Lockhart Family Law Attorney
The Law Office of Oprea & Weber helps families in Lockhart and across Caldwell County’s neighbors in Central Texas work through divorce, custody, support, paternity, and the agreements that come before and after a marriage, and the firm serves clients throughout Travis, Williamson, Hays, and Bastrop Counties. If you are searching for a Lockhart family law attorney, there is one practical fact to know early: Lockhart sits in Caldwell County, and your case is filed in the county where you live, not where your lawyer happens to work.
That detail shapes more than paperwork. Texas requires that at least one spouse has lived in the state for six months and in the filing county for 90 days before a divorce can be filed. Many Lockhart families live close to Hays County, Bastrop County, and Travis County, and people commute, move, and split households across those lines. A spouse who recently relocated can be a few weeks short of the county requirement without realizing it, and filing in the wrong place costs time you cannot get back.
Family cases in this part of Central Texas tend to involve blended households, shared parenting across county lines, family property outside the city limits, and one or both parents working in Austin or San Marcos. Those facts drive the real questions: where to file, which possession schedule fits the commute, and how to divide land, a business, or retirement accounts. We start with those questions, not a form.
Why Choose Oprea & Weber for Your Lockhart Family Law Case
The Law Office of Oprea & Weber is a boutique divorce and family law firm with attorneys Kevin Weber and Karen Oprea, who serve families in Travis, Williamson, Hays, and Bastrop Counties and throughout Central Texas, including clients from the Lockhart area. The firm handles divorce, collaborative, cooperative, and mediated divorce, child custody and visitation, child support, spousal maintenance, property division, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, paternity, SAPCR suits, and modifications, relocation, and enforcement. The firm keeps its caseload intentionally manageable, and the attorney you meet at the first consultation personally handles your case through the final decree. You are not passed to layers of staff or junior associates, and you get direct attorney access and explanations in plain language.
Both Kevin Weber, Attorney, and Karen Oprea, Attorney, graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School. Kevin trained in complex commercial litigation and negotiation at Latham & Watkins in Manhattan, which matters when a Lockhart divorce involves a family business, ranch or rural property, or accounts that need careful tracing. He also mediates family law disputes and represents clients in mediation, so he knows how settlements are built 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, giving the firm real depth when an order needs to be drafted to survive an appeal or a contested hearing.
Clients describe the firm as knowledgeable, thorough, and caring. One client wrote that Kevin “translates legal language into applicable information” and made sure she always felt supported and heard. Another said the attorneys helped hold his family steady through a very emotional custody matter. The firm prepares every case as though it may be tried, and that preparation is what makes negotiated outcomes possible. When cooperation works, it saves money and strain. When it does not, we advocate firmly.
Family Law Issues We Handle for Lockhart Families
- Divorce: Agreed and contested divorces both begin with the residency rules and the 60-day waiting period, which runs from the date of filing, not service. Texas divides community property in a just and right manner, which does not always mean equally.
- Collaborative, Cooperative, and Mediated Divorce: Couples who can still talk to each other can resolve property, children, and support privately. This path often fits families whose finances are tied to land, a small business, or a shared household that neither spouse wants aired in open court.
- Child Custody and Visitation: Texas uses the terms conservatorship and possession and access. For parents living within 50 miles of each other, the Expanded Standard Possession Order, with Thursday overnights and weekends running through Monday morning, is now the default for new orders, which matters for Lockhart parents splitting time with a former spouse in Austin or San Marcos.
- Child Support: Guideline support is a percentage of the paying parent’s net monthly resources: 20% for one child, 25% for two, 30% for three, 35% for four, and 40% for five. Those percentages apply up to a cap that the state adjusts periodically.
- Spousal Maintenance: Court-ordered support after divorce is limited and must be earned through specific grounds, such as a marriage of ten years or more where the requesting spouse cannot meet minimum reasonable needs, family violence, or an incapacitating disability.
- Paternity and SAPCR Suits: Unmarried parents establish legal parentage and resolve custody and support through a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship. Deadlines can bar a challenge to parentage, so timing matters.
- Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements: Couples who own land, a business, or inherited property can clarify what stays separate before a dispute exists.
- Modifications, Relocation, and Enforcement: Orders can be changed when circumstances change, and they can be enforced when the other parent ignores them.
What to Do Now if Your Family Case Is Starting in Lockhart
Start by pinning down residency. Count six months in Texas and 90 days in the county where you will file. If you recently moved between Caldwell, Hays, Bastrop, or Travis County, write down the exact date you established your home in each. A spouse needs to meet both requirements, but only one spouse has to.
Next, gather documents before anything is filed: tax returns, recent pay records, bank and retirement statements, mortgage or deed papers, vehicle titles, business records, and a list of debts. If children are involved, write down the current school and activity schedule and who actually handles drop-offs, medical visits, and care. Courts care about how a child’s life really works, so a realistic record of your routine is useful from the start.
Be careful about what you do in the meantime. Do not move money, sell property, or take children out of their routine without advice, because courts look closely at conduct after a dispute begins. If safety is a concern, a protective order can be sought, and in a divorce it can last until two years after the decree is signed. Protective orders also change the 60-day waiting period when family violence is involved.
Where your case is heard depends on where you file. Family cases go through the district courts of the county. Travis County has multiple district courts handling family matters, with contested hearings generally held in person at the civil and family courts facility in Austin. Williamson County district courts sit in Georgetown, Hays County’s sit in San Marcos, and Bastrop County’s 21st and 423rd District Courts sit in Bastrop, with the 423rd hearing only Bastrop County matters. We can tell you which court applies to your situation after a short conversation about where you live.
A common mistake is assuming that agreement between spouses skips the waiting period. It does not. The court cannot grant a divorce before the 60th day after filing, except in narrow family violence situations, even if everything is signed on day one. Another mistake is signing a temporary agreement without understanding that it can set the pattern for the final order.
Parenting Plans and Support When Parents Live in Different Towns
Lockhart parents often live a county or two apart after separating, and distance changes the legal analysis. The default Expanded Standard Possession Order applies when parents live within 50 miles of each other. Beyond that distance, different schedules apply, and a move can become the center of a dispute. If a parent with the right to designate the child’s primary residence plans to relocate, the other parent’s options depend on what the existing order says and how much the move affects the child’s time with each parent.
Parents with older orders do not automatically receive the expanded schedule. They must file a modification to adopt it. Modifying conservatorship or possession generally requires showing that circumstances have materially and substantially changed and that the change serves the child’s best interest. A child who is at least 12 can tell the judge privately which parent the child prefers to designate the primary residence, which is one recognized ground, though it is a factor and not a final say. A suit to change the primary-residence right within one year of the order generally requires an affidavit setting out specific concerns.
Child support follows the guidelines, but courts may depart when guideline support would be unjust, such as with extraordinary medical needs. Support can be modified after three years if the amount differs from guidelines by 20 percent or $100, or sooner on a material and substantial change in circumstances. A parent incarcerated for more than 180 days has a recognized change in circumstances.
Paternity, Informal Marriage, and Non-Parent Claims
Not every Lockhart family fits the married-with-children template. Texas recognizes informal marriage when a couple agreed to be married, lived together in Texas as spouses, and held themselves out as married, or when a declaration was signed and filed. There is no minimum period of living together, and if a proceeding to prove the marriage is not started within two years of separation, the law presumes there was no agreement to marry. Ending an informal marriage requires a divorce.
For unmarried parents, a paternity case or SAPCR suit establishes parentage and sets custody and support. Where a child has a presumed father, a parentage proceeding generally must start before the child’s fourth birthday, with limited exceptions. An acknowledgment of paternity can be rescinded within 60 days, and afterward challenged only for fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact. Stepparents and other non-parents now face narrower standing to seek custody or possession, since the law requires exclusive care, control, and possession of the child, so those claims need careful evaluation early.
Lockhart Family Law Questions Answered
Do I have to live in Lockhart to hire your firm?
No. We represent clients across Central Texas, including Travis, Williamson, Hays, and Bastrop Counties and the communities around them. What matters for filing is where you live, not where your lawyer is.
How long does a Texas divorce take?
The minimum is 60 days from the date the petition is filed. An agreed divorce can be finalized soon after that period ends, while contested cases involving children, businesses, or significant assets commonly take many months.
Is custody in Texas always split 50/50?
No. The law favors frequent and continuing contact with both parents but does not guarantee an equal split. Parents can agree to an equal schedule, and courts approve it when it serves the child’s best interest.
How is child support calculated?
Guidelines apply a percentage to the paying parent’s net monthly resources, rising with the number of children: 20% for one, 25% for two, 30% for three, 35% for four, and 40% for five. Resources include wages, overtime, tips, commissions, and bonuses. A cap on the income to which the percentages apply is adjusted periodically.
When does child support end?
Generally when the child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever is later, if the child stays enrolled and meets attendance requirements. Support for a disabled adult child who cannot self-support may continue.
Do we both need a lawyer?
Usually each spouse hires their own. In a cooperative divorce, Kevin Weber represents one spouse while working with both to resolve issues, and the other spouse proceeds without separate counsel. That works best for couples committed to a respectful, transparent process.
Can I get spousal maintenance after a short marriage?
Rarely. For marriages under ten years, maintenance is generally limited to cases involving family violence or an incapacitating disability. For a marriage of at least ten years, the requesting spouse must also lack the ability to earn enough to meet minimum reasonable needs and show diligence in earning income or developing skills.
How long can spousal maintenance last?
For marriages of at least 10 but under 20 years, up to five years. For 20 to under 30 years, up to seven. For 30 years or more, up to ten. Monthly maintenance is capped at the lesser of a set dollar amount or 20 percent of the paying spouse’s average monthly gross income. Disability-based maintenance can last as long as the disability continues, subject to review.
Can I change my custody order if my ex moves away?
Possibly. A move can support a modification if it materially and substantially changes circumstances and modification serves the child’s best interest. What your existing order says about residence restrictions matters a great deal, so bring a copy to your consultation.
Does a protective order affect my divorce?
It can. An active protective order based on family violence can remove the 60-day waiting period. Protective orders generally last up to two years, and an order against a spouse in a pending divorce lasts until two years after the decree is signed. Longer orders require specific findings.
What if my spouse never responds to the divorce petition?
A served spouse generally has about 20 days to answer. If no answer is filed, the court may proceed by default, but the decree must still address property, children, and support correctly, so default cases need careful drafting.
Is a common-law marriage the same as a regular marriage in Texas?
Legally, yes, if it qualifies. Texas calls it informal marriage, and ending it requires a divorce. There is no required length of cohabitation, but both parties must be free to marry and at least 18.
Serving Families From Lockhart Across Central Texas
We represent families in Lockhart and throughout the surrounding area, including Luling, Dale, Maxwell, Martindale, and Fentress in and around Caldwell County. Because many Lockhart families live and work across county lines, we also serve clients in Hays County, including San Marcos, Kyle, Buda, Dripping Springs, and Wimberley, and in Bastrop County, including Bastrop, Elgin, Smithville, and Cedar Creek. Our work extends to Travis County, including Austin, Manor, Pflugerville, Lakeway, and Bee Cave, and to Williamson County, including Round Rock, Georgetown, Cedar Park, Leander, Hutto, and Taylor. Whether the issue is a divorce, a custody schedule, a paternity case, or an order that no longer fits, we can tell you which court will hear your case and what to expect.
Speak With a Lockhart Family Law Attorney Today
If you are weighing a divorce, sorting out custody, or trying to enforce or change an order, a conversation with a Lockhart family law attorney at Oprea & Weber can clarify where to file, what your options are, and how to proceed with a plan built around your family. Call to schedule a consultation, and you will speak directly with an attorney who will handle your case from the first meeting through the final decree.