Texas Family Law Insiders Podcast Episode 130: Monica Peters on Divorce Cases Involving Children with Special Needs

Release Date: January 7, 2026
Host: Holly Draper
Guest: Monica Peters, Partner at Neil Peters Law

Episode Overview

This episode of Texas Family Law Insiders dives into the unique and nuanced challenges faced during divorce and custody cases involving children with special needs. Host Holly Draper welcomes Monica Peters, a highly experienced family lawyer and the parent of a special needs child, to discuss practical, legal, and emotional considerations for attorneys and families navigating these complex cases.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Divorce Is Different for Families with Special Needs Children

• Families are different from the outset:
  Monica shares from personal experience, emphasizing how families with special needs children face distinct lifestyle challenges that fundamentally alter the approach to divorce and custody.

  "I think the first thing you have to understand is that families that have a child with special needs are just different from the beginning. So that's going to make a divorce or a separation different as well."
  — Monica Peters [03:12]

• Complex care needs and logistics:
  Children with significant medical, intellectual, or physical needs may have therapy and medical appointments multiple times a week, require specialized equipment, and need caregivers with medical training—making standard custody schedules and parenting plans unworkable.

  • Example: Monica’s own daughter requires a $14,000 specialized bed, is nonverbal, and uses a communication device.

  "You can't just go out and buy it because her special bed is like a $14,000 bed."
  — Monica Peters [05:40]

2. Crafting Custody and Possession Schedules

• Standard schedules rarely fit:
  The intricacies of a child’s care regimen, therapy sessions, and equipment needs necessitate creative, highly individualized solutions.

  "The cookie cutter possession schedule is not necessarily going to work for those families."
  — Monica Peters [06:29]

• Assessing each parent's role and ability:
  Attorneys must dig deep into:

  • Historical caregiving roles
  • Which parent handles medical care and appointments
  • Parents' willingness and ability to learn complex medical routines

• Equipment and environment challenges:

  • Duplicating expensive or cumbersome medical equipment across two homes is often impossible.
  • Transporting certain items (special beds, chairs) may not be feasible.

• When nesting may work:
  Although rare in typical cases, "nesting" (child stays in one home, parents rotate) may be the only workable solution for children whose needs make transitions difficult.

  "I have done it more and more as I have done more special needs cases, because sometimes that's the only real solution."
  — Monica Peters [10:46]

• Hybrid solutions:
  A mix, where the primary caregiver gets periodic breaks and the other parent temporarily moves in, can provide respite without logistical upheaval.

3. Parenting Plans & Information-Sharing

• Communication is critical:
  Use co-parenting apps (OurFamilyWizard, AppClose) for sharing medical updates, appointments, and reimbursement tracking.

  "There is so much information that needs to be shared when you have a special needs child."
  — Monica Peters [12:34]

• Tailoring rights & duties:

  • Clearly define who can make which medical and educational decisions.
  • Avoid ambiguous language about “invasive” procedures—what’s routine for a special needs child may not be for others.
  • Explicit clauses for hospitalization, special programs, and therapies.

• No one-size-fits-all:
  Every family and every child’s needs are unique; detailed intake and thorough discussion with clients are indispensable.

4. Managing Conservatorship & Decision-Making

• Sole managing conservatorship is more common:
  When one parent becomes overwhelmed or disengaged, the actively involved parent often must be empowered to make medical and educational decisions.

  "You will have one parent who checks out.... It's heartbreaking, but it's true."
  — Monica Peters [15:35]

• Exclusive rights with clear consultation/notification obligations:
  Even with joint managing, designate clear timelines for responses—e.g., 24 hours to agree to a medical appointment—or else allow the responsible parent to proceed.

  "If it is by joint agreement. I always write in a deadline... because you can't have a parent that's stuck waiting for somebody who's never going to respond."
  — Monica Peters [17:17]

5. Determining Appropriate Child Support

• Guidelines often fall short:
  Too often, courts and lawyers default to guidelines meant for typical children—failing to account for vastly increased needs and reduced capacity of one parent to work.

  "A lot of times lawyers are just using the guideline support, and that is a mistake in my opinion...It's also incorrect."
  — Monica Peters [18:29]

• What should be considered:

  • Actual demonstrated monthly needs (including therapy, equipment, respite care)

  • How the child's disabilities restrict the primary caregiver's ability to earn income

  • Obligated parent’s ability to pay

  • Utilize financial information sheets specifically tailored to special needs cases.

• Process:

  1. Start with guidelines as a floor.
  2. Document all real-world financial needs.
  3. Argue for increased support if justified.

  "I want them to think through every little expense...and then if the average monthly demonstrated needs of the child exceed that of the guideline support, then we're going to look at each parent's ability to provide and get as much from the obligor as we can."
  — Monica Peters [21:53]

6. Special Needs Trusts and Government Benefits

• Importance of special needs trusts for ongoing support:

  • Child support paid after age 18 directly to the parent may be considered “income” for the child, jeopardizing Medicaid/Social Security benefits.

  • Child support should be structured to be paid into a court-created special needs trust post-18.

    "You have to have it worded in such a way that once the child reaches the age of 18 years, that child support payment is now going to be paid into a special needs trust..."
    — Monica Peters [23:59]

• What if existing orders are incorrect?

  • Modification is straightforward if caught pre-18; after 18, future eligibility for benefits may depend on how the SSA interprets a late modification. Get it done early.

7. Emotional and Practical Advice for Attorneys

• Special needs parents are more overwhelmed and anxious about divorce outcomes.
• Collaboration is ideal:

  • Collaborative law allows time and creativity rarely available in court.

  • Courts may lack knowledge, time, or appropriate tools to craft optimal plans for unique children.

  • Engage neutral experts (therapists, doctors, nurses) as witnesses for best-interest findings.

    "It's really hard for courts to craft solutions for families like this...I think as attorneys we need to be creative when we are approaching these cases."
    — Monica Peters [28:15]

8. Presenting Complex Evidence in Court

• Use summaries and spreadsheets:

  • Summarize schedules, expenses, and needs to communicate efficiently within strict court time limits.

  • Summaries are often accepted in temporary order hearings.

    "I do a lot of summaries...I will ask them, have you reviewed this before? Does it accurately summarize your son's schedule on a typical week? And then I offer it as a summary...I've never not gotten it in."
    — Monica Peters [33:47]

Memorable Quotes

• On the creative practice of law:

  "The answer is not probably going to be in the family code. You're going to have to come up with it."
  — Monica Peters [00:00; 28:15]

• Advice to young lawyers:

  "Don't be afraid to ask questions of us old family lawyers....It's a lot easier to ask questions on the front end than to wait till there's a big problem and then you're trying to fix it on the back end."
  — Monica Peters [35:21]

Notable Timestamps

• [03:12] – How special needs change divorce dynamics
• [07:23] – Assessing appointments, schedules, and parent readiness for care
• [10:46] – Nesting and hybrid custody arrangements
• [12:34] – Use of communication apps and detailed parenting plans
• [15:35] – Conservatorship challenges and sole managing preference
• [18:29] – Why guideline child support is often improper
• [23:59] – How to structure child support for adult benefits eligibility
• [28:15] – Importance of creativity and collaboration
• [33:47] – Using summaries to efficiently present evidence

Resources & Contact

• Monica Peters: neilpeterslaw.com
• Podcast Host (Holly Draper): draperfirm.com

This episode offers essential guidance for family lawyers handling cases involving children with special needs—emphasizing creativity, advocacy, collaboration, and deep, individualized understanding of each child’s world.