The Lede · April 2026
Prepare your family for what comes next.
Years in practice
Families served
Collaborative matters
Texas attorneys board certified
Why we practice this way Essay 01
Nobody's family situation ever got better at the courthouse.
We prefer resolution — not because we can't litigate, but because, after 28 years and 1,500 families, the evidence is consistent: courthouses are not where families become better off.
Cristi Trusler is Board Certified in Family Law and in Child Welfare Law, and Master Credentialed in Collaborative Divorce, practicing collaborative since 2002. That combination is rare — and deliberate. It lets us see a matter from the courtroom, from the child's view, and from the settlement table, at once.
We go to court when the other side forces it. We prepare as though we are, always. But resolution almost always produces the better outcome, and we keep the work pointed there. We're prepared when we have to be.
The Record
Austin families, and counting.
The record points one direction.
How we work Process 01
Four phases. One arc. Resolution is the default.
A named process so you always know where you are — and what comes next.
- Phase 01
Clarify
Understand the situation before strategy. What is the marriage actually asking? What is the family actually asking? Before any filing or posture, we listen.
- Phase 02
Chart the path
Map the options — collaborative, negotiated through counsel, litigated as last resort — and design the strategy most likely to protect what you actually care about.
- Phase 03
Resolve
Execute. Push toward settlement even when court is necessary. Preparation for trial and an appetite for resolution are not opposites; they reinforce each other.
- Phase 04
Forward
The decree is the beginning of what comes next. We close with the same care we opened with — documents right, obligations clear, family oriented forward.
Love, amended
Plate 02Marriages end. Families continue.
A hand-painted wall with a second stroke. The design question for the next chapter is the same one we practice around: how do you end a thing carefully enough that what remains stays intact?
What's your situation Entry points 01
Start where you actually are.
A letter to the reader, in six openings. Pick the one that speaks loudest today.
- 01
You're considering divorce.
The decision is the hardest part. Once it's made, the work gets clearer.
ConsideringRead more → - 02
You own a business.
Protecting the company you built is protecting what's next.
BusinessRead more → - 03
You have significant assets.
Complex estates deserve complex care.
AssetsRead more → - 04
You're over 50.
Retirement-era divorce is its own territory.
Over 50Read more → - 05
Children are the priority.
Two honest parents beats two "happy" ones.
CustodyRead more → - 06
You're already divorced.
Modifications, enforcement, and the long tail.
Post-decreeRead more →
Conviction
"A courtroom can end a marriage. It cannot design what comes next."
Credential context Badges 01
Three credentials, explained — not badged.
A wall of logos tells you nothing. Here's what the certifications actually mean, and why the combination is uncommon.
- 01
Board Certified in Family Law
Texas Board of Legal Specialization
The credential the State Bar itself uses to distinguish depth of family-law expertise. Peer review, board examination, and a sustained record of substantive practice.
- 02
Board Certified in Child Welfare Law
A rare second specialty
Custody, CPS, family violence, adoption. Holding both certifications means a wider field of vision when children are at the center of a matter.
- 03
Master Credentialed — Collaborative Divorce
Collaborative Divorce Texas
300+ collaborative matters since 2002. Collaborative is not a soft alternative — it is a rigorous process with its own protocols, and this is the credential that certifies fluency in it.
Begin