and other professionals to discuss issues related to divorce, family law, child custody, child support, paternity, parental rights, grandparents’ rights, adoptions, and family law appeals in Texas.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

October 28, 2026Episode 15148 min

Texas Family Law Insiders Episode 151 | Scott Thompson: A Corporate Lawyer Walks into a Family Law Bar...

In the latest episode of the Texas Family Law Insiders Podcast, Holly Draper welcomes Scott Thompson, managing attorney of Thompson Law in Austin. Scott spent more than five years as a commercial litigator at a global law firm in New York City before building a family law practice in Texas. He shares how his path ran from New York through a grant-funded project in Namibia to Austin, and how pro bono family and criminal defense cases gave him early courtroom experience while he was still carrying the briefcase for senior partners. Scott explains the corporate litigation philosophy he brought with him: prepare every case for trial in order to foster settlement. That means developing strategy early instead of reacting to the other side, running a strong discovery and motion practice, and using a tool most family lawyers rarely touch — the motion for summary judgment. He describes how summary judgment motions, including Texas’s no-evidence motion, can knock out invalid prenups, unsupported separate property claims, and reimbursement claims before trial, and how motions to compel can strengthen your position when the other side can’t produce key documents. The conversation then turns to the complex compensation that comes with tech and business executives. Following up on the previous episode’s deep dive into RSUs, Scott weighs whether to buy out RSUs now or divide them when they vest, and flags the tax gap created when companies withhold at a lower rate than the employee will actually owe. He also covers stock options, private equity interests, 409A valuations, cap tables, protective orders, and what to request in discovery when your client is the spouse who doesn’t own the interest. Holly and Scott close with business ownership issues, including entity structure, jurisdictional questions involving Delaware and foreign corporations, competing business valuation experts versus a joint expert, goodwill, piercing the corporate veil, and alter ego findings. Scott offers practical tips for educating judges with trial briefs, explains why family law is driven by return on investment, shares what keeps him in family law, and gives young lawyers advice on finding mentors who can help them navigate unfamiliar issues. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: • How corporate litigation strategy translates to family law • Why preparing for trial is the best way to foster settlement • Using summary judgment motions in Texas family law cases • How motions to compel create leverage in negotiations • Why not all dollars in the marital estate are equal • Buying out RSUs now versus dividing them at vesting • What family lawyers should know about stock options • Key discovery requests and protective orders for private equity • How to educate judges on complex financial issues

October 14, 2026Episode 15052 min

Episode 150 | RSU's: $2 Million Now or $8 Million later....perhaps | Guy Rodgers

Holly Draper welcomes back Guy Rodgers, a board-certified family lawyer who shifted his practice in 2008 from full-time litigation to financial advisory work focused almost entirely on divorce litigation support. Holly invited Guy back because even experienced attorneys struggle when a case involves restricted stock units, or RSUs. Guy frames the conversation around the case behind his CLE presentation, “The $14 Million Illusion”: a client who saw $14 million in unvested RSUs on her executive husband’s statements — some tranches vesting as far as 25 years out — and counted on her share as her retirement. Guy explains what RSUs actually are and how they differ from stock options and employee stock purchase plans. He walks through the life cycle of a grant, from the corporate decision to award deferred compensation, through the vesting period he compares to a cake “baking in the oven,” to the moment the shares vest and become taxable. He describes the “waterfall effect” of annual grants vesting on overlapping schedules, and why RSUs are true golden handcuffs that can vanish entirely through death, termination, resignation, or a company’s collapse. The conversation then turns to the practical work: what to request in discovery, including summary plan descriptions, grant letters, vesting schedules, and third-party administrator statements; how to watch for vested shares quietly moved into undisclosed brokerage accounts; and how Texas Family Code § 3.007 and the Berry formula apply to characterizing RSUs month by month. Holly and Guy walk through a visual example showing how to calculate separate and community portions when the marriage covers only part of a vesting period. Guy closes with valuation and settlement strategy, using the time value of money to explain why he advised his client that $2 million today was worth more than $7 or $8 million in contingent future payouts. He covers how to frame the argument on both sides, why trading RSUs for other assets is almost always better than dividing them, and what decrees must include when there is no other option — clear after-tax language, firm delivery deadlines, and security for payment. He also reveals the surprising ending to the $14 million case, and the one question he now always asks the employee spouse. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: • What an RSU really is • How the RSU life cycle works • The “waterfall effect” of annual grants • Exactly what to request in discovery • How RSUs can disappear • How to characterize RSUs under Texas law • Why face value isn’t present value • Settlement strategies on both sides • Drafting for enforceability • The surprise ending to the $14 million case

September 30, 2026Episode 14936 min

Texas Family Law Insiders Podcast | Episode 149 | Pamela Hailey-Petty: Where There's a Will...

In this episode of the Texas Family Law Insiders Podcast, Holly Draper welcomes Pamela Hailey-Petty, owner of Hailey-Petty Law Firm, PLLC, an estate planning and probate practice with offices in Austin and San Antonio. Family lawyers run into estate planning and probate questions far more often than most realize, and Pamela walks through the basics every family practitioner should understand — from wills, trusts, and powers of attorney to probate administration, guardianship, and trust administration. She also dispels one of the most common myths she hears, even from other attorneys: that everything automatically passes to a surviving spouse. Blended families are a major focus of the conversation. Pamela explains that under Texas’s default rules, when a spouse dies without a will and has children from a prior relationship, the surviving spouse keeps their own 50% interest in the community home, but the deceased spouse’s half passes to those children. Even when all the children belong to both spouses, debts, inaccessible accounts, or minor children can push the family into a formal, court-supervised dependent administration, with added attorney time, court costs, and required accountings. Holly and Pamela then turn to the issues that land squarely on family lawyers’ desks. Pamela explains how divorce affects an existing will, why naming a guardian in a will can’t simply cut out the other biological parent, and how Travis County probate courts have responded when parties try to use probate to sidestep the family code’s strict limits on non-parent conservatorship. Holly shares a personal story about caring for an aging parent that highlights why springing powers of attorney can fail exactly when they’re needed most, and Pamela explains why she always recommends powers of attorney that are effective immediately. The episode closes with practical guidance on trusts: who genuinely benefits from one, including single parents of minor children, owners of out-of-state real property, blended families, and clients who value privacy. Pamela also covers what family lawyers should look for when a divorcing couple has a joint trust, why beneficiary designations and wills must be updated, how standing orders factor into the timing, and why the right answer on trusts is never “always” or “never,” but a careful look at what each client is trying to accomplish. In This Episode, You’ll Discover: • Why “everything goes to my spouse” is a myth • When probate becomes court-supervised • How divorce affects an existing will • The limits of naming a guardian in a will • The core documents every adult should have • Why springing powers of attorney often backfire • Who should seriously consider a trust

September 16, 2026Episode 14830 min

Texas Family Law Insiders Podcast | Episode 148 | Amanda Sexton: Marketing in the Age of AI

Holly Draper welcomes Amanda Sexton to the Texas Family Law Insiders Podcast. Amanda is the founder of FocusWorks Marketing, and she has spent nearly 20 years helping law firms turn marketing into a measurable source of new business. Amanda unpacks what may be the biggest shift in legal marketing in a generation: clients are increasingly finding and vetting lawyers through AI platforms like ChatGPT and Claude rather than through Google alone. She explains why firms that have leaned entirely on Google Ads and Local Services Ads should start diversifying now, since AI tools pull from a much wider set of sources — directory listings, reviews, social platforms, and thought-leadership content — to decide who to recommend, and why consistency across all of those sources matters more than any single one of them. The conversation turns to reviews and reputation. Amanda explains that recency now matters as much as volume — a firm with 200 reviews but only two in the last three months is in worse shape than one steadily gathering new ones — and that spreading reviews across multiple platforms, not just Google, helps AI tools see consistent, corroborating signals about a firm. She and Holly also discuss how content is evolving: static website pages on divorce or custody still matter, but AI increasingly rewards firms that tell specific stories about the clients they serve, and that show up consistently across LinkedIn, video, and other channels rather than relying on one source of truth. Amanda dives into the practical mechanics of AI visibility: why LinkedIn is worth the time investment even for attorneys who rarely post, why Facebook content largely isn't being pulled into AI answers the way public LinkedIn content is, and why directory consistency — identical firm name, address, and contact details everywhere — is one of the fastest ways to build AI trust. She also addresses newer developments like paid ChatGPT ads, cautioning that it's still early and firms should treat it as a low-cost experiment rather than a proven channel. They close with practical guidance for firms at every stage: how to differentiate from competitors who all claim to be “responsive” by getting specific about what that actually looks like, which KPIs matter when AI-driven attribution is hard to track (closed cases by channel, consult-to-close ratio, and speed to respond to leads), and Amanda's advice for young associates building a personal brand — posting consistently on LinkedIn and pursuing guest publications to get their name into the sources AI is already reading. In This Episode, You'll Discover: • Why relying solely on Google Ads and LSA’s is increasingly risky • Why recency matters more than volume for reviews • Why storytelling is becoming a must-have rather than a nice-to-have • Why LinkedIn is worth the time even for attorneys who rarely post • How to measure the effectiveness of your marketing • How young associates can build a personal brand from scratch

September 2, 2026Episode 14752 min

Texas Family Law Insiders Podcast | Episode 147 | Hunter Biederman: "Stop Talking!"

In the latest episode of the Texas Family Law Insiders Podcast, Holly sits down to talk with criminal defense attorney Hunter Biederman of Biederman and Burleson, PLLC in Frisco, TX to discuss the all-too-common intersection of family law and criminal law. A former prosecutor with 20 years of experience in Collin and Denton Counties, Hunter walks through what a family lawyer should do the moment a client gets arrested — getting them out of jail quickly through a bail bondsman rather than a cash bond, then slowing down to loop in a criminal defense attorney. Both agree that every family lawyer should cultivate a go-to relationship with a criminal defense attorney, since the crossover between the two practice areas, often driven by alcohol, stress, and the emotional toll of divorce, is constant. The two also cover the cardinal rule of criminal defense — never talk to the police — and why that advice holds true even in emotionally charged domestic violence calls where both parties are pointing fingers. The conversation turns to the mechanics of domestic violence cases: why a “complaining witness” can never unilaterally drop criminal charges once police are involved, how affidavits of non-prosecution work differently depending on whether a prosecutor or a defense attorney prepares them, and how this dynamic can badly undercut a family law case when a client who once claimed abuse later recants. Hunter and Holly discuss how prior domestic violence allegations, or the lack of any paper trail, can become a weapon in custody disputes and protective order hearings, and how differently individual judges weigh an arrest or a protective order that was issued on thin evidence. Hunter and Holly close with practical guidance for family lawyers whose clients have a criminal case running alongside a divorce or custody matter: the real timeline of a criminal case (often nine months to a year and a half, far longer than a family law case), the competing interests at play when deciding whether a client with pending charges should testify, and the practical reality that prosecutors rarely go looking for family court transcripts. They wrap up with an overview of expunctions and non-disclosures — how a dismissed or resolved criminal case can still show up and hurt a client in front of a judge or jury unless that extra step is taken to clear the record. In This Episode You'll Discover: • What to do the moment a client gets arrested • The number one rule from every criminal defense attorney. • Why a complaining witness can't just “drop the charges” • The difference between bond conditions and a protective order • How a criminal case timeline collides with a family law case • What expunctions and non-disclosures can (and can't) erase

August 19, 2026Episode 14644 min

Texas Family Lawyers Podcast | Episode 146 | Passenger or Co-Pilot? What We Can Learn from Belle Burden's "Strangers"

Disclaimer: Duly registered and duly licensed financial professionals offer securities through Equitable Advisors, LLC (NY, NY 212-314-4600), member FINRA, SIPC (Equitable Financial Advisors in MI & TN); offer investment advisory products and services through Equitable Advisors, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor; and offer annuity and insurance products through Equitable Network, LLC (Equitable Network Insurance Agency of California, LLC; Equitable Network Insurance Agency of Utah, LLC; Equitable Network of Puerto Rico, Inc.).Equitable Advisors and Equitable Network are affiliates and do not offer tax or legal advice or services. Professionals holding the CDFA® credential must follow strict ethical rules and practice standards. This designation is not a license to practice law, as they are not permitted to give legal advice. Well Lived Wealth is not owned or operated by Equitable Advisors or Equitable Network. PPG- 9009031.1(7/26)(Exp.7/30) In this episode, Holly Draper sits down with Molly Ward, a certified financial planner and certified divorce financial analyst (CDFA) and founder of Well Lived Wealth in Houston, to talk about why financial engagement — not just financial literacy — determines how well someone comes through a divorce. Molly shares her own divorce story and explains how the CDFA credential complements a family lawyer's work by translating the legal process into a concrete financial roadmap: Can I keep the house? Will I be okay? What does my life actually look like now? The conversation centers on Strangers by Belle Burden, whose account of "financial disengagement" in marriage — becoming what Molly calls a "financial ostrich" or "financial hostage" — mirrors what Molly and Holly both see in practice. They discuss the slow slide from financial co-pilot to passenger, why it disproportionately affects women, and practical takeaways for family lawyers: red flags to watch for at intake, when to loop in a CDFA, and how the book has fueled renewed interest in prenups (the "Burden Bump"). In This Episode, You'll Discover: • What a CDFA is and how it differs from a CFP • The “financial ostrich” and “financial hostage” patterns Molly sees in her practice • Why each spouse should have their own CDFA • How Belle Burden's book Strangers illustrates the slow slide into disengagement • Molly's take on prenups and postnups, and the “trigger clause • When and how family lawyers should loop in a CDFA

August 5, 2026Episode 14526 min

Texas Family Lawyers Podcast | Episode 145 | Material and Substantial Changes: Can you file? Should you file?

Episode 145: Material and Substantial Change Host: Holly Draper | Guest: Emily Doron | Texas Family Law Insiders Podcast It sounds like a basic concept, but it seems like a lot of attorneys and judges don't fully understand it: material and substantial change, the gatekeeper standard for any modification case. In this episode, Holly is joined by Emily Doron, a senior attorney at the Draper Law Firm, to unpack what the standard actually requires, where it comes from, and why the same set of facts can get a modification granted in one court and denied in another. The Texas Family Code never defines material and substantial change, which means attorneys are left piecing it together from case law — and, in practice, from the individual judge sitting on the bench. The conversation walks through the challenges in presenting material and substantial changes in court including what constitutes material and substantial changes, when it is and when it isn't in the best interests of the client to pursue them in court, how the specific court and judge might impact the outcome more than the facts, and how to protect your client's appeal when the finding goes against what those facts say. This is a conversation from which every family attorney can take away information that they can use, and the every new and young family lawyer will definitely want to hear! In This Episode, You'll Discover: • What material and substantial change actually is • The two-part test clients need to understand • The one-year modification trap • Whether a promotion counts as a material and substantial change • How to actually prove it in court • Why “I don’t like this order” isn’t a legal argument

July 22, 2026Episode 14442 min

Episode 144 | Getting What is Right: Disproportionate Divisions

Just and right does not mean equal — and that misconception trips up more divorce clients than almost any other. In this follow-up to their conversation on fault grounds for divorce, Holly Draper is joined again by her partner at the Draper Law Firm, Carrie Tapia, to dig into disproportionate division of the marital estate: how it works, who gets it, and what it actually takes to plead and prove it. Texas is a community property state, but that does not mean the law promises a 50/50 split. The family code calls for a “just and right” division, which really means whatever the judge on your case decides is fair under the circumstances. Holly and Carrie walk through why they set client expectations at an even split as the baseline, why courts are given broad discretion on appeal, and why the biggest swings they have personally seen have landed closer to a 55/45 or 60/40 split — with true outliers reserved for extreme facts or default judgments. The heart of the episode is a walk through the Murff factors — the non-exclusive list of considerations from the 1981 Texas Supreme Court case Murff v. Murff that judges may weigh in deciding whether to award more than half the estate to one spouse. Holly and Carrie go factor by factor: fault in the breakup, disparity in earning capacity and education, health and age, the size of each spouse’s separate estate, the nature of the community property itself, benefits from continuation of the marriage, custody of the children, waste or fraud on the community, and disproportionate attorney’s fees. They share which factors actually move the needle with judges in their experience, and which ones sound compelling in theory but rarely tip the scales in practice. The conversation also covers the practical side: how to plead a disproportionate division (and why it is worth including even when you are not sure you will pursue it), the different evidence needed to prove each factor — from tax returns and forensic accountants to medical records — and how to run a cost-benefit analysis with clients before spending thousands of dollars chasing a waste claim. Holly and Carrie close with the appeal side of property division: the strict 20-day deadline to request findings of fact and conclusions of law, and common reversible errors like mischaracterization of separate property and double-dipping in how assets are awarded. In This Episode, You'll Discover: • Why “just and right” doesn’t mean 50/50 — how Texas community property law actually works, why courts have broad discretion, and why setting client expectations at an even split protects them from disappointment. • The Murff factors that guide judges — a full walk-through of the non-exhaustive list from Murff v. Murff, including earning capacity, health, age, separate property, and benefits from continuation of the marriage. • How to plead a disproportionate division — why it is best practice to plead for it even before you are certain, and how fault grounds, fraud, and waste each require different levels of pleading and proof. • What it actually takes to prove each factor — from tax returns and expert testimony on earning capacity to forensic accountants for tracing waste and fraud on the community. • How to weigh the cost of a waste claim — Holly and Carrie discuss running a cost-benefit analysis with clients before hiring an expensive forensic accountant to chase a claim. • The 20-day deadline that can sink a property division appeal — why requesting findings of fact and conclusions of law on time is critical, and the reversible errors — like mischaracterization and double-dipping — to watch for.

July 8, 2026Episode 14325 min

Episode 143 To Plead or Not to Plead: Grounds for Divorce

Every divorce filed in Texas has to state grounds for the divorce, but should it be a fault ground or the standard no-fault option? In this episode, Holly Draper is joined by her partner at the Draper Law Firm, Carrie Tapia, to break down the grounds for divorce available under the Texas Family Code and the strategy behind choosing which one to plead. Holly and Carrie start with the default: insupportability, the no-fault ground that allows most Texas divorces to proceed without airing out every grievance in the marriage. The conversation then works through each of the fault grounds available in Texas along with the evidentiary bar for each, the practical reasons attorneys rarely plead some of them, and the property division and custody consequences that can follow. Holly and Carrie share candid war stories about how judges really react to adultery, when a disproportionate share of the estate becomes realistic, and the hidden risks (like exposure to lifetime spousal maintenance or the need for a guardian) that come with rarely-used grounds, as well as practical guidance for practitioners: when and how to amend a petition to add fault grounds before trial, why waiting until the last minute can backfire under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, and how to counsel clients on the risk versus reward of pursuing a fault-based case. In this episode you'll discover: • Why insupportability is the default • How fault grounds can function as leverage • What it actually takes to prove fault grounds • The truth about adultery in the eyes of the court • The unique circumstances for lesser-used fault grounds • Timing rules for amending a petition

June 24, 2026Episode 14247 min

Episode 142 | Five Years of Advice from the Best in the Business

Episode 142: Texas Family Law Insiders Podcast- Five Years of Advice from the Best in the Business Five years. 140+ episodes. One question asked of every single guest: "What is one piece of advice you would give to young family lawyers?" In this milestone episode, host Holly Draper does something different. Instead of sitting down with a new guest, she opens up the archive and pulls the best answers from five years of conversations with attorneys, judges, financial experts, mental health professionals, and mediators from across the Texas family law world — and beyond. What you'll get is some of the best advice, from some of the very best professionals in and around family law — covering everything from what to wear to court, to how to protect your reputation, to when you should say yes to a scary opportunity. You'll get a deeper dive into the most commonly recurring pieces of advice given over the years, with additional wisdom shared by colleagues from all over Texas. Whether you're brand new to family law, a seasoned practitioner, or just someone fascinated by this world, there's something in this episode that will stay with you. In this episode you'll discover : • Why what you wear matters more than you think • The moment that almost didn't happen • The war bell you didn't mean to ring • Why your reputation is the only thing that outlasts you • The five recurring themes of advice from the past five years • What lawyers in the trenches are saying right now