Austin CPS Defense Attorney

When the Department of Family and Protective Services opens an investigation involving a Travis County family, the case does not stay in one lane. A caseworker’s findings can spill into a civil suit over the child’s placement, a protective order proceeding, a custody dispute between parents, and sometimes a criminal inquiry, all at once and often on different timelines. The Law Office of Oprea & Weber is a boutique family law firm that represents parents and families in Austin and throughout Travis, Williamson, Hays, and Bastrop Counties, and this is the kind of situation where how you respond in the first days can shape everything that follows. Looking for an Austin CPS defense attorney usually means a caseworker has already knocked on the door or called, and decisions are piling up.

Those decisions are the real subject here: whether to talk to the investigator and how, whether to agree to a safety plan, whether to let a child be placed with a relative, whether to sign anything, and how to handle the parallel family court cases that CPS involvement tends to trigger. Some of these choices are reversible. Many are not, and a statement made in a hallway conversation can resurface months later in a hearing about where your child lives.

Where a CPS Investigation Collides With Your Family Law Case

Parents often treat a CPS inquiry as something separate from a divorce, a custody fight, or an existing possession order. In practice, the two overlap constantly. If you are already in a divorce, an allegation made by your spouse can reshape the temporary orders hearing. If you share a child with an unmarried partner, a report can become leverage in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship. And if an order already exists, a CPS finding can be the “material and substantial change” the other parent needs to ask a court to change conservatorship or possession.

That last point deserves attention. Changing who holds the right to designate a child’s primary residence generally requires showing a material and substantial change in circumstances and that the change serves the child’s best interest. When the request comes within a year of the existing order, the person asking must also attach an affidavit stating specific grounds, such as that the child’s present environment may endanger the child’s physical health or significantly impair emotional development. A CPS investigation, even one that ends without a finding against you, can be offered as support for that kind of affidavit. How the investigation is handled, and what you said and signed during it, matters well beyond the CPS file itself.

Protective orders add another layer. A protective order under the Family Code can last up to two years, and in some circumstances longer, such as when the court finds the person caused serious bodily injury to the applicant or a family or household member, or had two or more earlier protective orders. If the respondent is a party to a divorce with the applicant, the order can run until the second anniversary of the signed final decree. Texas courts have also made clear that an order against a parent extending past two years requires findings by clear and convincing evidence, with the child’s best interest considered. These orders can restrict your access to your own home and children, so they often become the first front in a larger dispute.

Why Choose Oprea & Weber for CPS-Related Family Law Defense

The Law Office of Oprea & Weber is a boutique divorce and family law firm serving Austin, Central Texas, and Travis, Williamson, Hays, and Bastrop Counties. Our attorneys personally handle each case from the first consultation to the final decree, with an intentionally manageable caseload and no hand-offs to layers of staff or junior associates. Clients get direct attorney access and explanations in plain language, which matters when a caseworker’s vocabulary and a court’s procedures are both unfamiliar.

Kevin Weber and Karen Oprea, both attorneys, graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School. Kevin trained in complex commercial litigation and negotiation at Latham & Watkins in Manhattan, experience that translates into disciplined fact-gathering and measured negotiation when an agency and a family disagree about what is safe. 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, which matters when a trial court ruling needs to be examined for error. Kevin also mediates family law disputes and represents clients in mediation, so he knows from both sides of the table what makes an agreement durable.

The firm prepares every case as though it may be tried while pursuing a cooperative resolution when one is realistic. Clients describe the attorneys as knowledgeable, thorough, and caring, and one client wrote that Kevin helped hold their family steady through a very emotional situation. In a CPS matter, that combination of steadiness and preparation is what you are looking for in a family law attorney.

Issues That Come Up When CPS Is Involved

• Investigator Interviews and Home Visits: Caseworkers may ask to speak with you, your children, and others in the household. What you say can be summarized in their report, so deciding when to speak, what to say, and whether to have counsel involved is one of the earliest choices you face.
• Safety Plans and Voluntary Placements: Parents are sometimes asked to agree to keep a child with a relative or to stay away from a partner. These arrangements feel informal, but they can later be described as an admission or as a voluntary relinquishment of care, which is itself a ground to modify primary residence if it lasts at least six months.
• Protective Orders: Applications under Family Code Title 4 often run alongside a CPS case. The length of the order, the findings required, and the effect on your possession schedule all depend on the facts the court finds.
• Modification of Conservatorship or Possession: A parent may use CPS involvement to seek a change in who designates the child’s primary residence. The court looks for a material and substantial change and the child’s best interest, and certain qualifying offenses against a child can remove those hurdles entirely.
• Non-Parent Claims to the Child: Stepparents, grandparents, and others sometimes step in during a CPS case. Texas narrowed standing for non-parents to seek custody or possession in 2025, and the law now looks to exclusive care, control, and possession, so who has actually been caring for the child matters.
• Possession Orders During and After the Case: Expanded Standard Possession Orders, including Thursday overnights and weekends through Monday morning, are 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 that schedule.
• Parentage Disputes: When a CPS case raises questions about who the legal father is, deadlines matter. A suit to adjudicate parentage when a child has a presumed father generally must be filed by the child’s fourth birthday, subject to exceptions, and an acknowledgment of paternity can be rescinded within 60 days of signing.
• Parallel Divorce Proceedings: A divorce cannot be granted until the 60th day after filing, and agreement does not shorten that wait, except where family violence is involved. CPS allegations can dominate the temporary orders period within that window.

What to Do in the Days After CPS Contacts You

Start by gathering information before you start talking. Ask the caseworker for their name, their office, and the specific allegation being investigated, and write down the date and time of every contact. You are entitled to be polite and cooperative without giving a detailed narrative on the spot. A brief, calm statement that you want to cooperate and that you are arranging to speak with an attorney first is a reasonable position, and you can follow it with a prompt call to a family law attorney in Austin who can advise you on what to say and what to provide.

Do not sign agreements, safety plans, or releases you have not read carefully and understood. Voluntary arrangements can feel like the easiest way to make a problem go away, but they can also shape what a court considers when deciding temporary orders or a later modification. Preserve evidence that bears on the allegation: text messages, school and medical records, photographs of your home, and names of people who see your child regularly. Do not delete anything, even if it is unflattering, because the other side may already have copies and deletion looks worse than the content.

If a lawsuit has been filed, the case will be heard in the district courts of the county where the child lives. In Travis County, family cases are heard in the district courts at the Civil and Family Courts Facility in downtown Austin, and contested hearings and trials are held in person unless the parties agree otherwise or the judge notifies you. Williamson County cases are heard at the Justice Center in Georgetown, Hays County cases in San Marcos, and Bastrop County cases in Bastrop, where the 423rd District Court hears only Bastrop County matters. Read every notice closely for hearing dates and answer deadlines, because missed deadlines can produce default outcomes. The Travis County courts also publish a standing order for family law cases that sets baseline expectations for conduct while a case is pending, and violating it can hurt you.

Avoid the mistakes that cost families the most: discussing the investigation on social media, coaching your children on what to say, contacting a person who reported you, or violating any no-contact condition even once. Instead, follow every instruction in a safety plan or order exactly while your attorney works to modify terms that are unworkable. If you are a parent facing a possible child-custody change, a parent seeking protection, or a relative caring for a child, those first days set the baseline the court will compare everything against.

Common Questions About CPS Cases and Family Court

Do I have to talk to a CPS caseworker?

You are generally free to decide how to respond, but refusing outright can escalate the situation. Many parents choose to speak with a family law attorney first, then engage with the caseworker in a measured way that provides necessary information without volunteering speculation.

Can CPS take my child without a court order?

In an emergency, a child can be removed when there is an immediate danger, but the agency must then seek court review quickly. If a removal occurs, an attorney can help you understand the hearing schedule and what the court will evaluate about placement and safety.

Should I sign a safety plan?

Read it closely and talk to an attorney before signing. A safety plan can restrict contact with your child or a partner and can later be cited in family court, so the specific terms and their duration matter.

How does a CPS investigation affect a divorce?

It can influence temporary orders on where the children live, who stays in the home, and possession schedules. Because Texas courts require a 60-day wait from the date of filing before granting a divorce, there is often a window in which CPS findings shape the interim arrangements.

Can the other parent use CPS findings to change custody?

Yes, they can try. Changing conservatorship or possession requires a material and substantial change in circumstances and a finding that the change serves the child’s best interest, and if the request is made within a year of the existing order, an affidavit stating specific grounds must be attached.

What if the allegation turns out to be false?

A closed investigation does not automatically undo the damage in a family court case. Documenting the outcome, preserving the record, and addressing the allegation directly in any related custody or protective order proceeding can limit its effect.

How long does a protective order last in Texas?

A protective order lasts for the period stated in the order, up to two years, or until the second anniversary of issuance if no period is stated. It can run longer in specific circumstances, such as serious bodily injury findings or repeated prior orders, and it can be renewed by a new application filed within 30 days before it expires.

Can a stepparent or grandparent ask the court for custody during a CPS case?

Standing for non-parents is narrower than it used to be. The law now looks to exclusive care, control, and possession of the child, so a relative who has only helped part-time may not qualify.

If I agreed to let a relative keep my child, can I get my child back?

Often yes, but it depends on how the arrangement was documented and how long it lasted. If a conservator voluntarily gave up primary care for at least six months, that can itself support a modification request, so the duration and terms of the arrangement are important.

Does an agreed outcome with CPS stop the family court case?

Not necessarily. CPS and a family court operate separately, so an agreement with the agency does not bind the other parent or dictate what the court orders on conservatorship, possession, or support.

Does a CPS case affect child support?

It can, particularly if placement of the child changes. Child support is calculated as a percentage of the paying parent’s net resources, 20 percent for one child and 25 percent for two, up to a statutory cap that is adjusted periodically, and modification is available after three years when the amount differs from guidelines by 20 percent or $100, or on a material and substantial change in circumstances. Incarceration of more than 180 days also counts as a material and substantial change.

Is it worth hiring an attorney if the investigation might close on its own?

Often yes, because the record created during the investigation can outlive it. Early guidance on what to say, sign, and preserve is far easier to use than cleanup after a statement or agreement has already been made.

Serving Families Across Travis County and Central Texas

The firm represents families from throughout Travis County, including downtown Austin, Hyde Park, Zilker, Barton Hills, South Congress, East Austin, Mueller, North Loop, Windsor Park, Cherrywood, Circle C, Oak Hill, Travis Heights, Tarrytown, and Clarksville, along with Pflugerville, Manor, Lakeway, Bee Cave, West Lake Hills, Rollingwood, and Sunset Valley. We also serve parents and relatives in Williamson County communities such as Round Rock, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Leander, Hutto, Taylor, and Liberty Hill, in Hays County from Kyle, Buda, San Marcos, and Dripping Springs, and in Bastrop County from Bastrop, Elgin, and Smithville. Because CPS-related disputes touch the district courts of whichever county the child lives in, the firm builds each case around the court that will actually hear it.

Speak With an Austin CPS Defense Lawyer Before Your Next Conversation With the Agency

If a caseworker has contacted you or a petition has been filed, talking with an Austin CPS defense lawyer before you answer questions or sign anything can change how the rest of the case unfolds. The Law Office of Oprea & Weber can walk through the allegation, the related family court exposure, and the options available to you, with an attorney who will handle your case personally. Call to schedule a consultation and get a clear picture of where your family stands and what to do next.