Bee Cave Child Custody Attorney

The Law Office of Oprea & Weber represents parents in Bee Cave and across Travis County, as well as in Williamson, Hays, and Bastrop Counties, who need to settle where their children will live, how time will be divided, and what support will look like. Many of the families we hear from in the Hill Country communities west of Austin have demanding professional schedules, two households with real distance between them, and strong feelings about what is best for their kids. A Bee Cave child custody attorney has to translate those facts into a possession schedule a judge will sign and two parents can actually follow.

Texas uses its own vocabulary. What most people call custody is conservatorship, and visitation is possession and access. Courts decide who holds the right to designate the child’s primary residence, how decisions about education and medical care are shared, and how weekends, holidays, and summers are divided. The outcome rests on the child’s best interest, which is a standard applied to specific facts, not a formula.

Timing matters more than it used to. For new orders where the parents live within 50 miles of each other, the Expanded Standard Possession Order is now the default, which adds Thursday overnights and extends weekends through Monday morning. Families with older orders do not receive that schedule automatically; a modification must be filed to adopt it. Whether the expanded schedule suits your child, or whether a different arrangement fits your family better, is a question worth working through before anything is filed.

Why Choose Oprea & Weber for Child Custody Cases Near Bee Cave

The Law Office of Oprea & Weber is a boutique divorce and family law firm. Kevin Weber, Attorney, and Karen Oprea, Attorney, both graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School. The firm handles custody and visitation, child support, paternity, SAPCR suits, relocation disputes, modifications, and enforcement for families in Bee Cave, Travis County, and the surrounding Central Texas counties the firm serves.

Custody cases reward preparation. Kevin trained in complex commercial litigation and negotiation at Latham & Watkins in Manhattan, which is useful when a parenting dispute turns on financial records, a business owner’s fluctuating income, or a hard-fought negotiation over a possession schedule. 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. That appellate background shapes how a record is built at the trial level, because the findings and orders a court signs are what survive later.

Kevin also mediates family law disputes and represents clients in mediation, so he sees both sides of the table. Most custody disputes settle, and knowing what makes an agreement durable is part of the work. The firm prepares every case for trial while pursuing a cooperative resolution when one is realistic.

The practical differences are these: your attorney personally handles your case from the first consultation to the final decree, the caseload is kept intentionally manageable, and you are not passed off to layers of staff or junior associates. Clients describe the firm as knowledgeable, thorough, and caring, and several mention feeling supported and heard during an emotional process, with legal language translated into plain terms.

Custody Issues That Come Up for Bee Cave Families

Primary Residence Designation: Texas courts typically name one parent as the one who designates the child’s primary residence, often with a geographic restriction. This single right shapes school enrollment, daily routine, and the leverage each parent has in later disputes, so it is usually the most contested term in a Bee Cave case.
Possession Schedules: The Expanded Standard Possession Order is the starting point for parents living within 50 miles of each other. Parents may agree to an equal schedule or a custom arrangement, and a court will generally approve one that serves the child’s best interest.
Decision-Making Rights: Conservators hold rights over education, non-emergency medical care, psychological treatment, and more. Parents can share these rights, divide them, or assign certain ones exclusively to one parent when the facts justify it.
Child Support Alongside Custody: Guideline support is a percentage of the paying parent’s net monthly resources, 20 percent for one child, 25 for two, 30 for three, 35 for four, and 40 for five, with an income cap on the amount to which the percentages apply. Wages, commissions, overtime, tips, and bonuses all count, which matters for self-employed and commission-based parents.
Paternity and Unmarried Parents: A father who is not married to the mother must establish legal parentage before he can seek conservatorship or possession. An acknowledgment of paternity can be rescinded within 60 days of signing; after that it can be challenged only for fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact.
Modification of Existing Orders: Changing conservatorship or possession requires a material and substantial change in circumstances and a showing that the change serves the child’s best interest. A child aged 12 or older can tell the judge in chambers which parent the child prefers, which is one recognized ground for changing primary residence.
Relocation Disputes: Moving a child from the area or beyond a geographic restriction can bring an order into conflict. These disputes involve the child’s ties to school and family, the reasons for the move, and whether a revised schedule can preserve each parent’s time.
Non-Parent Claims: Texas narrowed standing for non-parents such as stepparents to seek custody or possession, and the statute now speaks of exclusive care, control, and possession. Stepparents and relatives should have their standing assessed before filing.

What to Do Now If You Have a Custody Dispute

Start by gathering what a court will actually consider: the existing order if there is one, school and medical records, a calendar showing who has been handling pickups, doctor visits, and activities, and a record of communication with the other parent. Keep communication civil and in writing where possible. Messages sent in anger tend to resurface in a hearing, and a clean, factual record helps you.

If you are married and a divorce is going to be filed, residency comes first. One spouse must have lived in Texas for six months and in the filing county for 90 days. Because the court cannot grant a divorce until the 60th day after the petition is filed, temporary orders matter. They settle where the children live, who has the home, and who pays which bills while the case is pending, and they often set the pattern a final order follows. Do not assume you can sort this out informally while waiting. An informal arrangement is not enforceable.

Travis County family cases are heard in the district courts and associate courts at the Travis County Civil and Family Courts Facility in Austin, and contested hearings and trials are held in person unless the parties agree otherwise or the judge directs otherwise. Travis County courts also publish a Standing Order for Family Law Cases, which you should read because it governs conduct while a case is pending. If your case belongs in a neighboring county, it will be heard in that county’s district court: Williamson County in Georgetown, Hays County in San Marcos, or Bastrop County in Bastrop. Filing in the right county from the start avoids delay.

The most common mistakes are moving out with the children before there is an order, withholding the children from the other parent out of frustration, and posting about the dispute on social media. If safety is a concern, a protective order may be available, and for a protective order lasting more than two years against a parent, the court must make required findings by clear and convincing evidence and weigh the child’s best interest. Raise any safety concern with your attorney at the first meeting so it is addressed properly.

How Texas Courts Decide Conservatorship and Possession

The governing question is the child’s best interest, and Texas law favors frequent and continuing contact with both parents. Judges look at each parent’s ability to meet the child’s physical and emotional needs, stability of the home, history of caregiving, and any history of family violence or substance abuse. The child’s own wishes carry weight as the child gets older, though the court is not bound by them.

A court-ordered possession schedule is not a ceiling. Parents who can agree on something different are generally free to do so, and a judge will approve the agreement if it serves the child. That is why mediated and cooperative approaches work well here: a schedule built around a parent’s real work week and the child’s real routine is more likely to hold up than one imposed after a hearing.

Changing a Custody or Support Order Later

Orders are not permanent in the sense that nothing can change. Child support can be modified when three years have passed since the order was rendered or last modified and the monthly amount differs from the guideline amount by 20 percent or $100, or on a material and substantial change in circumstances, which has no minimum waiting period. If the parties agreed to an amount that departs from the guidelines, the court may modify only on a material and substantial change since the order was entered.

Changing the right to designate the child’s primary residence within one year of the original order requires an affidavit alleging serious concerns, such as that the child’s present environment may endanger the child’s physical health or significantly impair emotional development, or that the custodial parent consents or has voluntarily given up primary care for at least six months. The affidavit requirement is a gatekeeping step, and a petition without one risks being dismissed. Anyone considering this should talk to an attorney before filing.

Bee Cave Custody Questions Answered

Is custody in Texas always split 50/50?

No. Texas favors frequent contact with both parents but does not guarantee an equal division. Many orders name one parent as the one who designates the primary residence and give the other a scheduled possession period. Parents may agree to an equal schedule, and a court will approve it when it serves the child’s best interest.

What is the Expanded Standard Possession Order?

It is the default possession schedule for new orders when the parents live within 50 miles of each other. It adds Thursday overnights and extends weekend possession through Monday morning. Parents with existing orders must file a modification to adopt it.

How is child support calculated?

Guideline support is a percentage of the paying parent’s net monthly resources: 20 percent for one child, 25 for two, 30 for three, 35 for four, and 40 for five, with no less than the five-child percentage for six or more. The percentages apply only up to a cap on net resources that the state adjusts periodically. A court may depart from the guidelines when applying them would be unjust or inappropriate.

What counts as income for child support?

Net resources include all wage and salary income and other compensation for personal services, including commissions, overtime, tips, and bonuses, along with other sources the statute lists. For self-employed parents, the analysis often focuses on business records and what the parent actually has available.

How do unmarried parents establish custody rights?

Through a suit affecting the parent-child relationship, commonly called a SAPCR. A father must first establish legal parentage, either through a signed acknowledgment of paternity or a court adjudication. Once parentage is established, conservatorship, possession, and support can all be decided in the same case.

Is there a deadline to challenge paternity?

Often, yes. When a child has a presumed father, a proceeding to adjudicate parentage generally must begin before the child’s fourth birthday, unless an exception applies, such as the parents not living together or having intercourse during the probable time of conception, or misrepresentation that kept the presumed father from asserting paternity. An acknowledgment of paternity can be rescinded within 60 days of signing; after that, it can be challenged only for fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact.

Can my child choose which parent to live with?

A child who is at least 12 can tell the judge in chambers which parent the child prefers to have the exclusive right to designate the primary residence, and that is a recognized ground for modification. The preference is one factor, and the judge still decides based on the child’s best interest.

Can I move away with my child after the divorce?

It depends on the order. Many orders restrict the child’s residence to a geographic area. Moving beyond it generally requires the other parent’s agreement or a court-approved modification, and moving without either can lead to an enforcement action.

Does a protective order affect custody?

It can. A protective order lasts for the period stated, up to two years in most cases, and can be longer when the court finds serious bodily injury or two or more prior protective orders. It can also be renewed by a new application filed within 30 days before it expires. Findings of family violence also bear on possession and conservatorship.

Can a stepparent or grandparent seek custody?

Standing for non-parents is narrower than it once was. The law now centers on exclusive care, control, and possession of the child, replacing the earlier test based on six months of actual care. Whether a non-parent can file depends on the specific facts, so an early consultation is worthwhile.

Do we both need lawyers in a custody case?

In most custody cases, each parent should have separate counsel. In a cooperative divorce, Kevin Weber represents one spouse while working with both to resolve their issues, and the other spouse proceeds without separate counsel. That approach works for couples committed to a transparent process; when conflict is significant, each parent should have their own attorney.

Serving Bee Cave Custody Clients Across Central Texas

We represent parents from Bee Cave and the Hill Country communities of western Travis County, including Lakeway, Rollingwood, West Lake Hills, Spicewood, and Briarcliff, and into Austin neighborhoods such as Westlake, Barton Creek, Zilker, Tarrytown, Hyde Park, and Mueller. Families in Pflugerville, Manor, and Lago Vista, also in Travis County, can rely on the same personal attention.

In Williamson County, we serve clients in Round Rock, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Leander, Liberty Hill, Hutto, and Taylor. In Hays County, we serve families in Dripping Springs, Buda, Kyle, San Marcos, and Wimberley. In Bastrop County, we work with parents in Bastrop, Elgin, and Smithville. Whether the case belongs in Travis, Williamson, Hays, or Bastrop County, your attorney handles it personally.

Talk With a Bee Cave Child Custody Lawyer

If you are working out a parenting plan, facing a contested custody case, or need to modify an order that no longer fits your child’s life, a conversation with a Bee Cave child custody lawyer at The Law Office of Oprea & Weber is a practical place to begin. We will review where you stand, explain how the court is likely to view your facts, and map out a strategy built around your family. Call to schedule a consultation.