About Ryan R. Bauerle
Ryan R. Bauerle is Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and a Fellow of both the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and the International Academy of Family Lawyers. He represents executives, business owners, physicians, attorneys, and their spouses in high-net-worth divorce, complex property division, and contested custody matters.
Clients often turn to Ryan when significant assets, important family relationships, and high-stakes decisions are all on the line. He advises clients through difficult transitions that require careful strategy, thorough preparation, and a clear understanding of both the financial and personal issues involved.
Ryan’s practice focuses on the financial complexity that often accompanies high-asset divorce, including business valuation, executive compensation, the characterization and tracing of separate and community property, closely held business interests, and other sophisticated financial issues. His background in finance gives him a practical understanding of the questions that frequently shape the outcome of complex divorce matters. He also represents clients in contested custody disputes, including cases involving special needs, mental health concerns, and substance abuse issues.
Ryan believes successful outcomes are built through preparation, communication, and thoughtful planning. He works closely with clients to establish clear goals, evaluate options, and make informed decisions throughout the process. While he prepares every case as though it may ultimately be decided in court, he also recognizes that many matters are best resolved through negotiation and settlement. His focus is on helping clients achieve favorable outcomes while preserving as much financial stability, certainty, and peace of mind as possible.
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What Sets Him Apart
- Board Certified in Family Law. Board Certified since 2018, a distinction that reflects substantial experience, demonstrated competence, and peer-recognized expertise in family law.
- Nationally Recognized in Complex Family Law. Ryan is a Fellow of both the AAML and the IAFL, reflecting recognized experience in complex, high-net-worth, and multi-jurisdictional family law matters.
- Financial Sophistication for High-Asset Divorce. With a B.B.A. in Finance from Southern Methodist University, Ryan brings a practical understanding of the business, compensation, valuation, and property-tracing issues that frequently arise in complex divorce. Clients appreciate his ability to translate complicated financial concepts into clear strategies and informed decisions. He writes on this work, including his guidance on protecting wealth in a high-net-worth divorce.
- Active Leadership in the Legal Profession. Ryan holds national and state bar leadership positions in family law, including roles with the American Bar Association and the Texas Young Lawyers Association.
- Prepared When Litigation Is Necessary. While Ryan prioritizes constructive resolution wherever possible, he provides thorough preparation and strategic courtroom advocacy when contested custody or complex financial disputes require it.
- Serving Families in Plano, Flower Mound, and North Texas. Ryan represents clients across Collin and Denton counties, including Frisco, McKinney, Allen, Prosper, Celina, and Lucas, working from the firm’s offices in Plano and Flower Mound on complex divorce, property, and custody matters.
Representative Matters
- Achieved Favorable Child Custody Arrangement for C-Suite Executive: Successfully facilitated a complex and favorable child custody arrangement for a high-level C-Suite executive who was the sole wage earner in a long-term marriage with multiple children. Despite the executive’s non-traditional and demanding work schedule, Ryan brokered a 50/50 parenting time schedule.
- Secured Separate Property Status for Medical Practices and Commercial Real Estate: Secured the confirmation of separate property status for a successful business owner encompassing multiple valuable medical practices and commercial real estate assets. This involved extensive forensic financial analysis, documentation, and persuasive argumentation, safeguarding the client’s business interests and ensuring their long-term financial security.
- Increased Client Compensation & Award of Assets for Financial Waste by Spouse: Successfully substantiated a significant increase in a client’s post-divorce payments and vastly disproportionate share of asset division as compensation due to financial waste by their spouse, who had diverted marital assets for a paramour. This led to a highly favorable financial award for the client, ensuring equitable recompense and addressing the economic harm caused by the spouse’s actions.
- Preserved Key Assets and Stabilized High-Conflict Divorce Following Appeal: Ryan’s client, initially represented by another family lawyer, was involved in a highly contentious divorce involving family violence allegations, substance abuse concerns, and extensive litigation. After a multi-day trial, the client secured primary parental rights and a favorable division of assets. However, following multiple appeals, including review by the Supreme Court of Texas, key aspects of the asset division were overturned, placing the client at risk of significant financial loss, including the potential forced sale of his home. Brought in at this critical stage, Ryan implemented a strategic and highly prepared approach to guide the client through the next phase of the case. He ultimately secured a negotiated resolution that allowed the client to retain his home and significantly reduce his financial exposure.
Practice Focus
Ryan advises clients in family law matters involving significant financial complexity, sensitive parenting issues, and high-stakes decisions:
- High Net Worth Divorce. Counsel for clients navigating the division of substantial marital estates, sophisticated compensation structures, business interests, and other significant financial considerations.
- Complex Property Division. Representation in matters involving closely held businesses, real estate holdings, investment portfolios, and other complex assets requiring detailed financial analysis and valuation.
- Characterization of Separate and Community Property. Guidance in identifying, tracing, and characterizing separate and community property interests, including matters involving commingled assets and complex financial histories.
- Business Valuation in Divorce. Representation in matters where a closely held business or professional practice must be valued and addressed within the marital estate.
- Divorce for Business Owners. Counsel for business owners on dividing ownership interests while maintaining the continued operation of the business.
- Child Custody and Conservatorship. Counsel in matters involving parenting plans, conservatorship, possession schedules, and other issues affecting children’s well-being, stability, and long-term interests.
- Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements. Drafting and review of premarital and marital agreements for clients planning a marriage or addressing financial arrangements during one.
Recognition and Credentials
Ryan is consistently recognized among Texas family law attorneys. He is Board Certified in Family Law and has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Family Law (2024–2026), following several years in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch (2020–2023). He has been named to Texas Super Lawyers (2025) after selection as a Texas Rising Star (2020–2024), and to D Magazine’s Best Lawyers Under 40 (2025).
Ryan is also an active leader in the legal profession. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, where he has served as Health & Wellness Committee Vice Chair (2024–2025), and a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers, the American Bar Foundation, and the Texas Family Law Foundation. He serves as Region V Representative on the American Bar Association Family Law Section Council and as a member of the State Bar of Texas Family Law Section Council (2025–present), chaired the State Bar of Texas Public Affairs Committee (2024–2025), and received the TYLA President’s Award (2025).
Ryan contributes regularly to the education of other attorneys. He served as Family Law Continuing Legal Education Course Director for the State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting (2024), is a regular guest lecturer at Southern Methodist University School of Law, and speaks frequently on enforcement and contempt, discovery, and possession orders at state and national conferences.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Types of Family Law Cases Does Ryan Bauerle Handle?
Most of Ryan’s clients are facing a divorce where significant assets and parenting are both at stake, often with a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement in the picture. He handles the property and custody sides of these matters together, working toward a negotiated or settled resolution where possible and representing clients in court when a case must be litigated.
What Is Ryan’s Experience With High-Asset Divorce and Business Valuation?
Ryan has significant experience in divorces involving substantial and complex marital estates. His finance training allows him to analyze valuation, compensation, and property-tracing questions directly, and to work effectively with forensic accountants and other experts when a matter calls for them. He regularly represents clients whose marital estates include closely held businesses, professional practices, and sophisticated compensation arrangements.
Does Ryan Represent Parents in Contested Custody Matters?
Yes. Ryan handles contested custody with attention to children’s long-term stability and well-being. He has experience advocating for co-parenting arrangements, including equal or expanded parenting time and tailored possession schedules for the parents he represents.
Does Ryan Represent Clients in Flower Mound and Denton County?
Yes. Ryan works from Goranson Bain Ausley’s Plano and Flower Mound offices and, as a member of the Denton County Bar Association, represents clients throughout Collin and Denton County — including Flower Mound, Highland Village, Lantana, Argyle, and Northlake.
What Does It Cost to Work With Ryan?
Goranson Bain Ausley works on a retainer and hourly billing model. Because high-net-worth divorces and complex property matters vary widely in scope, retainer amounts depend on the complexity of the issues involved and the anticipated course of the representation. During an initial consultation, clients receive information about the firm’s fee structure and what to expect throughout the process.
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Beyond the Practice
Away from his practice, Ryan spends his time with his wife, Laura, and their three children. He loves adventure, travel, and scuba diving, and is an active hockey enthusiast who both plays and coaches his son’s hockey team.
Services
Services
- Family Partner Violence And Divorce
- Divorce
- Collaborative Divorce
- Contested Divorce
- Divorce for Men
- High-Conflict Divorce
- Modification and Enforcement
- Complex Property
- Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements
- Litigated Divorce
- Child Custody
- Parenting Schedules
- High Net Worth Divorce
- Mental Health and Addiction in Divorce
- Pre-Divorce Guidance
- Divorce for Business Owners
- Divorce for Women
- Adoption
- Child Support
- Paternity
- Becoming a Foster Parent
- Visitation Rights
- Grandparent Visitation and Custody Rights in Texas
- LGBT Parenting Rights
- Dividing the Marital Home
- Characterization of Separate and Community Property
- Business Valuation in Divorce
- Family Law/Divorce Appeals
- Cohabitation Agreements
- Property Division
- Alimony & Spousal Maintenance
- Uncontested Divorce
- Amicable Divorce
- Gray Divorce
- LGBT Divorce
- Negotiated Divorce
- Modifying Child Support
Honors & Awards
Honors & Awards
- Inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© in the field of Family Law, Best Lawyers, 2024 – 2026
- Best Lawyers Under 40, D Magazine, 2025
- Inclusion in Texas Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters, 2025
- Inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch© in the field of Family Law, Best Lawyers, 2020 – 2023
- Selected to the Texas Rising Star list, Thomson Reuters, 2020-2024
- Texas Young Lawyers Association
- President’s Award, 2025
- Trial & Appellate Advocacy Award, 2024
- President’s Award of Merit Recipient, 2023
Articles
Articles
- How Long Does a Divorce Take From Filing to Final Decree May 13, 2026
- How Long Does a Contested Divorce Take and Why March 25, 2026
- Fathers’ Rights Attorney in Texas: Services, Costs, and How to Choose February 4, 2026
- International Divorce for High-Net-Worth Expatriates December 2, 2025
- The Hidden Dangers of Oversharing: What Not to Post on Social Media During a Family Law Case July 14, 2025
- Understanding Asset Protection During High-Net Worth Divorce in Texas June 30, 2025
- How is Inherited Property Handled in a Divorce? May 15, 2025
- False Allegations During a Custody Battle: Consequences and How to Protect Your Rights January 14, 2025
- Fault-Based Divorce: What Is It, and When Is It Appropriate? November 25, 2024
- The Role of a Forensic Accountant in a Divorce October 14, 2024
- What Is a No-Fault Divorce, and Is it Right for You? August 12, 2024
- How to Choose a Good Divorce Lawyer July 15, 2024
- Getting a Military Divorce in Texas: Legalities and Procedures to Understand June 7, 2024
- Paternity Rights Under Texas Family Law April 10, 2024
- How to Protect Your Intellectual Property and Copyright Ownership in a Divorce December 5, 2023
- Balancing Support Payments with Business and Financial Commitments in a Divorce November 1, 2023
- Benefits and Risks of Selling or Transferring Business Assets in a Divorce September 14, 2023
- Is Texas a 50/50 Divorce State? July 24, 2023
- What Am I Entitled to in a Texas Divorce? March 29, 2023
- How to Protect Your Right to Possession and Access in Texas April 19, 2022
Publications & Speeches
Publications & Speeches
- “Contempt” – Speaker, Denton County Bench Bar Conference, April 2026
- “Post-Judgment Partition in Texas Family Law: Procedures, Legislative Developments, and Strategic Considerations” – Speaker, Advanced Family Law, August 2025
- “Enforcements with Contempt” – Speaker, Texas Advanced Paralegal Seminar, October 2024
- “Engaging Lawyers and the Public Online: Marketing, Social Media, and Podcasts” – Speaker, State Bar of Texas Local Bar Leaders Conference, July 2024
- “Enforcements with Contempt – Jailbreak in Big D: A Texans Guide to Wrangling Contempt and Sending Stetsons to Time-Out” – Speaker, State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting, June 2024
- State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting: Family Law Continuing Legal Education Course Director, June 2024
- “Trends and Challenges with Standard Possession Orders” – Speaker, Family Justice Conference, January, April, and May 2024
- “Before You Close the File” – Speaker, Handling Your First (or Next) Divorce, November 2023
- “Discovery – Making Sure You Get it All – Written & Mining Data” – Speaker, American Bar Association Family Law Fall Conference, October 2023
- “Affidavits in a Nutshell” – Speaker, Dallas Area Paralegal Association, August 2023
- “Engaging Lawyers and the Public Online: Marketing, Social Media, and Podcasts” – Speaker, State Bar of Texas Local Bar Leaders Conference, July 2023
- “After 9-1-1: Emergency Situations in Texas Family Law Cases” – Speaker, Lawline, September 2022
- “Civility in Family Law from the Bench & the Bar’s Perspectives” – Moderator, Dallas Association of Young Lawyers CLE, September 2022
- “Collision Course #2: The Intersection of Criminal Law and Family Law” – Speaker, Advanced Family Law, August 2022
- Regular Guest Lecturer, Southern Methodist University School of Law
- “Spy Torts & Privacy Issues in Family Law” – Speaker, Family Law Essentials, June 2022
- “Motion Practice Tips from the Pros” – Speaker, American Bar Association Family Law Spring Conference, April 2022
- “Ready, Set, Go: How to File or Defend a TRO” – Speaker, Dallas Association of Young Lawyers CLE, January 2022
- “Creating and Maintaining Healthy Habits for Young Attorneys by Young Attorneys” – Speaker, State Bar of Texas Beyond Wellness: Finding and Maintaining Attorney Wellness, December 2021
- “Enforcement with Contempt” – Speaker, Family Law Essentials, May 2021
- “What’s my Line? Trial Techniques Using Discovery and Beyond” – Speaker, Family Law Essentials, May 2021
- “Moving Up: From Associate to Partner” – Speaker, Texas Young Lawyer’s Association CLE, March 2021
- “Moving Up from Associate to Partner” – Speaker, Dallas Association of Young Lawyers CLE, November 2020
- “In re: C.J.C. The Fit Parent Presumption in Non Parent Custody” – Moderator, State Bar of Texas CLE, September 2020
- “Characterizing and Valuing Assets to Create an Inventory and Appraisement that Works for Your Client” – Co-Author, Advanced Family Law Course 2020
- “Stop – You’re Doing Discovery All Wrong!” – Author, Dallas Association of Young Lawyers Weekly Brief, May 2020
- “Case Law Update: Property” – Author, Marriage Dissolution Institute 2019
- “Forgotten Issues in Divorce” – Author, Advanced Family Law Course 2018
- “Overlooked Financial Issues” – Co-Author, Marriage Dissolution Institute 2018
Videos & Podcasts
Videos
- Why Hire a Private Investigator in a Divorce?
- Common Questions When Hiring a Divorce Private Investigator in Texas
- What Happens to a Closely Held Business During a Divorce?
- How to Ensure a Fair Business Valuation in Your Divorce
- How Long Does It Take to Get a Contested vs Uncontested Divorce?
- What Are the Main Concerns of Fathers Facing Divorce?
- How Does Property Division Work in the State of Texas?
- Can Mediation Be Done Virtually to Settle a Divorce?
- 3 Helpful Tips When Co-Parenting during the Coronavirus Pandemic
- COVID-19 Restrictions and Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Parenting Time
- Dallas Family Lawyer Explains How to Manage a Child Custody Battle
Professional Associations
Professional Associations
- American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
- Fellow
- Health & Wellness Committee Vice Chair 2024-2025
- American Bar Association, Family Law Section
- Member
- Region V Representative, Family Law Section Council, 2023-2026
- Section of Family Law Podcast Committee, 2021-2022
- Young Lawyers Division Family Law Committee Chair, 2020-2022
- Liaison to Family Law Section, 2020-2022
- Chair of the Family Law Sections Young Lawyers Committee 2020-2022
- CLE Committee 2022-2026
- American Bar Foundation
- Fellow
- College of the State Bar of Texas
- Member
- Collin County Bar Association
- Member
- Board of Directors, 2022-Present
- Treasurer 2026-2027
- Founder & Chair of Attorney Dad’s Section, 2021-2022
- Family Law Section (Co-Chair 2019-2020)
- Collin County Young Lawyers Association
- Member
- Dallas Association of Young Lawyers
- Member
- Dallas Bar Association, Family Law Section
- Member
- Denton County Bar Association, Family Law Section
- Member
- Denton County Young Lawyers Association
- Member
- District of Columbia Bar, Family Law Section
- Member
- Frisco Bar Association
- Member
- Genesis Young Leaders
- Member
- International Academy of Collaborative Professionals
- Fellow
- International Academy of Family Lawyers
- Fellow
- State Bar of Texas Public Affairs Committee, 2019-2025
- Chair 2024-2025
- State Bar of Texas Leadership Class
- Class of 2019
- State Bar of Texas, Family Law Section
- Member
- Counsel, 2025 – Present
- State Bar of Texas, Family Law Section, Collaborative Law Section
- Member
- Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists
- Member
- Texas Family Law Foundation
- Fellow
- Texas Young Lawyers Association
- Member
- Board of Directors, District 4 Director, 2020-2024
- Board of Directors, At-Large Director, Small City, 2024-2025
- National Trial Competition Committee Co-Chair 2022-2025
- The Curt B. Henderson American Inn of Court
- Member
Education
Education
- Regent University School of Law, 2011
- J.D., Law
- Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity
- Newman Club, Vice President
- Israel International Law Program
- Strasbourg, France International Law & Human Rights Program
- Southern Methodist University, 2008
- B.B.A., Finance
- B.A., Political Science
- Phi Gamma Delta, President
- International Fraternity Council Representative
- National Society of Collegiate Scholars
- University Scholar
- Order of Omega Honor Society
- Hilltop Scholars Program
Bar Admissions
Bar Admissions
- Texas, 2011
- District of Columbia Bar, 2012
- Federal – Texas Northern & Eastern Districts

