Hablamos español. Consultations and documents in Spanish at no extra cost.

Two El Paso officeshello@riverafamilylaw.example.comMon to Thu, 8:30 am to 5:30 pm
Call the firm(915) 555-0170Free consultation

Case results

Sample outcomes, honestly labelled

Eight matters, described by what the problem was, what we did about it and how long it took. Every one of them is a sample illustration written for this site.

Free consultation(915) 555-0170
Courthouse steps and columns

Why there are no dollar figures here

Family law is not personal injury. There is no settlement figure that means anything on its own, because a just and right division depends entirely on the size and shape of the particular estate. A firm advertising a large divorce number is advertising the client's wealth, not the lawyer's work.

What can be described usefully is the problem, the approach and the outcome. That is what is below. Where a figure would have appeared, we have said so and marked it as illustrative.

Divorce

Divorce20258 months
Situation
A twenty-two year marriage with a Fort Bliss military retirement, a home with equity and a disputed survivor benefit election.
What we did
Coordinated with a military retirement specialist on the USFSPA division, drafted the order to satisfy DFAS requirements, and resolved the SBP election at mediation.
Outcome
Mediated settlement agreement covering the entire estate, with a DFAS-compliant division order accepted on first submission.

El Paso County

How divorce cases work

Child custody and conservatorship

Child custody20257 months
Situation
A father working rotating twelve-hour shifts was offered alternate weekends only, on the argument that his schedule made anything more unworkable.
What we did
We built a possession schedule mapped to his published rotation, with a fixed annual calendar produced ninety days in advance, and put his supervisor on the witness list to confirm the roster.
Outcome
Agreed order granting roughly equal overnights on a rotation-matched schedule, with the geographic restriction retained.

El Paso County family district court

How child custody cases work

Child support

Child support20259 months
Situation
A self-employed obligor reported $28,000 of annual income while operating a contracting business with visible payroll.
What we did
Subpoenaed three years of business bank records, deposed the bookkeeper, and reconstructed net resources from deposits rather than the return.
Outcome
Court found substantially higher net resources and ordered guideline support on the reconstructed figure, plus a judgment for arrears.

El Paso County, associate judge docket

Sample figure, illustrative only

How child support cases work

Adoption

Adoption202510 months
Situation
A stepfather had raised a child for six years. The biological father had not paid support or made contact in over four years.
What we did
Pleaded the failure-to-support and constructive abandonment grounds with documentary proof of the support record, then proceeded to an uncontested final hearing after the father defaulted.
Outcome
Termination and adoption granted, new birth certificate issued eight weeks later.

El Paso County

How adoption cases work

Mediation

Mediation2026One day
Situation
Two parents had spent fourteen months and a significant sum litigating a parenting plan, with a trial setting six weeks away.
What we did
Prepared a full-day mediation with a parenting calendar, a school-year overlay and a costed comparison of settlement against the projected trial expense.
Outcome
Binding mediated settlement agreement signed on the day, resolving all issues and vacating the trial setting.

Private mediation, El Paso

How mediation cases work

Protective orders

Protective orders202613 days to final hearing
Situation
An applicant needed immediate relief after an escalating pattern of contact, with two young children in the home.
What we did
Filed a sworn application the same afternoon with a dated message export and photographs, and obtained a temporary ex parte order that day.
Outcome
Two-year protective order granted after a contested hearing, including exclusion from the residence and temporary conservatorship provisions.

El Paso County

How protective orders cases work

Modifications

Modifications20264 months
Situation
A mother received a job offer in San Antonio. The existing order restricted the child's residence to El Paso County and contiguous counties.
What we did
Negotiated an expanded long-distance schedule with all spring breaks, forty-two summer days and allocated travel costs, in exchange for agreed modification of the restriction.
Outcome
Agreed modification entered without a contested hearing.

El Paso County

How modifications cases work

Property division

Property division202411 months
Situation
A spouse's inheritance had been deposited into a joint account eleven years earlier and used partly toward the marital home.
What we did
Traced the inherited funds through eleven years of statements using the community-out-first presumption and established a reimbursement claim against the community estate.
Outcome
Separate property character confirmed for the traced portion and a reimbursement award entered in the final decree.

El Paso County family district court

How property division cases work

How to read a results page, anyone's

  • Ask what the alternative was. An outcome is only meaningful against what would have happened otherwise, which no page can tell you.
  • Watch for selection. Every firm shows the cases that went well. Ask directly how often matters settle and how often they are tried.
  • Ignore the round numbers. A figure with no estate behind it is marketing, not information.
  • Look at the duration. It tells you more about a firm's practice than the outcome does.

Cookie preferences

Choose which cookies you allow. You can change this at any time from the link in the footer.