Williamson County Child Custody Attorney

A parenting schedule decided in a Georgetown courtroom will shape your child’s weeks, holidays, and summers for years, which makes the early decisions in a Williamson County custody case matter more than most parents expect. The Law Office of Oprea & Weber is a boutique divorce and family law firm that handles child custody and visitation, SAPCR suits, modifications, relocation disputes, and enforcement for families in Williamson County and across Central Texas.

If you are searching for a Williamson County child custody attorney, you are probably weighing a few questions at once: what schedule is realistic, who will decide where your child lives, and whether this can be settled without a fight in front of a judge. Texas does not use the word “custody” in its statutes. The law speaks of conservatorship, meaning the rights and duties each parent holds, and possession and access, meaning the schedule. Learning that vocabulary early makes everything else easier to follow.

One change deserves attention right away. For new orders where the parents live within 50 miles of each other, the Expanded Standard Possession Order, with Thursday overnights and weekends that run through Monday morning, is now the starting point. Parents who already have an older order do not receive it automatically; they would need to file a modification to adopt it.

How Williamson County Custody Cases Are Decided

Every decision about a child in Texas runs through one standard: the child’s best interest. The court does not reward the parent who is more upset or more persuasive in a single hearing. It looks at who has been meeting the child’s daily needs, whether each parent can support the child’s relationship with the other, the stability of each home, and any history of family violence or neglect.

The law favors frequent and continuing contact with both parents, but that is not the same as a guaranteed 50/50 split. In the typical standard order, one parent holds the exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence, and the other has scheduled possession. Parents are free to agree to an equal schedule, and a judge will approve it when it fits the child’s circumstances. What a judge will not do is rubber-stamp a schedule that looks good on paper but cannot work given commutes, school start times, and job demands. A Williamson County family can live in Round Rock and work in north Austin, or live in Cedar Park and commute to Georgetown, and those drive times belong in the conversation when a schedule is built.

Williamson County family cases are heard in the district courts and county courts at law housed in the Williamson County Justice Center in Georgetown. The district courts there include the 26th, 277th, 368th, 395th, 425th, and 480th. Knowing which court your case lands in, and how that court handles temporary hearings and mediation requirements, is part of preparing properly.

Why Choose Oprea & Weber for Your Williamson County Custody Case

The Law Office of Oprea & Weber serves families in Williamson County, Travis County, Hays County, and Bastrop County, with child custody, visitation, support, paternity, modification, relocation, and enforcement work at the center of the practice. The firm is deliberately small. The caseload is kept intentionally manageable, and the attorney you meet at the first consultation is the attorney who handles your case through the final order, not a rotating cast of staff or junior associates. Clients get direct attorney access and explanations in plain language.

Kevin Weber, Attorney, and Karen Oprea, Attorney, both graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School. Kevin trained in complex commercial litigation and negotiation at Latham & Watkins in Manhattan, and that negotiation background matters in custody work, where most cases are resolved by agreement and the quality of the agreement is what counts. Kevin also mediates family law disputes and represents clients in mediation, so he sees both sides of the table and understands what kinds of parenting agreements hold up over time. 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. Appellate experience sharpens how a custody case is built: the record you create at a temporary hearing or trial is the record any appeal will rest on.

The firm prepares every case as though it may be tried, and pursues cooperative, collaborative, or mediated resolution whenever the other side makes that possible. Clients describe the attorneys as knowledgeable, thorough, and caring. One client wrote that Kevin “translates legal language into applicable information,” and another credited him with helping hold their family steady through a very emotional custody matter.

Custody Disputes We Handle for Williamson County Parents

Initial Custody Orders in Divorce: When married parents separate, the decree must settle conservatorship, the primary-residence designation, the possession schedule, and child support. Getting these terms precise at the start prevents enforcement disputes later.
SAPCR Suits for Unmarried Parents: A Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship lets parents who were never married establish orders for conservatorship, possession, and support, usually alongside a paternity determination.
Paternity and Establishing Legal Fatherhood: A man without a legal parent-child relationship has no enforceable custody rights. A child with a presumed father generally has a four-year window after birth to bring a parentage challenge, with limited exceptions, and an acknowledgment of paternity can be rescinded within 60 days of signing.
Modification of Existing Orders: Changing conservatorship or possession requires a material and substantial change in circumstances plus a showing that the change serves the child’s best interest. A child aged 12 or older who tells the judge in chambers which parent they prefer can also support a change in the primary-residence right.
Relocation Disputes: When the parent with the primary-residence right wants to move, or the other parent fears a move, the order’s geographic restriction and the child’s ties to school, family, and community drive the outcome.
Enforcement of Possession Orders: When a parent withholds the child, ignores the exchange schedule, or refuses to follow the order, the order can be enforced through the court.
Grandparents, Stepparents, and Other Non-Parents: Standing for non-parents to seek custody or possession has been narrowed, and the law now speaks of exclusive care, control, and possession. Whether a non-parent can bring a case at all is a threshold question.
Custody With Family Violence Concerns: A protective order can run up to two years, or longer in specific circumstances such as serious bodily injury, and it directly affects possession and exchange arrangements.

What to Do in the First Weeks of a Custody Case

Start by keeping the child’s routine stable. Courts pay attention to which parent has been handling school pickups, medical appointments, and homework, and an abrupt change in routine made once a case is on the horizon tends to look strategic rather than child-centered. Keep a plain log of who does what, along with school records, medical records, and communications about the child. Keep messages with the other parent civil and brief, because anything you write can end up in front of a judge.

If you are married and divorcing, remember the filing rules. One spouse must have lived in Texas for six months and in the county of filing for 90 days, and the court cannot grant the divorce until 60 days after the petition is filed, with narrow exceptions for family violence. Custody issues can be addressed through temporary orders during that waiting period, and this is often where the real shape of a case is set. Temporary orders decide where the children live, who has possession, and who pays what while the case is pending, and parents tend to live under those orders for months. If you are unmarried, the first question is whether legal parentage has been established; if it has not, a SAPCR suit with a paternity claim is typically the route. If you already have an order and something has changed, think about whether the change is the kind a court will treat as material and substantial. A suit to change the primary-residence right filed within one year of the earlier order requires a supporting affidavit alleging endangerment, the primary parent’s consent, or that the parent voluntarily gave up primary care for at least six months. That affidavit requirement is a trap for parents who file too quickly without preparing the paperwork. If safety is a concern, tell your attorney at the first conversation. Emergency protective measures and their effect on possession can move faster than an ordinary custody case. Avoid the common mistakes: withholding the child to gain leverage, posting about the dispute on social media, and discussing the case with the children. Williamson County filings go through the District Clerk in Georgetown, and your attorney will handle service, hearing settings, and mediation scheduling from there.

Child Support and Modification Questions That Travel With Custody

Custody and support are decided together, and the two are linked. Texas guidelines set child support as 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, with six or more children at not less than the five-child percentage. The guideline percentages apply only up to a cap on net resources, which the state adjusts periodically, so income above that cap is a separate argument. Lower-income obligors fall under a reduced schedule. Net resources include 100 percent of wages and other compensation for personal services, including overtime, tips, commissions, and bonuses.

Support is not frozen. It can be modified after three years if the monthly amount differs from the guideline amount by 20 percent or $100, or at any time on a material and substantial change in circumstances. When parents agreed to a support amount that departs from the guidelines, a court can modify it only on a material and substantial change. Incarceration for more than 180 days counts as a material and substantial change. A change in the possession schedule, such as moving to the Expanded Standard Possession Order, can also prompt a fresh look at support.

Williamson County Custody FAQs

Is custody in Texas always split 50/50?

No. Texas favors frequent and continuing contact with both parents, but equal time is not guaranteed. Many orders designate one parent to decide the child’s primary residence while the other has a set schedule. Parents may agree to an equal schedule, and the court will approve it when it serves the child’s best interest.

What is the Expanded Standard Possession Order?

It is a possession schedule that adds Thursday overnights and extends weekends through Monday morning. It is now the default for new orders when the parents live within 50 miles of each other. Parents who already have an order must file a modification to adopt it.

What does conservatorship mean?

Conservatorship is Texas’s term for the legal rights and duties a parent holds regarding a child, such as making decisions about education, medical care, and residence. Possession and access is the separate term for the actual schedule of time with the child.

Can a child choose which parent to live with?

Not on their own. A child who is 12 or older can tell the judge privately, in chambers, which parent they prefer to have the exclusive right to designate their primary residence. That preference can be a ground for modification, but the judge weighs it alongside the child’s best interest and is not bound by it.

How do I change an existing custody order?

You must show a material and substantial change in circumstances since the last order and that the change serves the child’s best interest. If you are asking to change the primary-residence right within a year of the prior order, you must attach a supporting affidavit with specific allegations.

Can an unmarried father get custody or visitation?

Yes, but legal parentage must be established first, either through a signed acknowledgment of paternity or a court adjudication. Once parentage is settled, a SAPCR suit can set conservatorship, possession, and support.

How long does a Williamson County custody case take?

It depends largely on whether the parents can agree. An agreed order can be finalized relatively quickly, though a divorce still carries the 60-day minimum wait from filing. Contested cases with disputes over residence, relocation, or safety can run many months, depending on discovery and the court’s calendar.

Will a protective order affect my custody case?

It can. A protective order may last up to two years, with longer terms available in specific circumstances such as serious bodily injury, and it can restrict contact and shape exchange arrangements. When the order is against a parent and would last beyond two years, the court must make the required findings by clear and convincing evidence and consider the child’s best interest.

Do stepparents or grandparents have custody rights?

Their ability to even file has become narrower. Non-parents must now show standing based on exclusive care, control, and possession of the child, and the threshold is stricter than the old six-month care standard. Whether a non-parent can proceed is the first thing to evaluate.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer for an agreed custody order?

Often yes. An agreed order still becomes an enforceable court order, and vague language about exchanges, holidays, or decision-making is the usual source of later fights. Having the order drafted precisely costs far less than litigating a dispute over unclear terms.

What if the other parent is not following the possession order?

The order can be enforced through the court. Keep a record of each missed exchange or denied visit, including dates, messages, and any witnesses, and bring it to your attorney before you take any action on your own.

Serving Families Across Williamson County and Central Texas

Our custody work begins in Williamson County, where families live in and around Georgetown, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Hutto, Taylor, Liberty Hill, Florence, Jarrell, Granger, Bartlett, Weir, Thrall, and Walburg. Many of these families sit at the edge of several jurisdictions, with one parent in Williamson County and another working or living just across the line.

We also represent parents in neighboring Travis County, including Austin, Pflugerville, Lakeway, and Manor, and across Hays County in communities such as San Marcos, Kyle, and Buda, as well as Bastrop County families in Bastrop and surrounding towns. Wherever the case is filed, we explain the schedule, the standard, and the likely path in plain terms.

Talk With a Williamson County Child Custody Lawyer

If you need a Williamson County child custody lawyer, call The Law Office of Oprea & Weber to schedule a consultation. You will speak with an attorney who will be handling your case, learn where you stand under Texas conservatorship and possession rules, and leave with a clear sense of the options for your family, whether that means negotiating an agreement, mediating, or preparing for court.