In a contested Collin County custody case, look for a lawyer who appears regularly in the McKinney district courts, prepares for the temporary orders hearing from the first meeting, understands how custody evaluators and amicus attorneys work, can tell you when a jury helps and when it doesn’t, and talks plainly about cost and risk. Credentials help you build a short list. The first meeting, and how the lawyer handles hard questions, tells you the rest.
This guide is for parents in Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Allen, Prosper, Wylie and the rest of the county who expect the other side to fight. If you and your co-parent mostly agree, our guide How to Choose a Child Custody Lawyer in Plano covers the basics, including the possession schedule most families get. This page is about the cases that don’t settle easily.
How contested custody works in Collin County
Custody suits here are heard by the county’s district courts. The Collin County District Courts page lists 15 of them, all in the courts building at 2100 Bloomdale Road in McKinney. Once a family case is filed, the Standing Order on Children, Property, and Conduct of Parties sets rules for both parents. Each court keeps its own docket and forms, so a lawyer who appears in front of these judges regularly knows how a given court handles temporary orders hearings, scheduling and trial settings.
Texas law gives contested custody cases several features that should shape how you pick a lawyer:
- A jury can decide the central custody questions. Under Tex. Fam. Code § 105.002, a party can demand a jury, and the judge cannot contradict the verdict on who is appointed managing conservator, which parent has the exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence, or whether that residence is limited to a geographic area. The judge still sets child support and the specific terms of the possession schedule.
- The judge may talk with your child. In a nonjury trial or hearing, Tex. Fam. Code § 153.009 requires the court, on request of a party or the child’s attorney, to interview a child 12 or older in chambers about conservatorship and primary residence. The court can also choose to interview younger children.
- A signed mediation agreement is hard to undo. Under Tex. Fam. Code § 153.0071, a mediated settlement agreement that conspicuously states it is not subject to revocation, signed by the parties and any attorneys present, entitles a party to judgment on it. The exceptions are narrow and tied to family violence or abuse.
- Mediation is part of the path. Collin County family cases are often referred to the county’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Program (CCAP), where local attorneys volunteer as mediators and income-qualified parties can use a sliding fee scale.
- Outside evaluators may weigh in. A court may order a child custody evaluation after notice and a hearing, or by agreement (Tex. Fam. Code § 107.103), and the evaluator must meet the minimum qualifications in Tex. Fam. Code § 107.104. Courts can also appoint an amicus attorney or an attorney ad litem for the child.
A lawyer who handles contested custody in this county should be able to talk through each of these without notes.
What matters most when you compare lawyers
Recent courtroom time on custody. Much of family law is negotiation, and that suits many families. In a contested case, you want a lawyer the other side believes will try the case if it doesn’t settle, because that belief affects every offer. Ask about recent contested custody hearings and trials, not lifetime totals.
A plan for temporary orders. The temporary orders hearing comes early. It sets where the children live, the schedule and who pays what while the case is pending, sometimes for many months. A prepared lawyer starts talking about witnesses, school and medical records, and a proposed schedule in your first meeting.
Comfort with evaluators and appointed attorneys. Ask how the lawyer prepares clients for a home visit and interviews, what they do when they disagree with an evaluator’s recommendation, and how they work with an amicus attorney without treating the child’s lawyer as an opponent.
Judgment about juries. Because Texas allows juries on conservatorship, your lawyer should be able to explain when a jury helps, when it mainly adds cost and delay, and how preparing for a jury in McKinney differs from preparing for a bench trial.
Evidence discipline. Contested custody turns on proof: who took the children to school and the pediatrician, what the co-parenting app messages say, who showed up for pickups. A good lawyer gives you a simple system for keeping records and tells you plainly what to avoid, such as posting about the case or coaching the children.
Straight talk about cost. Contested custody is expensive. Ask for the retainer, the hourly rate of every person who will bill on your file, and what drives costs up: evaluations, depositions, a jury.
Who does the work. The lawyer you meet is not always the lawyer who stands up at hearings. Ask who will handle your temporary orders hearing, mediation and trial, and who answers when you call.
Credentials you can check. Look the lawyer up in the State Bar of Texas Find a Lawyer directory, which shows license status and public disciplinary history. Ask whether the lawyer holds family law certification from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and confirm it on the TBLS lawyer search. Certification involves substantial family law experience, peer references and an examination. It is a useful screen, but not a substitute for asking about recent custody work.
Questions to ask at the first meeting
- Which Collin County district courts have you appeared in recently on contested custody, and how do they handle temporary orders?
- What would you do in the first few weeks of my case?
- Would a custody evaluation or an amicus attorney help or hurt in my situation, and why?
- Would you consider a jury here? What would it add in cost and time?
- How do you prepare clients for mediation, and how do you handle the decision to sign that day?
- What are the weakest parts of my case?
- Who else will work on my file, and what does each person bill?
Red flags
- Confident forecasts. No one knows the ruling before seeing the other side’s evidence; a lawyer who claims to is telling you what you want to hear.
- Scorched-earth talk. Eagerness to file every motion and attack the other parent’s lawyer runs up fees and can cost you credibility with a judge who is watching how each parent behaves.
- No questions about your child. If the lawyer never asks about routines, school or special needs, they are preparing for a fight, not a custody case.
- Vague answers on cost or staffing. You should know who bills, at what rate, and for what.
- Unfamiliarity with the local process, such as not knowing how CCAP referrals work or how the McKinney courts schedule hearings.
- Bad advice early, such as keeping the children from the other parent without a court order or venting about the case online.
What good looks like
Take an Allen parent served with a petition that asks the court to give the other parent the right to designate the children’s primary residence and to limit this parent to supervised visits, based on claims this parent denies. A well-prepared lawyer uses the first meeting to sort what can be proved from what is only alleged, and to plan the temporary orders hearing that may come within weeks. They list the records to gather and the people who have seen the parent with the children: teachers, coaches, the pediatrician. They explain what an evaluator or amicus attorney would add, which questions a jury could decide, and what each path would cost. Then they set ground rules: how to communicate with the co-parent, what not to post, and how to keep a calendar of parenting time.
You should leave that meeting with a plan, a task list and an honest sense of the risks. To get the most from it, bring any petition or orders already filed, a short written timeline, and the names of people who know your family well.
How Scroggins Law Group approaches contested custody
Mark L. Scroggins, licensed in Texas since 1993 and Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, leads our child custody practice, which covers conservatorship disputes and modifications. He has been selected to Texas Super Lawyers 2014–2026 and listed in Best Lawyers in America for Family Law since 2024 (Mark’s profile). Parents from McKinney, Prosper and the rest of the county meet with us at our Plano office on Legacy Circle. Call 214-469-3100 and bring the questions above; we expect you to ask them.
When a custody fight runs alongside a property fight, see High-Net-Worth Divorce in Plano and Collin County or Divorcing with a Business in Texas.
FAQ
Can I get a jury trial in a Collin County custody case?
For some issues, yes. Tex. Fam. Code § 105.002 lets a party demand a jury on conservatorship, which parent designates the child’s primary residence, and any geographic restriction. The judge decides child support and the specific possession and access terms.
Will the judge ask my child where they want to live?
Possibly. In a nonjury trial or hearing, the court must interview a child 12 or older in chambers if a party or the child’s attorney asks, and it may interview younger children (Tex. Fam. Code § 153.009). The interview does not limit the judge’s discretion to decide.
Is a custody evaluation ordered in every case?
No. A court may order one after notice and a hearing or when the parties agree (Tex. Fam. Code § 107.103). Whether to ask for one is a strategic decision to make with your lawyer.
How do I check a lawyer’s disciplinary record?
Use the State Bar of Texas Find a Lawyer directory, which shows public disciplinary history. You can confirm family law certification on the TBLS lawyer search.
This page is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.