Travis County Child Support Attorney

The Law Office of Oprea & Weber helps parents across Travis County and the rest of Central Texas set, defend, and enforce child support, whether the parents were married, never married, or are years past a divorce. Our work covers the full range of family law in the Austin area, from divorce and custody to paternity, SAPCR suits, and post-divorce modifications.

Texas child support is more formula than negotiation, and that surprises people. Every Travis County family court starts from the same guideline: a fixed percentage of the paying parent’s net monthly resources, scaled to the number of children. A Travis County child support attorney earns their keep in the fight over what counts as “net resources,” whether the guideline fits the family, and whether an existing order still reflects reality.

A child support order can be set low because income was undercounted, or stay high long after a job loss. It can also sit unenforced for years while arrears grow. Each of those problems has a legal remedy, and each has timing rules that reward the parent who moves early.

How Texas Guidelines Set the Number in Travis County

The guideline percentages apply 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, and 40 percent for five. For six or more children, the figure is not less than the five-child amount. If the paying parent’s net resources fall under $1,000 a month, a lower schedule applies, starting at 15 percent for one child.

The guidelines apply only up to a statutory cap on monthly net resources. That cap is adjusted by the Attorney General on a periodic schedule tied to the Consumer Price Index, so the current dollar figure should always be confirmed rather than assumed. Above the cap, the court can still order additional support, but the parent asking for more has to show the child’s proven needs justify it.

The biggest fights are usually about the inputs. Net resources include 100 percent of wages and salary, along with commissions, overtime, tips, and bonuses. For a parent with irregular income, a side business, or compensation that arrives in lumps, the number on a pay stub may not tell the story. We gather the documents that matter, including tax returns, bank statements, and business records, so the figure the court uses is the figure that is real.

Courts can also depart from the guidelines when applying them would be unjust or inappropriate for the child, such as when a child has extraordinary medical needs. And the percentage shifts when the paying parent supports children in another household. These adjustments are where careful presentation changes outcomes.

Why Choose Oprea & Weber for Child Support Cases

The Law Office of Oprea & Weber is a boutique divorce and family law firm serving clients in Travis, Williamson, Hays, and Bastrop Counties and throughout Central Texas. Our attorneys, Kevin Weber and Karen Oprea, both graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School. Your attorney personally handles your case from the first consultation to the final order. We keep a deliberately manageable caseload, so you are not passed to layers of staff or junior associates, and you get direct access to the lawyer who knows your file, with explanations in plain language.

Child support turns on documents, calculations, and sharp cross-examination about money. Kevin Weber trained in complex commercial litigation and negotiation at Latham & Watkins in Manhattan, the kind of work that involves picking apart financial records and income claims. 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 matters when an order needs to be drafted precisely enough to hold up later. Kevin also mediates family law disputes and represents clients in mediation, so he knows how support agreements get reached and which ones last.

We prepare every case for trial while pursuing cooperative resolution whenever it is realistic. Clients describe the firm as knowledgeable, thorough, and caring, and one client wrote that Kevin “translates legal language into applicable information.” That is how we try to work with every parent who calls.

Situations We Handle in Child Support Work

Initial Orders in Divorce: Support is set alongside conservatorship and possession in the final decree, and the possession schedule you choose can affect the support analysis and the practical cost of raising the child.
Unmarried Parents and SAPCR Suits: A parent who was never married to the other parent needs a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship to obtain an enforceable support order, and legal parentage has to be established first.
Paternity and Support Together: Parentage and support are often decided in the same case. Texas sets time limits on challenging a presumed father’s status and on contesting an acknowledgment of paternity, so waiting can close doors.
Modification After Income Changes: A job loss, a significant raise, or a new child can justify revisiting an order, but only through the proper modification route.
Enforcement of Unpaid Support: When the other parent stops paying or pays partially, enforcement actions put the court’s authority behind the existing order.
Self-Employed and Variable-Income Parents: Business owners, commission earners, and gig workers raise the hardest questions about what counts as net resources.
High-Income Families: When net resources exceed the guideline cap, the dispute shifts to whether the child’s actual needs justify support above it.
Children With Special Medical or Educational Needs: Extraordinary needs are a recognized reason to depart from the guideline amount, and they require solid documentation.

What to Do When Support Is Unset, Wrong, or Unpaid

Start with paper. Gather recent pay stubs, the last few years of tax returns, bank statements, and any existing court order. If you are the parent seeking support, collect what you know about the other parent’s employment, side income, and benefits. If you are the paying parent, document every change in income and every child you support in another household.

Do not rely on informal side agreements. If you and the other parent agree to a different amount, a text message or handshake deal does not change the court order. The original amount keeps accruing until a judge signs a new one, and a parent who stops paying on their own can end up owing the difference.

In Travis County, family cases are heard at the Travis County Civil and Family Courts Facility in downtown Austin, where the district courts, associate courts, and Title IV-D child support courts operate. Contested hearings and trials are generally held in person unless the parties agree otherwise or the judge directs something different. Williamson, Hays, and Bastrop Counties each run their own district courts for families living there, and a case belongs in the county where the child lives or where the existing order sits. Travis County courts also publish a Standing Order for Family Law Cases, which sets ground rules for parents while a case is pending. Reading it early can save you from a costly misstep.

Move quickly on modification, because the route depends on timing. And if support is simply not being paid, document every missed payment and bring the order to a lawyer before the arrears grow.

Changing a Texas Child Support Order

An order can be modified in two ways. The first is a material and substantial change in circumstances, with no minimum waiting period. Examples include a significant change in either parent’s income, a change in who the child lives with, or a parent’s incarceration for more than 180 days, which the statute treats as a qualifying change.

The second route is based on time: once three years have passed since the order was made or last modified, a parent can seek modification if the current amount differs from the guideline amount by 20 percent or $100 per month. Where parents originally agreed to an amount that departed from the guidelines, the court can modify only on a showing that circumstances have materially and substantially changed since the order.

Either way, support is changed only by a new court order. Missing payments because your finances shifted is not a substitute, and a modification generally cannot reach back to cover time before the request was filed. Filing sooner protects you.

Child Support Questions Travis County Parents Ask

How is child support calculated in Travis County?

Courts apply a percentage to the paying parent’s monthly net resources, based on the number of children: 20 percent for one, 25 percent for two, 30 percent for three, 35 percent for four, and 40 percent for five. The percentage applies up to a cap on net resources that is adjusted periodically.

What counts as net resources?

Wages, salary, commissions, overtime, tips, and bonuses all count at 100 percent, along with other income from personal services and additional sources. Self-employed parents are measured on their business income after allowable expenses, which is why records matter so much.

When does child support end?

Support generally continues until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever is later, as long as the child remains enrolled and meets attendance requirements. Support for a disabled child who cannot support themselves can continue indefinitely.

Can I get child support if I was never married to the other parent?

Yes. Legal parentage must be established first, and then support can be ordered through a SAPCR suit. A father who signed an acknowledgment of paternity or who was adjudicated the father is already legally recognized.

Can we agree on a different amount than the guideline?

Parents can propose one, but the judge must approve it and find that it serves the child. An agreement outside the guidelines is also harder to change later, because modification requires showing that circumstances have materially and substantially changed since the order.

What if the other parent hides income or works for cash?

We pursue financial records through discovery, including bank statements, tax filings, and business documents. A court can consider evidence of a parent’s real earning ability, and an underreported income picture does not have to stand.

Can I stop paying support if I lose visitation or my ex denies me time with the child?

No. Support and possession are separate issues. Withholding payment does not cure a possession problem and can create arrears and enforcement exposure. The right response is to enforce the possession order through the court while continuing to pay.

Does the new Expanded Standard Possession Order change child support?

The Expanded Standard Possession Order, now the default for new orders when parents live within 50 miles of each other, gives the non-primary parent Thursday overnights and weekends running through Monday morning. Guideline support is still calculated from net resources, but the schedule can come up when parents ask a court to adjust support for extra time. Parents with older orders must file a modification to adopt the expanded schedule.

What happens if my ex stops paying?

The order stays enforceable and unpaid amounts continue to count against the paying parent. An enforcement action asks the court to confirm the arrears and impose remedies. Waiting makes the paperwork harder, so start gathering payment records as soon as problems begin.

Will a modification change what I already owe?

Generally not. A modification affects support going forward from the date allowed by law, and past-due amounts typically remain owed. That is why filing promptly after a real change in income matters.

Is a lawyer worth it for a straightforward support case?

Often, yes. Even a simple case can turn on income calculations, the right filing, and drafting that will be enforceable years from now. Where parents agree, an attorney can make sure the paperwork matches the deal, and where they do not, representation prevents expensive mistakes.

Child Support Representation Across Travis County and Central Texas

Our child support work begins in Travis County, where families in Austin and the surrounding area appear before the Travis County family courts. From downtown, Hyde Park, and the neighborhoods around Zilker to Mueller, Barton Hills, and South Congress, we represent parents throughout the county. We also work with families in Pflugerville, Manor, Lakeway, Bee Cave, West Lake Hills, Rollingwood, Sunset Valley, Jonestown, Lago Vista, and Del Valle, as well as the communities of Webberville and Elgin on the county’s edge.

Beyond Travis County, we serve families in Williamson County, including Round Rock, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Leander, Hutto, and Taylor, and in Hays County, including San Marcos, Kyle, Buda, and Dripping Springs. We also represent parents in Bastrop County, in and around Bastrop, Elgin, and Smithville, and across Central Texas for support cases that start or end in another county.

Talk With a Travis County Child Support Lawyer

If you need to establish, change, or enforce support, the Law Office of Oprea & Weber is ready to review your situation. Our approach is practical and clear: we explain what the guidelines mean for your family, identify the strongest path forward, and keep you informed as your case moves.

Call to schedule a consultation with a Travis County child support lawyer from our firm. We will review your order or circumstances and walk you through your options in plain language.