Family Law
The Family Law Practice Group strives to provide our clients with comprehensive legal representation and takes seriously our commitment to developing a high level of trust and confidence with our clients. Family Law has become an important component of the Underwood Law Firm. The Underwood Family Law Center has operated as a practice group since 1994 and remains one of the few such practice groups in the Texas Panhandle. We handle family law cases in all counties of the Texas Panhandle.
Our philosophy is to resolve cases by negotiated settlement or mediation when possible, since negotiated or mediated settlement agreements give our clients greater control over results. Sally Emerson and Chris Wrampelmeier are among the founding members of the Panhandle Collaborative Law Professionals, an organization of West Texas family law practitioners. Collaborative Law is a unique process used to resolve disputes in which both parties retain separate lawyers and joint experts whose only job is to help the parties settle their disputes.
Sally Holt Emerson and Christopher K. Wrampelmeier are trained as mediators and are frequently hired to mediate family law cases. Both attended the 40-hour mediation training at the University of Texas School of Law’s Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution.
Because of their experience and expertise, our Family Law attorneys are especially adept at efficient and reasonable resolution of family law matters. However, they try cases to judges and juries when settlement efforts fail. Our Family Law Center handles cases including, but not limited to, the following:
- Divorces
- Child custody cases
- Property divisions
- Pre-marital and post-marital agreements
- Child support enforcement
- Visitation enforcement
- Modification of custody, child support, and visitation
- Parentage suits
- Step-parent adoptions
- Interstate family law disputes
- Protective orders
Sally Holt Emerson, Christopher K. Wrampelmeier, and paralegals, Nancy Gormley and Misti Janes, are Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Ms. Emerson is also fluent in Spanish.