Georgetown Divorce Attorney
A Georgetown couple heading toward divorce will file in Williamson County, not Travis, and that single fact shapes which courthouse you visit, which judges hear your case, and how quickly things move. The Law Office of Oprea & Weber is a boutique divorce and family law firm that handles divorce, custody, support, property division, and marital agreements for families in Georgetown, throughout Williamson County, and across Central Texas.
If you are searching for a Georgetown divorce attorney, you probably want specifics more than slogans: how long this will take, what a judge will actually decide, and what you can settle on your own terms. The answers depend on the facts of your marriage, but Texas law sets a clear framework, and knowing it early lets you make better decisions from the first week.
Where a Georgetown Divorce Is Filed and Who Hears It
Texas lets either spouse file once the filing spouse has been a Texas resident for six months and has lived in the county of filing for 90 days. Only one spouse has to meet both requirements, and the other spouse does not have to agree to the divorce. For most Georgetown residents, the county of filing is Williamson County.
Williamson County’s district courts, including the 26th, 277th, 368th, 395th, 425th, and 480th, sit at the Williamson County Justice Center in Georgetown, alongside the county courts at law. Your divorce petition goes to the District Clerk in Georgetown. If you recently moved from Travis County, or you and your spouse live in different counties, the 90-day county rule can decide where the case belongs, so confirm that before anything is filed.
Why Choose Oprea & Weber for a Georgetown Divorce
The Law Office of Oprea & Weber is a boutique divorce and family law firm serving Georgetown and the rest of Williamson County, along with Travis, Hays, and Bastrop Counties and the wider Central Texas area. The firm represents spouses and parents in divorce, child custody and visitation, child support, spousal maintenance, property division, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, paternity, SAPCR suits, and modifications, relocation, and enforcement actions.
The practice is built around direct access. Your attorney personally handles your case from the first consultation to the final decree, the caseload is intentionally kept manageable, and clients are not passed to layers of staff or junior associates. Communication is in plain language, which matters when you are making decisions about your children and your home.
Kevin Weber, Attorney, and Karen Oprea, Attorney, both graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School. Kevin trained in complex commercial litigation and negotiation at Latham & Watkins in Manhattan, experience that carries over to dividing businesses, retirement accounts, and real estate. He also mediates family law disputes and represents clients in mediation, so he sees settlement from both sides of the table. Karen has briefed and argued cases before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the Texas Courts of Appeals, and the New York appellate courts, which sharpens how the firm builds a record and anticipates issues if a case needs to be tried.
Clients describe the firm as knowledgeable, thorough, and caring. One client wrote that Kevin “skillfully made sure that I always felt supported and heard” and translates legal language into practical information. The approach is cooperative where cooperation is possible and fully prepared for court where it is not.
Issues That Drive Divorce Cases in Georgetown and Williamson County
- Property Division: Texas divides the community estate in a manner the court finds just and right, which does not always mean 50/50. Homes, retirement accounts, and business interests are the usual sticking points, and tracing what is separate property from what is community often takes real work.
- Custody and Possession: Texas calls custody conservatorship and visitation possession and access. For new orders where parents live within 50 miles of each other, the Expanded Standard Possession Order, with Thursday overnights and weekends running through Monday morning, is now the default. Georgetown, Round Rock, and Leander families often fall inside that radius.
- Child Support: Guideline support is a percentage of the paying parent’s monthly net resources: 20% for one child, 25% for two, 30% for three, 35% for four, and 40% for five. Those percentages apply only up to a cap on net resources that is adjusted periodically. Overtime, bonuses, commissions, and tips count as income.
- Spousal Maintenance: Court-ordered support after divorce is narrow in Texas. It generally requires that the requesting spouse cannot meet minimum reasonable needs, and then a qualifying ground such as a marriage of 10 years or more, a family violence conviction, or a serious disability.
- Informal Marriage: Couples who never held a ceremony can still be married under Texas law if they agreed to be married, lived together in Texas, and presented themselves as spouses. Ending that marriage requires a divorce, and whether the marriage exists at all can become the first fight.
- Businesses and Professional Practices: Williamson County has many owner-operated companies and professionals commuting to the Austin technology sector. Valuing equity compensation, closely held companies, and deferred pay needs financial records and sometimes outside experts.
- Protective Orders: When family violence is involved, safety comes first and the divorce timeline can change. A protective order tied to a pending divorce can last until the second anniversary of the signed final decree.
What to Do Now If You Are Considering Divorce in Georgetown
Start with paperwork, not confrontation. Gather the last few years of tax returns, recent pay stubs, bank and credit card statements, retirement account statements, mortgage and loan documents, and anything showing business ownership. If you are the spouse who does not handle the finances, collect copies quietly and early. Do not move money, close accounts, or sell property on your own; courts frown on it, and in Travis County and elsewhere, standing orders restrict exactly that kind of conduct once a case is pending.
Next, think about timing. The clock on the mandatory 60-day waiting period starts when the petition is filed, not when your spouse is served, and an agreement between spouses does not shorten it. The only exceptions involve family violence, such as a conviction or deferred adjudication for a family violence offense against you or a household member, or an active protective order based on family violence during the marriage. If you are safe and calm, the filing date can be chosen strategically; if you are not safe, tell your attorney immediately.
Once a petition is filed, the other spouse is served or signs a waiver, and generally has about 20 days to answer. Temporary orders hearings, usually in Georgetown for Williamson County cases, decide who lives where, who pays what, and how the children’s schedule works while the case is pending. Those early orders tend to set the tone for what follows, so they deserve preparation. Avoid posting about the case on social media, avoid discussing strategy in texts you would not want read aloud, and avoid moving a child out of the area without advice. If you and your spouse are cooperative, ask early whether collaborative, cooperative, or mediated divorce fits your situation, because those paths can keep decisions private and out of the courtroom.
Contested or Agreed: How Georgetown Divorces Actually Resolve
Most divorces end in a negotiated settlement. Agreement can come through direct talks, mediation, or a collaborative or cooperative process. In a cooperative divorce, Kevin Weber represents one spouse while working with both to resolve the issues together, and the other spouse proceeds without separate counsel. That saves money but only works for couples who are transparent and respectful with each other. Where there is real conflict, imbalance, or discomfort, each spouse should have their own lawyer.
When issues are disputed, discovery lets both sides exchange financial records, appraisals, and evidence about parenting. If the case still does not settle, the court holds hearings on specific disputes and, if needed, a final trial. The firm prepares every case as though it may be tried, which gives leverage in negotiation. The result of either path is a Final Decree of Divorce covering property, debts, conservatorship, possession, support, and maintenance, and precise drafting here prevents disputes later.
Georgetown Divorce Questions, Answered
How long does a divorce take in Georgetown?
The court cannot grant a divorce before the 60th day after filing. An agreed case can often be finished soon after that. Contested cases involving children, businesses, or significant assets commonly take many months, depending on how fast the issues resolve and the court’s schedule.
Do I have to live in Georgetown to file there?
You need six months of Texas residency and 90 days of residency in the county where you file. For most Georgetown residents, that county is Williamson County. Only one spouse has to meet the requirements.
Is custody in Texas always split 50/50?
No. Texas favors frequent and continuing contact with both parents, but that does not guarantee an equal split. Parents can agree to an equal schedule, and courts approve it when it serves the child’s best interests.
How is child support calculated?
Guidelines apply a percentage to the paying parent’s monthly net resources, from 20% for one child up to 40% for five, with a cap on the income to which the percentages apply. Courts can depart from the guidelines when they would be unjust or inappropriate.
Can we skip the 60-day waiting period if we agree on everything?
No. Agreement does not waive it. The narrow exceptions involve family violence, such as a qualifying conviction or an active protective order.
Can I get spousal maintenance?
Only if you lack enough property to meet minimum reasonable needs and meet a qualifying ground. Examples include a marriage of 10 years or more with an inability to earn enough, a family violence conviction within two years before filing or while the case is pending, or an incapacitating disability. Monthly maintenance cannot exceed the lesser of $5,000 or 20 percent of the paying spouse’s average monthly gross income.
How long can maintenance last?
Up to five years for marriages of at least 10 but under 20 years, seven years for 20 to under 30 years, and ten years for 30 years or more. Disability-based maintenance can last as long as the disability continues, subject to review.
Can a court divorce us if we never had a wedding?
If you meet the requirements for an informal marriage, yes. Texas has no minimum cohabitation period. A proceeding to prove an informal marriage that is started more than two years after separation faces a legal presumption that no agreement to be married existed.
Our order says one thing but my situation changed. Can I modify it?
Child support can be modified after three years if the amount differs from the guideline by 20 percent or $100, or earlier on a material and substantial change in circumstances. Custody and possession changes generally require a material and substantial change plus a finding that the change serves the child’s best interest. Parents with older possession orders must file a modification to adopt the Expanded Standard Possession Order.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a divorce with no disputes?
Often yes. Even agreed divorces need a decree that correctly addresses property, retirement transfers, children, and support. Errors in the decree are hard and expensive to fix later.
Am I responsible for my spouse’s debts?
It depends on the debt and how it was incurred, and a court divides debts as part of dividing the community estate. Do not assume a debt in your spouse’s name stays only with them, or that one in joint names will be split evenly.
Serving Georgetown and Williamson County Families
The firm represents clients in Georgetown and throughout Williamson County, including Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Hutto, Taylor, Liberty Hill, Florence, Jarrell, and Granger, along with neighborhoods in and around Georgetown such as Sun City. We also serve families in neighboring Travis County, including Austin, Pflugerville, and Lakeway, as well as Hays County communities like San Marcos, Kyle, and Buda, and Bastrop County communities including Bastrop and Elgin. Whether a case belongs in Georgetown, Austin, San Marcos, or Bastrop, the same attorney guides it from beginning to end.
Talk With a Georgetown Divorce Attorney at Oprea & Weber
If you are weighing divorce, an early conversation can clarify where your case will be filed, what the court is likely to decide, and which path fits your family. A Georgetown divorce attorney at Oprea & Weber will listen to your goals, explain your options in plain language, and build a strategy around them. Call to schedule a consultation.