WATCH: Kingwood, Texas Family Lawyer, Brian McNamara’s interview with Family Lawyer Magazine

Dan Couvrette, the Publisher of Family Lawyer Magazine interviewed Brian McNamara, a family lawyer who also offers pre and postnuptial agreements that are customized and prepackaged with fixed prices. Brian McNamara offers his legal services in the Houston area.

Dan Couvrette: I’m Dan Couvrette, the publisher of Family Lawyer Magazine and Divorce Magazine. I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Texas family lawyer, Brian McNamara as part of a series of interviews I’m doing with top family lawyers across the country.

Brian has been in practice since 1992. He’s based in Kingwood, Texas, but his practice covers the whole Houston area. His firm is a full-service family law firm, and they even offer prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, which isn’t common for family lawyers and I believe it makes this firm distinct and it gives them an edge when dealing with divorce cases that involve or don’t involve those agreements.

Brian has also been recognized by Avvo which is a lawyer rating service. He’s a 10 out of 10 family lawyer, and he is a fellow of the State Bar of Texas, which I will talk with him about during the interview. What follows are a few clips from the complete interview I did with Brian, which I think provided a good overview as to why so many people going through divorce in the Kingwood and Houston areas wisely chose Brian McNamara to help them through their divorce.

Brian McNamara: Thanks for inviting me, Dan.

Dan Couvrette: Brian, let’s start by talking about your approach to a family law case and how both your years of experience and your overall legal experience have helped you be a better family lawyer.

Brian McNamara: I’ve always litigated throughout my career from 1992, and from the beginning, I handled family law cases, but I also handled general litigation matters, personal injury cases, a lot of consumer protection cases, some landlord-tenant cases, various civil litigation cases. And they gave me, I think, an advantage a little bit in family law because the family courts follow the rules of evidence and the rules of procedure that all the other courts follow.

They’re modified so much by the family to code, but not a lot. Lawyers who only do family law, don’t get the perspective of the full parameters of the rules of procedure and the rules of evidence as they’re applied in other cases, but can also be applied in family law. I feel like that has helped me a lot.

Also just having had so many cases and having dealt with so many people I learn each case teaches me something. So, we get better at how to present the information, better at how to ask our client to give it to us, better at how to prepare for mediation.

Dan Couvrette: Brian, I know you’re a Fellow of the State Bar of Texas and what that means is that you’ve done and continue to do twice the amount of continuing legal education that is required of you by the state bar. My question is why do you do twice the amount of education that is required?

Brian McNamara: So, I continued to update myself on what the changes in the law are, and also, it’s not just substantive law. It’s also procedural matters and ways to present information. I do it because the law changes so much.

Dan Couvrette: Brian, I’ve known you for a while and I know that you’re always found to be well prepared and thorough, in anything you take on. I’m wondering how those characteristics translate into the area of your family law practice and how it helps your clients who are going through a divorce.

Brian McNamara: Advocacy breaks down into negotiate or trial. So yes, we advocate strongly. We negotiate carefully and thoughtfully. I’ve had cases with lawyers that I felt were uninterested in negotiation. They really didn’t care. They just wanted to go to court, and we certainly don’t do that. We’re absolutely prepared for court. I think it gives us an advantage in all negotiations, but we also understand that most clients would like to give us their wish list and say, call me when it’s done which of course we can’t do, but most people prefer a negotiated resolution.

By being thorough and prepared they’re also compassionate and understanding of what they’re going through. It helps us to better negotiate on their behalf and when necessary, go to court for them.

Dan Couvrette:  Brian as the result of my divorce. I started Divorce Magazine, which completely changed my life and I know that you’ve been through a divorce yourself and you also have a young child. So, I’m wondering how these things affected how you practice family law.

Brian McNamara: I now have a six-year-old and she’s wonderful. In the last six years, having a new baby again has reminded me to understand what the clients are dealing with on an emotional level, and it made me a lot more understanding of why it is sometimes difficult to get them to provide information or to make a decision.

That helped a lot because my prior approach was similar to civil litigation and many civil litigations are a breach of contract. For example, a business is suing a business. In divorce sometimes it’s a little more difficult and going through my own that’s really what that taught me.

Dan Couvrette: I want to thank Brian for speaking with me today. To learn more about Brian and his firm. I recommend that you visit his website, www.mcnamaralawyers.com. Brian’s website has a tremendous amount of information and resources, including divorce guides, monthly e-newsletters, videos, podcasts, and answers to frequently asked questions that will help you through your divorce and other family law issues. Take care.

FAQs

What is a marital agreement?

A marital agreement is a written agreement—it must be in writing in Texas—that people make either before they get married (a prenup) or while they’re married (a postnup). Texas sometimes calls them partition and exchange agreements because we’re partitioning the community estate. It can contain whatever people want to include.

Are marital agreements enforceable in Texas if someone gets a divorce?

Absolutely—if they’re correctly written and executed. We have statutes on prenuptial and postnuptial agreements. They’re very clear and make it difficult to void an agreement if done properly. Things like signing a waiver of disclosure before signing the agreement are key. Done right, it’s very enforceable.

What cannot be included in a prenup or postnup?

There’s very little that legally cannot be included. However, you cannot limit child support in a Texas marital agreement. You can set a minimum—like agreeing to pay for college or private school—but you cannot set a maximum cap. As for provisions about child custody or decision-making, those are only considered evidence of what people thought at the time. Custody and support decisions are made based on the child’s best interest at the time of the decision.

How much financial disclosure is normally contained in a prenup or postnup?

It depends. Texas law doesn’t require disclosure if both parties sign a waiver of disclosure. Some couples disclose everything; some give partial disclosure; others waive it entirely. I think it’s safer to disclose at least the basics, especially in postnups where community property already exists. In prenups, it’s easier to keep things separate without full disclosure. But postnups usually need at least some disclosure to ensure clarity and enforceability.

What happens if one party isn’t honest when creating the agreement?

That could potentially make the agreement involuntary. If someone lies while saying they’re making full disclosure, that might be a defense. It’s safer to simply sign a waiver of disclosure if someone doesn’t want to share everything.

Some people say a prenup isn’t romantic. What’s your advice for talking to a partner about it?

Every relationship is different, so the approach depends. Some people bring it up early in the relationship. In other cases, family pushes for it—like when children want their parent to protect an inheritance. It’s not romantic, but it’s important. Just like insurance isn’t romantic, but necessary, a prenup can be crucial if the marriage ends by divorce or death.

Why did you launch TexasPrenup.com and create these packages?

Early in my career, I practiced both civil litigation and family law. I realized that we end deeply personal relationships using court systems meant for business disputes. It doesn’t fit well. Marital agreements give people control. I compare it to having car or home insurance—you hope you never need it, but it’s there if you do. I wanted to make prenups and postnups accessible and affordable for regular people.

Tell me about the different packages you offer.

Texas publishes templates for lawyers to use. I started modifying those in 2006, creating three tiers of packages:

1. Basic Package – Simple language, about 8–10 pages. Accomplishes separation of property in a straightforward format.

2. Mid-Range Package – About 40 pages, based on Texas Bar templates. These are what judges and lawyers are used to seeing.

3. Concierge Package – We do everything: help list all assets, complete all schedules, and send a notary to the client anywhere in Texas. It’s a full-service option.

If someone wants to customize further—like adding alimony or lump sum provisions—we can do that, too, for a reasonable additional fee.

Are these packages as good as custom-drafted agreements?

Yes, for what they’re designed to do—keep property separate in the event of divorce—they’re very solid. In fact, I believe they’re better than many I’ve seen from lawyers who don’t specialize in this area.

Many people think prenups are just for the wealthy. Is that true?

Not at all. We’ve priced them affordably because middle-class people need them too. Divorce can hit someone with a single house and one retirement account much harder than someone with millions. Even if people agree they want everything during marriage to be community property, a prenup can still help by defining what’s separate and avoiding expensive tracing later.

Any final advice for people thinking about a prenup or postnup?

Yes—don’t get caught up in petty details. Some websites suggest putting things like who does the dishes or weekly allowances in the prenup. That’s not realistic. Focus on the big picture: retirement accounts, real estate, investment accounts, etc. Think in terms of “what if this ends?” not how to micromanage daily life.

As someone who’s seen many divorces, how does it go when there is a valid prenup or postnup?

It changes the entire dynamic. It won’t necessarily make the divorce cheaper if someone refuses to honor it, but it reframes the negotiation. Instead of dividing all property, it’s about what the less-wealthy spouse might be offered to resolve the matter. In court, the first question is whether the agreement is valid. If it is, the rest is much simpler. It’s like having a written contract—much easier to enforce than if you had nothing in writing.