Kristiana Butler

About Kristiana Butler

Kristiana Butler is a high-net-worth divorce attorney and partner in Goranson Bain Ausley’s Austin office. She is Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization — a distinction held by fewer than three percent of Texas attorneys. With more than a decade focused exclusively on family law, she advises clients on divorces involving closely held businesses, executive compensation, complex investment portfolios, and the sensitive family dynamics that often accompany them.

Her practice is built around the financial complexity that defines high-asset cases: business valuation, separate and community property tracing, complex property division, and the financial side of divorce for business owners. Kristiana is dedicated to safeguarding her clients’ separate property, business interests, and overall wealth. She also represents clients in family law appeals of trial court decisions across Texas.

Kristiana approaches every case with meticulous attention to detail and a proactive plan. Her goal is to help clients move away from the uncertainty of a major life change by building a clear road map for the future by utilizing negotiation, Collaborative Divorce, or skilled courtroom advocacy. She partners closely with her clients to develop personalized strategies that protect their interests and secure their future, pairing her legal expertise with a compassionate, client-focused approach.

What Sets Her Apart

• Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Recognized by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization (2024) — a distinction held by fewer than three percent of Texas attorneys, requiring substantial trial experience, peer review, and a specialty examination.
• Offers Full Continuum of Divorce Options. Trained in Collaborative Divorce and as a family law mediator, Kristiana matches the approach to the case — negotiating, collaborating, mediating, or litigating.
• Complex Financial Expertise. Business valuation, asset tracing, separate and community property characterization, and dividing equity and investment portfolios for business owners, executives, and high-net-worth individuals.
• Family-Centered Solutions. Establishes decision-making processes and schedules tailored to the needs of clients and their children, with particular care in child custody, conservatorship, and parenting decisions.
• Financial Strength. Structures settlements to help clients maintain financial security by addressing both immediate and long-term financial needs.
• Integrity. Treats all parties — clients, opposing counsel, and the court — with professionalism and respect.
• Concierge Approach. Connects clients with a network of financial and mental health professionals to support their transition through the legal, financial, and emotional sides of divorce.

Practice Focus

Kristiana focuses her practice on the cases that benefit most from financial experience and a tailored process choice:

• High Net Worth Divorce. Strategic counsel for divorce involving substantial estates, executive compensation, equity holdings, and complex investment portfolios.
• Divorce for Business Owners. Protecting business interests, addressing valuation disputes, and structuring outcomes that preserve operational continuity.
• Complex Property Division. Including business valuation in divorce, characterization of separate and community property, and dividing the marital home.
• Collaborative Divorce. A resolution-focused process for couples committed to constructive outcomes — GBA leads the country in collaborative divorce attorneys.
• Divorce Mediation. Kristiana is a trained family law mediator and represents clients in mediated negotiations across Texas.
• Litigated Divorce. Trial-ready advocacy when collaborative law or mediation aren’t the right fit.
• Family Law and Divorce Appeals. Appellate representation for trial court decisions across Texas.

Recognition and Credentials

Kristiana’s work has been recognized broadly across the Texas family law community. She is named to The Best Lawyers in America (2024–2026) in three categories — Family Law, Collaborative Law: Family Law, and Family Law Mediation — and was previously included in The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch in Family Law (2020–2023). She has been selected to Texas Super Lawyers (2024 and 2025) following years of Texas Rising Stars recognition (2017–2023), including the Up-and-Coming 100: Texas Rising Stars and Up-and-Coming 50: Women Texas Rising Stars lists in 2023. Austin Monthly Magazine named her among Austin’s Top Attorneys every year from 2020 through 2026.

Beyond client representation, Kristiana serves as a board member and past-president of the Austin chapter of the Mother Attorney Mentor Association (MAMAs). She is a member of the Austin Bar Association’s Family Law Section, the State Bar of Texas Family Law Section, the College of the State Bar of Texas, Collaborative Divorce Austin, Collaborative Divorce Texas, and the Travis County Women Lawyers Association.

Kristiana also contributes to the continuing education of Texas family law attorneys. She has authored or co-authored multiple papers for the State Bar of Texas — including “Family Law Settlement Agreements: Rule 11s, ISAs, MSAs, Collaborative Settlement Agreements, and Arbitration” (2020), “Drafting Enforceable Orders” (2019), and “Professionalism: Lessons Learned” (2019) — and contributed to the Texas Family Law Foundation’s Annotated Texas Family Code in 2017. She is a frequent CLE presenter on settlement agreements, drafting, modifications, and ethics.

Beyond the Practice

Kristiana is deeply involved in her local legal and civic community. She is a sustaining member of the Junior League of Austin, and proudly leads a local Girl Scouts troop.

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