West Lake Hills Child Support Attorney

A child support order is one of the few court orders that follows a family for well over a decade, and the numbers set at the start tend to stick unless someone does the work to change them. The Law Office of Oprea & Weber is a boutique divorce and family law firm that handles child support, custody, and related family matters for parents in West Lake Hills and throughout Travis County, as well as Williamson, Hays, and Bastrop Counties.

If you are searching for a West Lake Hills child support attorney, the question you are really asking is usually one of three things: how much will I pay or receive, how do I change an order that no longer fits, or how do I get paid what I am owed. Texas answers the first question with a formula, but the formula depends on what counts as income, and in a community like West Lake Hills, where many parents have bonuses, equity compensation, business ownership, or irregular earnings, that definition is where most of the fighting happens.

How the Texas Guidelines Calculate Support, and Where Higher Earners Get Surprised

Texas starts with the paying parent’s monthly net resources and applies a fixed percentage based on the number of children before the court: 20 percent for one child, 25 percent for two, 30 percent for three, 35 percent for four, 40 percent for five, and not less than the five-child percentage for six or more. If the paying parent’s net resources fall under $1,000 a month, a lower schedule applies, starting at 15 percent for one child. Those percentages are presumed to be reasonable, and the court begins there.

The percentages only apply up to a ceiling on monthly net resources. That ceiling exists, it is adjusted periodically by the state, and it matters a great deal for higher-income families. Above the ceiling, the guideline amount does not automatically keep climbing with income. A parent who wants more than the guideline produces has to make a case for why the child’s actual needs justify it, and a parent who wants to stay at the guideline amount may need to rebut that argument. This is a real strategy question, not a formality, and it is one of the places where having a lawyer who thinks like a litigator pays off.

Net resources is also broader than a paycheck. It includes all wage and salary income and other compensation for personal services, counting commissions, overtime, tips, and bonuses at full value. For a parent paid partly in bonuses or variable compensation, the way those dollars are documented and averaged can move the monthly number substantially. Self-employed parents and business owners raise another set of questions about what the business actually produces versus what it reports. We help clients assemble the paper trail, whether that means pay records and tax returns or a closer look at how a business is run, so the number the court uses reflects reality.

Why Choose The Law Office of Oprea & Weber for Child Support Cases

The Law Office of Oprea & Weber is a boutique family law firm serving parents in West Lake Hills, the rest of Travis County, and Williamson, Hays, and Bastrop Counties. The firm’s attorneys, Kevin Weber and Karen Oprea, both graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School. The firm handles child support alongside custody, paternity, SAPCR suits, modifications, relocation, and enforcement, which matters because support is rarely a standalone issue. The amount you pay or receive is tied to who has the children and when.

Kevin Weber trained in complex commercial litigation and negotiation at Latham & Watkins in Manhattan, and that background is useful when a support case turns on documents: business records, compensation structures, and financial disclosures. Karen Oprea 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 shapes how the firm builds a record and anticipates problems in an order before they surface. Kevin also mediates family law disputes and represents clients in mediation, so he knows from both sides of the table what makes a support agreement hold up.

The firm keeps its caseload intentionally manageable, and your attorney personally handles your case from the first consultation through the final order. You are not passed to layers of staff or junior associates, and you get direct attorney access and plain-language explanations. Clients describe the firm as knowledgeable, thorough, and caring, and one client wrote that Kevin “translates legal language into applicable information.” The firm prefers cooperative resolution when it is realistic, and prepares every case as if it may be tried.

Child Support Issues That Come Up for West Lake Hills Parents

Initial Support Orders in Divorce: Support is set in the final decree alongside conservatorship and possession. The schedule you choose affects the calculation, so the two are negotiated together rather than separately.
Support for Unmarried Parents: In a paternity case or a SAPCR suit, support is typically requested along with parentage, custody, and visitation. Establishing legal parentage comes first, because support cannot be ordered against someone who is not a legal parent.
Variable and Bonus Income: Commissions, bonuses, overtime, and tips count at 100 percent as net resources. Parents with lumpy compensation often disagree about whether to average it or use a flat figure, and the answer changes the monthly payment.
Self-Employed Parents and Business Owners: Income can be shaped by what the business retains, pays out, or runs through personal expenses. Establishing true net resources can require financial records and sometimes outside analysis.
Above-Cap Incomes: When net resources exceed the statutory ceiling, the question becomes whether the child’s demonstrated needs justify support beyond the guideline amount, and that is argued on evidence.
Modification After a Change in Circumstances: Job loss, a significant raise, a new baby in either household, or a shift in the possession schedule can all justify revisiting the number.
Enforcement of Unpaid Support: When a parent stops paying or pays partially, the other parent can seek enforcement through the court rather than absorbing the shortfall.
Special Medical or Educational Needs: A child with extraordinary medical needs is a common reason a court may depart from the guidelines in either direction.

What to Do Now If Support Is on the Table or Not Being Paid

Start with documents. If you are the paying parent, gather your recent pay records, tax returns, and records of any bonuses, side income, or business earnings. If you are the receiving parent, gather what you can about the other parent’s income and your own child-related expenses, including health insurance, child care, and medical costs. These records tell your attorney what the guideline calculation looks like and where the dispute is likely to be.

Do not agree informally to a number outside the court process and assume it will hold. A handshake arrangement or a text message about what you will pay is not an enforceable order. If the other parent stops paying, you will have nothing to enforce, and if you are paying more than ordered, you may not be credited for it. Get the arrangement into a signed order. Likewise, do not simply stop paying because your circumstances changed. An existing order stays in force until a court changes it, and a missed payment can be enforced against you even if you had a good reason.

If you are the one seeking to change an order, timing and route matter. A modification can be based on a material and substantial change in circumstances, which has no minimum waiting period, or on the passage of three years since the order was made or last modified where the monthly amount differs from the guideline amount by 20 percent or $100. If your original order departed from the guidelines by agreement, the court can modify only if circumstances have materially and substantially changed since the order was made. Incarceration lasting more than 180 days also counts as a material and substantial change. A new support order or a modification is filed in the district court of the county where the case belongs, and for most West Lake Hills families that means the family courts in Travis County, which hold contested hearings in person at the Travis County Civil and Family Courts Facility in downtown Austin. If your case sits in Williamson, Hays, or Bastrop County, the district courts there handle it.

If you are in the middle of a divorce and need support in place while the case is pending, ask your attorney about temporary orders. Temporary support can stabilize bills and the household until the final decree. Whatever route you take, bring your attorney the complete picture early, including income you hope will not matter. Surprises that come out later cost more than facts that are handled up front.

Support, Possession, and the Schedule Behind the Number

Child support does not exist in isolation from the parenting schedule. Texas law now treats the Expanded Standard Possession Order, with Thursday overnights and weekends running through Monday morning, as the default for new orders when the parents live within 50 miles of each other. Parents whose orders were written earlier must file a modification to adopt it. That change affects how many overnights each parent has, and it is a reason some parents revisit both custody and support at the same time.

Modifying conservatorship or possession is a separate standard from modifying support. It requires a material and substantial change in circumstances and a showing that the change is in the child’s best interest. Certain grounds speak directly to who the child lives with, such as a child who is at least 12 telling the judge in chambers which parent the child prefers to designate the primary residence, or a primary-residence parent voluntarily giving up primary care for at least six months. If you ask to change the primary residence within a year of the order, an affidavit is required with specific allegations. We help clients see how a change in the schedule feeds back into the support number before they file, so they are not surprised by the financial consequences.

Common Questions About Child Support in West Lake Hills and Travis County

How is child support calculated in Texas?

The court applies a percentage to the paying parent’s monthly net resources: 20 percent for one child, 25 percent for two, 30 percent for three, 35 percent for four, 40 percent for five, and not less than the five-child percentage for six or more. A lower schedule applies when net resources are under $1,000 a month. The percentages apply only up to a statutory cap on net resources that the state adjusts periodically.

What counts as income for child support?

Net resources include wages and salary and other compensation for personal services, counted at 100 percent, including commissions, overtime pay, tips, and bonuses. Other sources of income can also be considered. If you earn variable compensation, expect it to be part of the calculation.

Can child support go above the guideline amount for a high earner?

The guideline percentages apply only up to the cap on net resources. When a paying parent earns above that cap, the court can order more than the guideline amount if the child’s proven needs justify it. That is decided on evidence, and the receiving parent bears the burden of showing the additional amount is warranted.

Can we agree on a different amount than the guidelines?

Parents can agree to a figure that differs from the guidelines, and the court can approve it if it is in the child’s best interest. Be aware of the consequence: once the order departs from the guidelines by agreement, it can later be modified only if circumstances have materially and substantially changed since the order was made, which is a harder showing than the three-year route.

When can I ask the court to modify child support?

There are two main paths. One is a material and substantial change in circumstances, with no minimum waiting period. The other is that three years have passed since the order was made or last modified and the current monthly amount differs from the guideline amount by 20 percent or $100. Either way, the order stays in force until a court changes it.

Does going to jail affect my child support obligation?

Incarceration for more than 180 days is treated as a material and substantial change in circumstances that can support a modification request. It does not wipe out the obligation automatically. You still have to file and get a court order.

What if the other parent is not paying support?

You can ask the court to enforce the existing order. An enforcement action puts the missed payments before the judge. Keep your own records of what was due and what was actually paid, because the case is built on those numbers.

Do unmarried parents have to pay child support?

Yes, once legal parentage is established. In a paternity case or a SAPCR suit, support can be requested together with custody and visitation. Texas sets time limits on certain paternity challenges, including a four-year window in many cases involving a presumed father, so delay can limit options.

Does the new standard possession schedule change my support?

It can. The schedule determines how many overnights each parent has, which is part of the picture a court considers in setting or changing support. If you want your existing order to reflect the expanded schedule, you generally need to file a modification, and that is a good time to review the support number too.

Should I hire a lawyer for a straightforward support case?

Even an agreed case benefits from careful drafting, because an order that is vague on income definitions, health insurance, or how bonuses are handled invites later disputes. If the case involves variable income, a business, income near or above the cap, or a request to depart from the guidelines, legal help is more clearly worth it.

Is mediation an option for resolving support?

Yes. Support can be resolved through mediation or other cooperative routes, and agreement is usually faster and less costly than trial. The firm works with clients through mediated, collaborative, and cooperative paths where they fit, and prepares the case for court when they do not.

Serving West Lake Hills Child Support Clients Across Travis County and Central Texas

The firm’s child support work begins in West Lake Hills and extends across Travis County, including Rollingwood, Bee Cave, Lakeway, Barton Creek, Westlake, Tarrytown, Clarksville, Zilker, Barton Hills, Bouldin Creek, Hyde Park, Mueller, East Austin, South Congress, Circle C, and Manor. Many of our clients come from the Westlake and Eanes areas, as well as neighborhoods across central and south Austin.

We also represent parents in Williamson County, including Round Rock, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Leander, and Pflugerville; in Hays County, including Buda, Kyle, Dripping Springs, and San Marcos; and in Bastrop County, including Bastrop, Elgin, and Smithville. Whether your case belongs in a Travis County district court or in the courts of a neighboring county, your attorney handles it personally from start to finish.

Talk With a West Lake Hills Child Support Attorney

Whether you are setting support for the first time, trying to change an order that no longer fits your finances, or trying to collect what you are owed, the right starting point is a conversation about your actual numbers and your actual schedule. The Law Office of Oprea & Weber offers practical guidance in plain language, with the same attorney handling your case throughout. If you are looking for a West Lake Hills child support attorney who will take your case personally, call to schedule a consultation.