Family Law, Collaborative Law & Mediation

Practice Areas

Divorce Representation

Shannon will handle your divorce with compassion and experience.

  • Collaborative Law
  • Contested/Uncontested Divorce
  • Alimony, spousal maintenance
  • Dividing retirement accounts, pensions, deferred compensation
  • Dividing marriage debts
  • Characterizing, valuing and dividing marital property
  • Post-judgment enforcement of marital property awards
  • Child Custody
  • Child support and visitation rights

Child Related Matters

Shannon is certified in parent coordination and parent facilitation, and is thus very well equipped to help parents work out an appropriate parenting plan.

  • Child custody
  • Child support and visitation rights
  • Post-judgment enforcement and modifications
  • Paternity
  • Noncustodial parent rights, parenting plans, visitation rights
  • Grandparent and non-parent rights
  • Termination
  • Adoption

Adoption & Other Family-Related Matters

Ms. Lynch has experience handling all family-related legal needs including adoption, international adoption and termination.

  • Adoption
  • Pre-marital Agreements
  • Simple Estate Planning
  • International Adoption
  • Post-nuptial Agreements
  • Estate/life/medical planning for “new” adults

Mediation

Shannon is an extremely experienced mediator, having completed basic mediation training, family mediation training, and substantial collaborative law training. In the year 2006, she was awarded advanced credential status, and in 2012, she earned the highest credential given by the Texas Association of Mediators, “Distinguished Credentialed Mediator.” She has performed over 500 mediations to date.

Shannon works with parties throughout mediation in several ways. She can meet with both parties, help them settle their issues, and then refer them to a collaboratively-trained attorney to assist in drafting their paperwork. She often acts in the scrivener role for other mediators as well. She focuses a large portion of her practice as a retained or court-appointed mediator and helps clients and their attorneys reach a settlement in her offices. This is the more traditional method of mediation where throughout a day, or sometimes several days, the parties may occupy separate rooms and Shannon, as the mediator, meets individually with each party, assisting them in achieving a mutually acceptable and beneficial resolution to the parties’ family law, probate, business or personal injury disputes.

Mediation is a valuable tool in all types of litigation, since, during the mediation process, the parties have an opportunity speak and be heard without the confines of procedural rules that arise at the courthouse. They are allowed and encouraged to always express their interests and concerns. The mediation process is confidential, insofar as nothing stated at mediation may be used by either party during any court proceeding unless learned or discovered outside the process. The mediator may not be called to testify in any litigation proceeding.

Collaborative Law

Shannon was the first attorney (along with her opposing counsel) in Texas to finalize a collaborative divorce matter, and has the highest possible specialized training (Level III) in collaborative law. This fabulous way to approach a divorce or other family law or estate related matter allows parties to work together with a team of trained experts (usually a mental health professional and a financial neutral) to resolve their disputes in a discrete manner that is confidential in nature and fosters additional control over a case and the parties’ lives. Collaborative law offers clients a very real and attractive alternative to litigated divorce proceedings.

Divorce Representation

Ms. Lynch was the first attorney (along with her opposing counsel) in Texas to finalize a collaborative divorce matter

Child-related matters

We handle all of the most complicated custody and child-related matters

Adoption & Other Family-Related Matters

Adoption, International Adoption and Other Family-Related Needs

Mediation & Collaborative Law

Shannon is an advanced mediator and a pioneer in collaborative law