A compassionate advocate for family, juvenile and probate law attorney.
Nicole Kuenstle is an attorney licensed to practice in all Texas courts. Her practice is devoted entirely to family law, juvenile law and probate law matters, both trial and appellate.
Nicole handles all kinds of family cases, including divorce, adoption, grandparent and foster parent interventions, adult and child name changes, CPS cases, modification, enforcement, registration of out-of-state custody and support orders and other interstate matters and protective orders. She also represents juveniles in delinquency matters. Nicole is not afraid to tackle difficult issues such as domestic violence, substance abuse, and mental illness. She has also assisted clients in several successful appeals in family and juvenile cases.
In her probate and estate administration law practice, Nicole assists clients with probating the estates of loved ones and in probate alternatives, such as will contests, survivor rights, guardianships and guardianship alternatives. She is also a certified attorney ad litem for Guardianship cases.
Nicole received her law degree (J.D.) in 2007 from South Texas College of Law. While in law school, Nicole was a member of Professor Gerald Treece’s award-winning moot court team. She also served as an intern to the Honorable Richard H. Edelman, retired Justice of the Fourteenth Court of Appeals. Nicole then received a Master of Laws degree (L.L.M.) in 2009 from the University of Houston Law Center. In addition to her two law degrees, Nicole has a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree, with honors, from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
Nicole has lived and traveled abroad, visiting 5 different continents in her travels. She is fluent in Spanish and has a working knowledge of several Arabic dialects as well as Portuguese and French.
Nicole is a member of the Family, Juvenile and Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Sections of the State Bar of Texas. She is active in several community organizations and has two sons.
Education:
South Texas College of Law, J.D. (2007)
University of Houston Law Center, L.L.M. (2009)
University of Arkansas, B.A.
Areas of Practice
Family Law
Juvenile Law
Probate Law
Recent Cases
CPS Cases
Court returned child in temporary CPS custody 6 days after suit filed
Convinced court to return children in CPS custody to client with pending criminal charges
Persuaded CPS to reduce custody case to request for parents to participate in services
CPS Reason to Believe finding reversed after administrative appeal, even though CPS initially obtained custody of child
Successful resolution of multiple CPS investigations of drug use, physical abuse, sexual abuse, medical neglect, negligent supervision and mental illness with Ruled Out findings (best possible outcome)
Defended multiple clients who tested positive for drugs in CPS investigation – Ruled Out findings
Favorably resolved CPS investigations for clients with multiple prior CPS cases — clients each took one class
Successfully Defended Parents against Grandparent Intervention for Custody in CPS caseJuvenile Cases
Felony Assault case against Juvenile Client dismissed
Sealed client’s juvenile records
Felony charges against Juvenile Clients dismissed after successful completion of deferred prosecution
Assisted Juvenile Client with successful Appeal
Grandparent/Foster Parent/Non-Parent
Out-of-state non-parent with criminal & substance abuse history received custody of newborn
Emergency, temporary, & permanent grandparent custody to avoid continued CPS involvement
Foster parent adoption over objections from CPSPermanent supervised visits for parents in Final Order (while representing grandparent)
Convinced court to continue placement of child with foster parent who was seeking to adopt, despite CPS goal of placing child with relative who had an approved home studyFathers’ Rights
Enforced Father’s missed visits, who received 58 makeup days plus attorney’s fees
Supervised visits ordered for mother in Final Order while representing Father
Modifications to joint custody for Father; No child support ordered (multiple cases)
Change of custody for Father – obtained custody of his teenage daughterAlternating weeks visitation schedule for Father of 1 year old child
Father’s request for Extraordinary Relief granted and Mother denied access to Child
Protective Orders
Protective Order obtained for client against former boyfriend
Successfully enforced Protective Order violations and obtained jail time for perpetratorKick-out Order obtained to remove Wife from home and for supervised visits with child
Protective Order modified for Father to allow him to see his children
Child Support
Overturned child support judgment in excess of $50k – vacated and case dismissedSpousal support and child support ordered for client in excess of husband’s stated income
Client awarded marital home and above guideline child support (multiple cases)Successfully defended suit for child support modification – child support stayed the same even though Father’s income had increased substantially
Obtained permanent child support for child with disability plus attorney’s fees for client
Name Changes (Children & Adults)
Obtained approval from District Attorney to change name of client with felonies
Multiple successful name changes for adults with felony convictions
Several name changes for children in contested cases over one parent’s objection
Default judgment against non-resident father obtained for mother (child’s name change)Interstate Cases
Child support terminated and case transferred to non-resident client’s home state
Mediated interstate enforcement and habeas cases with successful outcomes
Obtained dismissal of suit against client to enforce child support order from another country
Successfully defended interstate clients against jurisdictional challenges
Registered and modified and/or enforced out-of-state orders