Facing a divorce or custody case in Fort Worth: where to start

If you live in Fort Worth, your first step is to confirm which county your home is in, because Fort Worth crosses five counties and each has its own courts and rules. Most Fort Worth homes are in Tarrant County, where family cases are heard at the Family Law Center downtown and there is no automatic standing order, so any early protection has to be requested. Scott Rewak can walk you through the first steps at a free, confidential consultation.

Step one: find your county

Fort Worth is mostly in Tarrant County, but parts of the city are in Denton, Johnson, Parker and Wise counties. A Fort Worth mailing address does not tell you which one you are in. Your property tax statement or voter registration card can help you check.

It matters because Texas law ties a divorce to a county. To file there, you or your spouse must have lived in that county for the 90 days before filing, and in Texas for the six months before filing (Tex. Fam. Code §6.301). If you recently moved across a county line, ask a lawyer how the timing works for you.

The county also changes what happens next. Here is the difference between the two most common answers.

If your home is in Tarrant County

Your case will be heard by one of six family district courts at the Tarrant County Family Law Center, 200 E. Weatherford Street. Tarrant County has no automatic standing order, so filing alone does not put limits on either side. The Tarrant County page covers the courts, floors and local rules in detail.

If your home is in the Denton County part of Fort Worth

Your case will be filed in Denton, at 1450 E. McKinney Street. Denton County has an automatic standing order that applies from filing. In cases with children, it orders both parents to attend an approved parenting class within 60 days of filing or service. The Denton County page explains it.

Two Fort Worth households can be under different rules depending on the county. Confirming your county first saves time and mistakes later.

Step two: decide whether you need protection right away

For Tarrant County residents, this is the step most often missed. Because there is no standing order, no county-wide order automatically stops a spouse from moving money, changing insurance, or taking the children on a long trip while the case is open.

Ask yourself a few plain questions:

• Am I worried that money or property may disappear?
• Do I need a schedule for the children, or for who pays the mortgage, before the divorce is final?
• Has communication become threatening or harassing?

If the answer to any of these is yes, talk with a lawyer about asking the court for a temporary restraining order or temporary orders. A temporary restraining order is a short-term order telling one or both sides not to do certain things until a hearing. Temporary orders are the court's rules for while the case is open.

Step three: if you are afraid for your safety

Your safety comes before any paperwork. In Tarrant County, protective orders are handled by the Criminal District Attorney's office. You begin by completing a questionnaire online, and the unit can be reached at 817-884-1623.

The District Attorney's page says its office generally does not take applicants who already have a pending divorce or custody case. If you have already filed, protection may need to be requested inside your family case. Scott's protective orders page explains how that works.

Step four: gather what you will need

Whatever your county, the same Texas rules shape the case. A court may not grant a divorce before the 60th day after the case was filed (Tex. Fam. Code §6.702), with limited exceptions involving family violence. Property either spouse has during the marriage is presumed to be community property, and anyone claiming something as separate must prove it by clear and convincing evidence (§3.003).

That makes records important from the start. Useful things to collect include:

• recent tax returns and pay stubs for both spouses
• bank, retirement and credit card statements
• mortgage, loan and insurance documents
• records showing what either of you owned before the marriage, or received as a gift or inheritance
• the children's school, activity and medical schedules

The free Navigating Divorce workbook walks through this list in more detail. Scott's page on preparing for divorce covers the rest.

Step five: know where you will go

For Tarrant County cases, the courts and the District Clerk's Family Law Division are in the same downtown building, 200 E. Weatherford Street. The clerk's office is on the 3rd floor, and the family courts are on the 4th and 5th floors. If your child-support case involves the Texas Attorney General, it may be in one of the IV-D courts on the 1st floor.

If you plan to handle part of the case yourself, the family courts' self-help page links forms, the county law library, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas and free bar association clinics.

How Scott helps Fort Worth families

Fort Worth is growing quickly. The city had an estimated 1,028,117 residents in July 2025 and added more people that year than any other city in the region, according to the North Central Texas Council of Governments.

Scott Rewak is Board Certified, Family Law — Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and handles any family-law matter. His office is at 5950 Sherry Lane, Suite 800, in Dallas's Preston Center. "If you need me, it means you're going through one of the toughest times you'll experience in life," Scott says. His aim is to help you start your new life from the strongest position possible.

Questions people ask

Written for Scott Rewak, Board Certified, Family Law — Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Last reviewed October 1, 2026. General information, not legal advice.