DebnamRust, P.C.

Focus and practice areas

Family and estate matters make up the core of this Dallas firm's work. DebnamRust opened in 2017 and lists divorce, family law, estate planning, and probate among its practice areas. It also names legal work for LGBTQ+ clients as part of what it handles. Wills, trusts, and child custody appear among the specific matters the firm takes on.

In my opinion, the pairing of family law with estate law is a sensible one. Both areas often touch the same household at different points in life. A divorce can raise questions about a will, and a new marriage or a new child can send someone back to update an estate plan. A firm that covers both can follow a client through those changes without a handoff to another office.

The firm describes itself as a litigation firm, and its attorneys have trial, negotiation, and advocacy backgrounds. It also notes that most matters resolve before reaching a judge or jury. That combination is common in family law, where a filed case sets the terms for a negotiation that usually settles. A lawyer ready for trial tends to hold a stronger position at the table.

How the team is built

Three founding partners lead the firm: Brent Debnam, Michael Debnam, and Derek Mergele-Rust. Two associate attorney fellows and support staff round out the roster and cover case management, intake, and client services. The structure keeps senior lawyers on the substantive work while staff handle the day-to-day flow of a case.

The founding partners

Brent Debnam practices criminal defense and family law. His work covers domestic violence, DWI, custody disputes, drug-related offenses, and divorce. He earned both his undergraduate degree and his law degree from Texas Tech University. Earlier in his career he worked in a criminal defense clinic that took on clients who had few other options.

Michael Debnam focuses on divorce and family law. He graduated from Texas Tech University School of Law in 2017. His practice covers divorce, child custody, child support, and uncontested divorce. Uncontested divorces, where both spouses agree on the terms, tend to move faster than contested ones, and he handles those as well. A portion of his work is set aside for clients in the LGBTQ+ community.

Derek Mergele-Rust handles estate planning, probate, and family law. He attended Texas Tech University School of Law and graduated in 2017. His work includes wills, trusts, powers of attorney, estate administration, and child welfare matters. That range lets him handle both a client's first estate plan and the probate that may follow years later.

The associate fellows

Rafi Q. Rahman is an associate attorney fellow whose work covers personal injury and estate planning. They completed their education at Texas Tech University in 2024 and speak both English and Spanish. Jacqueline Avila is the firm's second associate attorney fellow. Brent, Michael, Derek, and Rafi all trained at Texas Tech University, which gives the roster a shared background.

Serving LGBTQ+ clients

The firm traces its founding to a gap its partners saw in legal representation for LGBTQ+ clients. They say they started DebnamRust to give that community stronger advocacy, and they built a new firm to do it. That origin shapes how the firm presents its family and estate work today.

LGBTQ+ families often bring the same questions any family does, with a few added steps. Parentage and custody can turn on how a child joined the family. An estate plan may need to account for a partner, stepchildren, or a spouse from a marriage the law recognized only in recent years. In this area of law generally, the work can extend to second-parent adoption, name and gender-marker updates, and beneficiary planning that matches a couple's wishes. The firm's listed strengths in family law and estate planning cover the core of it.

Where the firm works

The firm's office is in Dallas, and it takes matters across six counties: Dallas, Collin, Denton, Kaufman, Rockwall, and Ellis. That reach covers much of the territory north and east of the city, home to the growing suburbs of Collin and Denton. Each of those counties sits within the Dallas-Fort Worth metro, so the firm's footprint stays within a single region. A client in Rockwall or Kaufman can work with the same Dallas team without a long drive.

County lines carry more weight in family and probate work than they first appear. A divorce or a probate case is usually filed in the county where the person lives, and each county runs its own courts and local rules. A firm that already works across six of them knows the clerks, judges, and procedures in each. That familiarity can save time on the parts of a case that turn on local practice.

What clients tend to describe

Clients who work with the firm often describe attorneys who take the time to explain the options in front of them. As a reviewer, I read that as a firm that treats client communication as part of the legal work itself. For family and estate matters, where decisions carry weight for years, that habit matters. Steady contact through a case also cuts down on surprises, which matter most when a court date or a filing deadline is near. A client who understands the plan tends to make steadier choices under pressure.

How family and estate cases move

Divorce and custody matters in Texas run through the county district courts. Many start with temporary orders that set arrangements for children and finances while the case stays open. A large share reach a settlement through negotiation or mediation before a trial date arrives. A smaller number carry all the way to a courtroom.

Estate planning usually begins with a set of core documents: a will, and often a trust, a power of attorney, and a medical directive. Probate comes after a death and moves through the county probate courts. There, an executor gathers the assets, settles the debts, and distributes what remains under the terms of the will. The process can be short for a simple estate or long for one with many assets or disputes.

Child welfare cases add another layer. These matters can involve guardianship, conservatorship, or a state agency, and they often move on a faster schedule than a standard family case. Courts weigh the child's welfare above all in these decisions. A lawyer who handles both family law and estate planning can spot where a custody question and a guardianship question overlap. That overlap shows up when a child's care and a family's assets are decided at the same time.