Bastrop Modifications Attorney

The Law Office of Oprea & Weber helps Bastrop County parents and former spouses whose divorce or custody orders no longer match their lives, handling modifications of custody, possession schedules, child support, and spousal maintenance for clients across Bastrop and Central Texas. A job change, a move, a child who is now a teenager with opinions, or a former spouse who stopped following the order can all make a signed decree feel out of date.

If you are searching for a Bastrop modifications attorney, the first thing to know is that Texas does not let a judge simply rewrite an order because one side would like a better deal. Each type of modification has its own legal test, and some carry timing rules that catch people off guard. Getting the right test identified at the start shapes everything that follows.

Orders in Bastrop County cases are enforced and modified through the district courts there, which hear matters arising within the county. Whether your original order came from Bastrop or from another county, the question to answer before filing is the same: what has actually changed, and which legal standard does that change meet?

Why Choose Oprea & Weber for a Bastrop Modification Case

The Law Office of Oprea & Weber is a boutique divorce and family law firm serving clients in Bastrop County and the surrounding counties of Travis, Williamson, and Hays, as well as Austin and Central Texas more broadly. The firm handles modifications, relocation disputes, and enforcement actions alongside divorce, custody, child support, spousal maintenance, property division, paternity, and SAPCR suits. Kevin Weber, Attorney, and Karen Oprea, Attorney, both graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School.

Modification cases are won on evidence and on framing. Kevin Weber trained in complex commercial litigation and negotiation at Latham & Watkins in Manhattan, which translates well to disputes over income documentation, financial disclosures, and settlement terms. 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, a background that matters when a modification turns on how a legal standard should be read and applied to your facts.

The firm keeps its caseload intentionally manageable, and your attorney personally handles your case from first consultation to final order. You are not passed to layers of staff or junior associates, and you get direct attorney access and plain-language explanations. Kevin Weber also mediates family law disputes and represents clients in mediation, which is useful because many modifications are resolved by agreement. Clients describe the firm as knowledgeable, thorough, and caring. The firm prepares every case for trial while pursuing cooperative resolution whenever it is realistic.

Orders That Can Be Modified and What Each One Requires

Conservatorship and Possession Orders: Changing who has the right to designate the child’s primary residence, or altering the possession schedule, generally requires showing that circumstances have materially and substantially changed and that the change serves the child’s best interest. A rough patch is rarely enough; the change has to be real and documented.
Primary Residence Changes Within the First Year: If you ask to change the primary-residence right within one year of the order or of a mediated or collaborative settlement agreement it is based on, the petition must be accompanied by an affidavit. The affidavit must allege that the child’s current environment may endanger the child’s physical health or significantly impair emotional development, that the parent holding the right is seeking or agreeing to the change, or that the child has lived primarily with someone else for at least six months by that parent’s choice.
A Child’s Preference at 12 or Older: A child who is at least 12 can tell the judge, in chambers, which parent the child prefers to have the primary-residence right. That preference is a recognized ground for modification, though it is one factor and not an automatic win.
Child Support Adjustments: Support can be modified after three years if the monthly amount differs from the guideline amount by 20 percent or $100. Alternatively, a material and substantial change, such as a significant income shift or a new child, supports a request with no minimum waiting period. If the original support was agreed to at a figure outside the guidelines, the change-in-circumstances route is the one that applies.
Support After Incarceration: A parent who is incarcerated for more than 180 days has experienced a material and substantial change for support purposes, which opens the door to a modification request.
Spousal Maintenance: Maintenance is capped by statute, and orders based on a disability can last as long as the disability continues, subject to periodic review. That review is where modification disputes tend to arise.
The Expanded Standard Possession Order: The expanded schedule, with Thursday overnights and weekends running through Monday morning, is now the default for new orders when parents live within 50 miles of each other. Parents with older orders must file a modification to adopt it.
Relocation and Enforcement: A parent’s move can trigger a modification case, and a parent who ignores an order can face an enforcement action. These two often arrive together.

What to Do Before You File a Request to Change an Order

Start by pulling your current order and reading the operative language, not your memory of it. Many people believe their order says something it does not. Note the date it was signed or last modified, because that date controls the three-year support rule and the one-year primary-residence rule.

Next, write down what has changed and when. Dates matter. If the change is financial, collect pay stubs, tax returns, bonus and commission records, and any notice of job loss or raise. Texas counts wages, overtime, tips, commissions, and bonuses as net resources, so a full picture of income is what a court will look at. If the change involves your child, keep records that are factual rather than emotional: school records, medical notes, schedules, and messages showing how the current arrangement actually works.

Keep following the existing order until a judge changes it. This is the mistake that costs people the most. Withholding a child or skipping support because you plan to modify it hands the other side an enforcement claim and undermines your credibility. If support is already a hardship, the answer is to file promptly, because a modification generally cannot reach back before the request was filed.

For Bastrop County families, a suit to modify is filed in the district court that handles your case. The 423rd District Court sits in the community of Bastrop and hears only matters arising within Bastrop County, while the 21st District Court also sits in Bastrop. If your original order came out of a Travis, Williamson, or Hays County court, where the modification belongs depends on where the order was made and where the child lives, so that question should be answered before anything is filed.

Finally, consider whether the other parent will agree. A modification by agreement still has to be approved by the judge, but it is faster and less expensive than a contested hearing. If the two of you are communicating, a conversation through counsel or a mediation session can settle the whole thing before it becomes a fight.

When a Modification Is Not the Right Tool

Sometimes a modification is the wrong remedy. If the other parent is simply not complying with a clear order, you likely need enforcement, not a rewrite. If a judgment on paternity is in question, the deadlines are different: a suit to adjudicate parentage when a child has a presumed father generally must begin by the child’s fourth birthday, subject to narrow exceptions, and a signed acknowledgment of paternity can be challenged only on grounds of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact once the 60-day rescission window has closed.

Protective orders are their own category. A standard protective order lasts for the period stated in it, up to two years, and can be longer in limited circumstances, such as serious bodily injury to the applicant or a family or household member. If you are the subject of an order that touches possession or access, the order’s duration and terms interact with any custody modification, and this is worth sorting out with counsel before you file anything.

Non-parents also face a changed landscape. Standing for stepparents and other non-parents to seek custody or possession was narrowed, and the statute now refers to exclusive care, control, and possession of the child. If you are a stepparent or relative caring for a child, the threshold question is whether you have standing at all.

Bastrop Modification Questions, Answered

How long do I have to wait before asking to change a custody order?

There is no universal waiting period for conservatorship or possession changes, but you must show a material and substantial change in circumstances and that the change serves the child’s best interest. If you want to change the primary-residence right within a year of the order, an affidavit is required with your petition.

Can I modify child support if my income went down?

Yes, if the reduction is a material and substantial change, or if three years have passed and the support amount now differs from the guideline amount by 20 percent or $100. A voluntary pay cut designed to lower support is treated skeptically by courts.

Will child support change automatically when my child turns 18?

Support generally continues until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever is later, if the child remains enrolled and meets attendance requirements. Your order’s wording matters, particularly with more than one child, because support does not always step down automatically as each child ages out.

My child is 13 and wants to live with me. Is that enough?

A child who is 12 or older may tell the judge in chambers which parent the child prefers, and that is a recognized ground for modification. It is not binding. The judge weighs it alongside the child’s best interest and the rest of the evidence.

Does my old order need to be updated for the expanded possession schedule?

If your order was entered before the expanded schedule became the default, it stays as written unless someone files to modify it. If you want Thursday overnights and weekends through Monday morning, you need a modification, either by agreement or by court order.

Can a modification go back in time and change what I already owe?

Generally no. A court can modify support going forward, and past-due amounts already accrued remain owed. This is why filing quickly after a real change in income matters.

What if we agreed to a support amount outside the guidelines?

Then the easier three-year route is not available. You must show that circumstances have materially and substantially changed since the order was entered. Courts hold parents to agreements they made.

My ex moved and the drive is now much longer. What can I do?

A significant move can justify a modification of the possession schedule, the primary-residence designation, or both. The expanded schedule only applies by default when parents live within 50 miles, so distance changes can reshape the whole arrangement.

Can spousal maintenance be changed after the divorce?

Maintenance based on a disability can continue as long as the disability does, subject to periodic review, so that is where changes are most often contested. Maintenance terms are otherwise governed by the order and the statute, so the specific basis for your award determines what, if anything, can be revisited.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a small adjustment?

Even when both parents agree, the order has to be drafted correctly and approved. Ambiguous language is the usual source of future fights, and a poorly drafted agreed order can cause more trouble than it solves. A short consultation is often enough to tell you whether the change is simple or not.

Can a court change an order if one parent is in jail?

Incarceration of more than 180 days is a material and substantial change for support purposes. For custody, the court looks at the child’s best interest and the circumstances as a whole.

Serving Modification Clients Across Bastrop County and Central Texas

The firm represents families in Bastrop and throughout Bastrop County, including Elgin, Smithville, Cedar Creek, Paige, Red Rock, Bastrop State Park area neighbors, and the rural communities in between. It also serves clients in neighboring Travis County, including Austin, Manor, Pflugerville, Lakeway, and Bee Cave, and in Williamson County communities such as Round Rock, Georgetown, Cedar Park, Leander, and Hutto. In Hays County, the firm works with families in San Marcos, Kyle, Buda, and Dripping Springs.

Many modification clients live in one county while their order was entered in another, so the firm regularly handles questions about where a case belongs and which court has authority. Whether your order was made in Bastrop, Austin, Georgetown, or San Marcos, the firm can help you determine the right venue and the right approach.

Talk With a Bastrop Modifications Attorney at Oprea & Weber

If your life has changed and your order has not kept pace, speak with a Bastrop modifications attorney who will review your current order, tell you honestly whether the change you want meets the legal standard, and explain whether agreement or a hearing is the better route. The Law Office of Oprea & Weber can help you build the record, approach the other side, and prepare for the courtroom if it comes to that. Call to schedule a consultation.