Hays County Family Law Attorney

Hays County families often end up in two different worlds at once: a household that is still being sorted out in Kyle, Buda, or Dripping Springs, and a courthouse process in San Marcos that runs on its own timetable. The Law Office of Oprea & Weber is a boutique divorce and family law firm that handles divorce, child custody, child support, spousal maintenance, property division, marital agreements, paternity, and post-divorce modifications for clients in Hays County, Travis County, Williamson County, Bastrop County, and throughout Central Texas.

Anyone looking for a Hays County family law attorney is usually trying to answer a handful of concrete questions. Where do I file? How long before anything is final? Will I see my children on a schedule that works? Texas answers many of these with fixed rules, and a few recent changes to the Family Code affect parents in the county right now. The pages below walk through the rules that matter most to Hays County families, including some that catch people off guard, such as how the court treats informal marriages and why an agreement between spouses still cannot shorten the waiting period.

Why Choose Oprea & Weber for Hays County Family Law Cases

The Law Office of Oprea & Weber is a boutique family law practice led by attorneys Kevin Weber and Karen Oprea, who serve clients in Hays County and the surrounding Travis, Williamson, and Bastrop County communities. The firm represents spouses and parents in divorce, custody and visitation, support, property division, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, paternity and SAPCR suits, and modification, relocation, and enforcement actions. The attorney you meet at the first consultation is the attorney who personally handles your case through the final decree. The caseload is kept intentionally manageable, so clients are not handed off to layers of staff or junior associates, and they have direct access to their lawyer and explanations in plain language.

Both Kevin Weber and Karen Oprea graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School. Kevin Weber trained in complex commercial litigation and negotiation at Latham & Watkins in Manhattan, which matters in family cases where a business, a professional practice, or a stock compensation package has to be valued and divided. He also mediates family law disputes as well as representing clients in mediation, so he sees both sides of the table when a settlement is being built. 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. That appellate background shapes how orders get drafted: precisely enough that they hold up and are enforceable.

The firm prefers cooperative, collaborative, and mediated resolution when the other side is willing, because it usually saves money and emotional strain. Every case is still prepared as though it could be tried, and that preparation is what gives a client leverage at the negotiating table. Clients describe the attorneys as knowledgeable, thorough, caring, and good at turning legal language into information they can use.

Family Law Issues Hays County Residents Bring to Us

Divorce Filing and Residency: A spouse must have lived in Texas for six months and in the county of filing for 90 days. Only one spouse has to meet both requirements, and the other spouse’s consent is not needed. Hays County divorces are filed with the District Clerk in San Marcos.
Custody, Conservatorship, and Possession Schedules: Texas uses the terms conservatorship and possession and access. New orders for parents who live within 50 miles of each other now default to the Expanded Standard Possession Order, which adds Thursday overnights and extends weekends through Monday morning. That radius covers most Hays County and Austin-area parents.
Child Support: Guideline support is a percentage of the paying parent’s net monthly resources, applied up to a cap that the state adjusts periodically. The percentages run 20% for one child, 25% for two, 30% for three, 35% for four, and 40% for five, with six or more children not falling below the five-child figure.
Spousal Maintenance: Court-ordered post-divorce support is limited and requires a qualifying ground, such as a marriage of ten years or more with an inability to earn enough to meet minimum reasonable needs, a family violence conviction, or an incapacitating disability.
Property and Debt Division: Texas is a community property state, and the court divides the marital estate in a manner that is just and right. That is not always an even split, and it requires sorting separate property from community property, including businesses, retirement accounts, and real estate.
Paternity and SAPCR Suits: Unmarried parents establish legal parentage and resolve custody, access, and support through a suit affecting the parent-child relationship. Deadlines for challenging parentage can run out, so timing matters.
Informal Marriage and Its Dissolution: Couples who never held a ceremony can still be legally married in Texas, which means ending the relationship may require a divorce, with property and support consequences.
Modification, Relocation, and Enforcement: Life changes, and orders that no longer fit can be modified. When the other parent ignores an order, enforcement actions are available.

What to Do and Where to Go When a Hays County Family Case Begins

Start with documents, because everything else depends on them. Gather recent tax returns, pay stubs, bank and retirement statements, mortgage and loan records, and any marital agreement. If children are involved, write down the current schedule as it actually operates, including who handles school pickups, medical appointments, and the work travel that shapes each parent’s availability. A clear picture of the status quo is the foundation for a parenting plan the court will respect.

Next, confirm that you can file. At least one spouse needs six months of Texas domicile and 90 days of residence in the county. A divorce filed in Hays County is handled through the District Clerk’s office, and family cases here are heard in the county’s district courts in San Marcos, with an Associate Judge for the family court also serving the county. If your residence recently changed from Travis or Williamson County, count your days carefully before filing, because filing in the wrong county can cost you time and money.

Timing is the point most people misunderstand. The court cannot grant a divorce until the 60th day after the petition is filed, counted from the filing date and not the date of service. Spouses who agree on everything still wait. The only exceptions involve family violence, such as a respondent’s conviction or deferred adjudication for a family violence offense against the petitioner or someone in the petitioner’s household, or an active protective order or emergency protection order tied to family violence during the marriage. If safety is a concern, tell your attorney immediately, because a protective order changes both the timeline and the temporary arrangements for the home and the children.

Expect to deal with temporary orders early. While the case is pending, either spouse can ask the court to set who lives where, who pays which bills, and what the children’s schedule will be. These orders often shape the final result, because courts value stability, so the facts you establish in the first weeks carry weight. Avoid the common mistakes: moving a child out of the area without an order, draining joint accounts, posting about the case on social media, or signing papers from the other side before a lawyer has reviewed them. Cases in this region also touch courts in neighboring counties, and the Travis County civil and family courts publish a standing order for family law cases that governs conduct while a case is pending there.

Texas Divorce Law Questions That Come Up in Hays County

Two rules cause the most surprise. First, an agreement between spouses does not waive the 60-day waiting period; the decree cannot be signed before it ends, whatever the parties have signed. Second, a couple does not need a license or ceremony to be married. Texas recognizes an informal marriage when spouses sign and file a declaration, or when they agreed to be married, lived together in Texas as spouses, and held themselves out as married. There is no minimum cohabitation period. If a proceeding to prove an informal marriage is not started within two years of the date the couple separated, the law presumes they never agreed to be married, unless that presumption is rebutted. Someone under 18 or still legally married to another person cannot form an informal marriage. These questions matter in Hays County, where long-term couples often have shared homes, businesses, and children without ever having married formally.

Spousal maintenance is narrower than most people expect. A spouse must show that, after the property division, he or she lacks enough property to meet minimum reasonable needs, and must also fit one of the statutory grounds. For a marriage of ten years or more, the requesting spouse must also show diligence in earning income or developing skills. Monthly maintenance cannot exceed the lesser of $5,000 or 20 percent of the paying spouse’s average monthly gross income. Duration is capped by the length of the marriage: up to five years for marriages of at least ten but under twenty years, up to seven years for at least twenty but under thirty, and up to ten years for thirty years or more. A family violence ground can support up to five years even in a shorter marriage, and maintenance based on disability can continue as long as the disability does, subject to periodic review.

Orders can be revisited after the decree. Child support can be modified when three years have passed and the monthly amount differs from the guideline amount by 20 percent or $100, or on a material and substantial change in circumstances with no minimum waiting period. A support amount the parents agreed to that departs from the guidelines can be modified only on a material and substantial change since the order. Changing conservatorship or possession requires a material and substantial change plus a showing that the change serves the child’s best interest. A child who is at least 12 may tell the judge in chambers which parent the child prefers to designate the primary residence, which can support a modification, though it does not decide the case. Parents who already have a possession order and want the expanded schedule must file to modify it, because the new default applies only to new orders.

Hays County Family Law FAQs

Do I have to live in Hays County to file for divorce here?

You must have been a Texas resident for six months and a resident of the county where you file for 90 days. Only one spouse has to meet both tests. If you moved recently, count the days before filing so the case lands in the right county the first time.

How long does a divorce take?

The 60-day waiting period, counted from the filing date, is the minimum, and agreement between spouses does not shorten it. An agreed divorce can often finish soon after that period ends. Contested cases involving children, a business, or significant property commonly take many months.

Is custody in Texas always split evenly?

No. The law favors frequent and continuing contact with both parents but does not guarantee an equal split. New orders for parents living within 50 miles of each other now start from the Expanded Standard Possession Order, and parents may agree to a different schedule that the court will approve if it serves the child.

How is child support calculated?

Texas applies 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. Net resources include wages, overtime, commissions, tips, and bonuses. The percentages apply only up to a cap the state adjusts periodically, and lower percentages apply when net resources are very low.

Can I get spousal maintenance?

Only if you meet a statutory ground and cannot meet minimum reasonable needs with your own property. The common grounds are a marriage of ten years or more with an inability to earn enough, a family violence conviction within two years before filing or during the case, or an incapacitating disability. Amounts and durations are capped by statute.

My ex and I never married. Can we still go to court over our child?

Yes. A suit affecting the parent-child relationship lets unmarried parents establish parentage and set custody, access, and support. If the father has not been legally established, paternity must be adjudicated first.

Is there a deadline to challenge paternity in Texas?

Often, yes. When a child has a presumed father, a suit to adjudicate parentage generally must start within four years of the child’s birth, with exceptions such as parents who did not live together or have intercourse around the time of conception, or misrepresentation that kept the presumed father from asserting paternity. An acknowledgment of paternity can be rescinded within 60 days of signing, and afterward it can be challenged only for fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact.

Can a stepparent seek custody or visitation?

The standing rules for non-parents were narrowed. The law now looks to exclusive care, control, and possession, where it previously asked for six months of actual care, control, and possession. A stepparent’s ability to bring a case depends on the specific facts, so speak with a lawyer before assuming you have standing.

How long does a protective order last, and does it affect my divorce?

A protective order generally lasts for the period stated in the order, up to two years, though longer orders are possible where the court finds serious bodily injury or two or more prior protective orders. If the respondent is a party to a divorce with the applicant, the order lasts until the second anniversary of the signed final decree. A protective order tied to family violence can also remove the 60-day waiting period.

What if my ex moves away or stops following the order?

Relocation disputes and violations are handled through modification and enforcement actions in the court that issued the order. Document missed exchanges, unpaid support, and any communication about the move, and bring those records to your attorney early.

Do we both need our own lawyers?

In most contested cases, yes. In a cooperative divorce, Kevin Weber represents one spouse while working with both to resolve issues together, and the other spouse proceeds without separate counsel. That approach suits couples committed to a transparent process, and each spouse should have a lawyer when there is significant conflict.

Serving Family Law Clients Across Hays County and Central Texas

The firm represents families throughout Hays County, from San Marcos, where the county’s district courts sit, to Kyle and Buda along the I-35 corridor, and west into Dripping Springs, Wimberley, and Driftwood. Clients also come from Mountain City, Niederwald, Uhland, Bear Creek, Woodcreek, Hays, and the rural communities between them. Because so many Hays County residents commute to Austin or have ties across county lines, the firm also serves families in Travis County, Williamson County, and Bastrop County, including Austin, Round Rock, Georgetown, Cedar Park, Pflugerville, Bastrop, and Elgin. Whether the dispute is a divorce, a custody schedule, a support order, or an enforcement action, the same attorney who takes your first call stays with the case.

Talk With a Hays County Family Law Attorney About Your Case

Every family’s situation turns on its own facts: the length of the marriage, the ages of the children, the kinds of property involved, and how well the two sides can talk to each other. If you are looking for a Hays County family law attorney who will personally handle your case, listen to your goals, and prepare for trial while working toward a workable agreement, call The Law Office of Oprea & Weber to schedule a consultation. We will explain where you stand, what the next sixty days are likely to look like, and the options that fit your family.