The Unofficial
PARENTS' GUIDE TO THE DALLAS COUNTY FAMILY COURT SYSTEM
COPYRIGHT © 1997-2006. All Rights Reserved by:
Law Offices of
Raggio & Raggio, P.L.L.C.
The official
Parent's Guide to the Dallas County Family Court System is a copyrighted work by the Dallas Bar
Association's Family Law Section and which is currently under revision and may eventually be posted on the Dallas Bar
Association's Website, as well as distributed in pamplet form at
Family Court Services..This guide is intended to be as
comprehensive as possible to help familiarize you with the
process of how family law matters are handled. This Guide also
contains articles and information not available either in the
official guide or anywhere else. The information contained herein
is not legal advice on any particular situation. Individuals and
organizations are permitted to reprint this Guide for
noncommercial use so long as attribution is made to Law Offices of Raggio &
Raggio, P.L.L.C.
A comprehensive Guide by the Texas Young Lawyers Association called
"What to Expect in Texas Family Law Court"
is available from www.tyla.org
DIRECTORY OF FAMILY AND JUVENILE COURTS
| COURT | JUDGE | ASSOCIATE JUDGE | COURT PHONE | FLOOR |
| 254TH | David Hanschen | John Elder | 653-6136 | 3/4 |
| 255TH | Lori Hockett | Andrew Ten Eyck | 653-6159 | 4/3 |
| 256TH | David Lopez | Lewis Nicholson | 653-6449 | 4/4 |
| 301ST | Lynn Cherry | Scott Beauchamp | 653-7385 | 3/4 |
| 302ND | Tena Callahan | Christine Collie | 653-7375 | 4/4 |
| 303RD | Dennise Garcia | Mary Brown | 653-7611 | 4/4 |
| 330TH | Marilea Lewis | Randall Grubbs | 653-7207 | 3/3 |
NOTE: The Court's locations changed when the new Courthouse
addition opened in 2006. The 254th, 301st and 330th are on the third floor;
255th, 256th, 302nd, and 303rd are on the 4th floor. Family Court Services
is on the second floor of the new tower. All
Associate Judges, except Judge Grubbs and Judge Ten Eyck, are now on the 4th floor.
The child support IV-D courts are on the 3rd floor.
JUVENILE COURTS:
| COURT | JUDGE | REFEREE | PHONE |
| 304TH | Bill Mazur | Mary McAndrew | 698-4330 |
| 305TH | Cheryl Lee Shannon | Gracy Lewis | 698-4330 |
The Juvenile Courts are located on the 3rd Floor of the Henry
Wade Juvenile Justice Center, 2600 Lone Star Boulevard, Dallas,
Texas.
SUPPORT SERVICES OFFICES:NOTE: EVERYTHING IS STILL MOVING.
TEXAS LAW - The basics of Texas law about divorce,
custody, and child support explained and summarized:
For those who may see a "printed" version of this
Webpage, the following articles--plus others--are available at
http://www.raggiolaw.com/famlawarticle.htm.
FREE OR REDUCED FEE FAMILY LAW ADVICE.
LEGALINE - sponsored by the Dallas Bar Association on the
second and third Wednesdays of each month from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00
p.m. Lawyers are available at (214) 220-7476 to answer legal
questions. Sometimes they even specialize in the areas to be
covered; check at
http://www.dallasbar.com/
Dallas Bar Lawyer Referral Service - (214)
979-9090. This service of the Dallas Bar Association makes
referrals to attorneys on a family law case on a reduced fee
basis for the initial consultation. The initial half-hour
consultation costs $20.
Legal Services of North Texas - (214) 748-1234
Provides free legal services to low-income persons in a variety
of fields, principally public entitlements, residential
tenancies, consumer and employment matters and family law. Also
conducts evening clinics for low-income applicants.
SMU Civil Legal Clinic (214) 692-2562. Holds
clinics to assist low-income persons in need of help with
consumer fraud, legal problems of the elderly, landlord/tenant
matters and public utilities disputes.
SMU Tax Clinic (214) 692-3462, 3463. Handles cases
relating to tax matters for individuals and small businesses.
Protective Orders Division, Dallas DA's office.
This division of the office of the District Attorney of Dallas
County obtains protective orders in family violence cases. (214)
653-3600
Attorney General Child Support Division. See
Business white pages under government offices for the location
nearest you.
OTHER FAMILY LAW RESOURCES:
The Family Place (214) 941-1991. Counseling and
shelter for battered women and their children. The 24-hour
hotline provides advice on family violence. There are 2
counseling centers: 1) North Dallas, (972) 234-4743, counsels men
and women, and 2) Oak Lawn, (214) 559-4880, counsels women and
children.
Dispute Mediation Services of Dallas (214) 754-0022. Mediates a
wide variety of disputes in non-criminal matters, including those involving
residential tenancies and domestic relations. Also will mediate family law cases
where combined family income is less than $50,000 and the combined liquid assets
of the family are less than $50,000. The cost for this service is very low cost. Must
have a Court Order to conduct the mediation in a family law case.
Women's Advocacy Project 1-800-777-FAIR. Maintains
a statewide, toll-free hotline for women with legal problems
relating to family violence or abuse.
Women's Resource Center of the YWCA (214) 821-9595.
Conducts bi-monthly evening clinics providing consultation
services for persons with non-criminal legal problems involving
family law, bankruptcy, etc.
Child Guidance Clinic (214) 351-3490, ext 3432.
Provides a variety of services including psychological testing,
case management, individual, family and play therapy, and Dallas
OK (Our Kids), a divorce education program for parents and
children. Services are provided by an interdisciplinary
professional staff of professionals from a variety of related
disciplines. Services are provided at six locations throughout
Dallas, Collin and Rockwall counties.
For Kid's Sake (214) 526-4525. Focuses on issues
such as understanding the effects of divorce on children, gaining
insight into children's perceptions of divorce, talking to
children about family changes, how to avoid placing children in
the middle of parental issues, and maintaining a meaningful and
loving relationship with children.
Families First Seminar - EXCAP (Exchange
Club Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse of D.W.S., Inc.)
214-370-9810. Four-hour educational course focusing on divorce
and its impact on children. Concurrent four-hour sessions
available for children of parents attending the program.
Families First -
Channel 8 has published a 48-page
handbook with phone numbers and information about 510 non-profit
organizations which provide services to people in the Dallas-Ft.
Worth area.
See also the Texas Resources
page at www.Divorcenet.com, and the Texas
Resources listed through the Home Page.
Partners High School Divorce Prevention Course. This award-winning program, developed by the American Bar Association Family Law Section, strives to equip teenagers with the skills to get into the right marriage and stay there. The Course has videotape dialog-starters (teenagers in scenes very close to all teenagers' lives) and other materials.
3316 Oak Grove Ave.
Dallas, Texas 75204-2365
214-880-7500 (Voice)
06/01/07 http://raggiolaw.com/guide.html