Austin Divorce With Children Attorney

Parents in Austin deciding whether to end a marriage are really making two sets of decisions at once: how the marriage gets untangled, and how two households will raise the same kids afterward. The Law Office of Oprea & Weber handles divorce, custody, child support, and related family law matters for families in Austin, Travis County, and across Williamson, Hays, and Bastrop Counties, and a Austin divorce with children attorney has to keep both sets of decisions in view from the first meeting.

The children change almost everything about how a divorce runs. A childless divorce is mostly a financial exercise. When kids are involved, the court must also decide conservatorship, a possession schedule, child support, and health insurance, and those orders can stay in force for well over a decade. Getting them right at the start is far easier than rewriting them later.

Texas has also recently changed the default rules on parenting time, which matters to anyone filing now. Knowing what the court will start from, and where you can deliberately depart from it, is a large part of planning a divorce with children well.

What Changes in a Texas Divorce When Children Are Involved

Texas divorces without children resolve two things: the marriage and the property. A divorce with children adds a second case inside the first, formally a suit affecting the parent-child relationship, and the judge treats it differently. Parents can agree to a great deal about property, but a court will review anything affecting the children against the child’s best interest and can refuse terms that do not serve it.

The ordinary mechanics still apply. At least one spouse must have lived in Texas for six months and in the county where the case is filed for 90 days, and only one spouse needs to meet that test. The court cannot grant the divorce until the 60th day after the petition is filed, counted from filing and not from service. Spouses who agree on everything cannot waive that wait. The only exceptions involve family violence, such as a conviction or deferred adjudication against the other spouse for violence toward the petitioner or the petitioner’s household, or an active protective order based on family violence during the marriage.

Because the clock runs from filing, parents with an urgent need often file first and negotiate after. Temporary orders, covering who the children live with, who pays what, and who stays in the home, can be put in place long before the 60 days run out.

Why Choose Oprea & Weber for a Divorce With Children

The Law Office of Oprea & Weber is a boutique divorce and family law firm serving Austin and Central Texas, including Travis, Williamson, Hays, and Bastrop Counties. Kevin Weber, Attorney, and Karen Oprea, Attorney, 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 decree. The firm keeps its caseload intentionally manageable, so you are not passed along to layers of staff or junior associates, and you get direct attorney access and explanations in plain language.

That matters most in cases involving children, where decisions come quickly and carry emotional weight. Kevin trained in complex commercial litigation and negotiation at Latham & Watkins in Manhattan, and he both mediates family law disputes and represents clients in mediation, which gives him a practical view of what makes a parenting agreement hold up. 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, experience that sharpens how a contested custody issue is framed and preserved.

The firm’s philosophy is to prepare every case for trial while pursuing cooperative resolution wherever it is realistic. Collaborative, cooperative, and mediated divorce are all options for parents who can still talk. Clients describe the firm as knowledgeable, thorough, and caring, and one client said the team helped hold them steady through a very emotional situation. When talks break down, the same preparation carries into the courtroom.

Issues That Decide a Divorce With Children

Conservatorship: Texas uses this word in place of custody. Parents are typically named joint managing conservators, and the key question becomes which parent holds the exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence, and whether that right comes with a geographic restriction.
Possession and Access: The Expanded Standard Possession Order, with Thursday overnights and weekends running through Monday morning, is now the default for new orders when the parents live within 50 miles of each other. Parents may negotiate something different, including an equal schedule, if it serves the children.
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, 40% for five, and not less than that for six or more. The percentages apply only up to a cap that the state adjusts periodically, and courts can depart from them in unusual circumstances.
Health Insurance and Medical Costs: Orders address who carries the children’s coverage and how uncovered expenses are shared, which is often where families with special medical needs ask the court to look beyond the guideline figures.
Property Division: Texas divides the community estate in a manner that is just and right, not automatically in half. Who stays in the family home, and how a house or a business is valued, often interacts with the parenting plan.
Spousal Maintenance: Post-divorce support is available only in limited situations, such as a marriage of 10 years or more where one spouse cannot earn enough to meet minimum reasonable needs, a spouse’s incapacitating disability, or certain family violence findings. Monthly maintenance is capped at the lesser of a fixed amount or 20 percent of the paying spouse’s average gross income.
Family Violence and Protective Orders: A protective order can shape temporary custody and possession, and when a divorce is pending between the parties, an order can last until two years after the decree is signed.
Relocation and Geographic Restrictions: A parent who wants to move a child away from the Austin area runs into the residence restriction written into the order, which is why this term deserves attention at the drafting stage.

What to Do in the First Weeks of a Divorce With Children

Start with the children’s day-to-day stability. Keep school, activities, and routines as steady as you can, and avoid moving a child out of the home or changing schedules unilaterally before temporary orders exist. Judges tend to look for the arrangement that is already working, so what happens in these first weeks often becomes the baseline for the longer-term orders.

Gather financial documents early: recent pay records, tax returns, bank and retirement statements, mortgage and debt information, and insurance cards for the children. If one spouse has handled the money, getting a clear picture before any filing makes negotiation faster and keeps surprises out of the hearing room. Keep communication with the other parent civil and in writing where possible, because messages can end up in front of the judge.

Where the case is filed depends on where you live. Austin residents file in Travis County, whose family cases are heard in the district courts, including the 200th, 201st, 250th, 261st, 345th, 353rd, 419th, 455th, and 459th, along with associate judges and a Title IV-D child support court. Contested hearings and trials are generally held in person at the Travis County civil and family courts facility in downtown Austin unless the parties agree otherwise or the judge directs something different. The courts also publish a standing order for family law cases that governs conduct while a case is pending, and your attorney will review it with you. Families in Williamson County file through the district courts in Georgetown, in Hays County through the district clerk in San Marcos, and in Bastrop County through the district courts in Bastrop.

The most common early mistakes are signing a temporary agreement without understanding how it can harden into the permanent arrangement, posting about the case on social media, and moving out without a written parenting schedule. A consultation before any of those steps is usually worth far more than a consultation after.

Modifying Orders After the Decree

A decree with children is not necessarily final in the way a property settlement is. Conservatorship and possession orders can be modified if circumstances have materially and substantially changed and the change is in the child’s best interest. Specific grounds exist for modifying the primary residence designation, including a child who is at least 12 telling the judge in chambers which parent the child prefers, or a conservator who voluntarily gave up primary care of the child for at least six months. If you ask to change the primary residence within a year of the original order, the law requires a supporting affidavit alleging endangerment, agreement by the current primary parent, or the six-month relinquishment.

Child support follows its own rules. You can seek a change after three years if the monthly amount differs from the guideline figure by 20 percent or $100, or at any time upon a material and substantial change in circumstances. Orders agreed to outside the guidelines require a showing of changed circumstances before they can be modified. Parents who already have possession orders from before the default shift to the expanded schedule must file a modification if they want to adopt it.

Questions Parents Ask About Divorce With Children in Austin

Does Texas require 50/50 custody?

No. Texas law favors frequent and continuing contact with both parents but does not mandate an equal split. Many families use the Expanded Standard Possession Order, and parents who prefer an equal schedule can agree to one, which the court will approve when it serves the child.

How long before a divorce with children can be finalized?

The court cannot grant the divorce until the 60th day after filing, and that wait cannot be waived by agreement. Agreed cases can finish soon after that, while contested cases involving children, a business, or significant assets commonly take many months.

Which parent will the children live with?

Texas courts do not presume the mother or father should be the primary residence parent. The question is which arrangement serves the child, and parents are often able to agree on it. When they cannot, the judge decides based on the evidence.

How is child support calculated?

Guideline support is a set percentage of the paying parent’s net monthly resources, rising with the number of children, up to a cap adjusted periodically by the state. Net resources include wages, overtime, commissions, tips, and bonuses. A lower schedule applies when the paying parent’s monthly net resources are under $1,000.

Can we agree on everything and skip court fights?

Yes. Many couples resolve everything through mediation, collaborative divorce, or direct settlement, and the court then reviews the agreed decree. The 60-day wait still applies.

Do both parents need their own lawyer?

Generally yes. 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 transparent, respectful process. With significant conflict, each parent should have an attorney.

Can my child choose which parent to live with?

A child of 12 or older can tell the judge in chambers which parent the child prefers to have the right to designate the primary residence, and that preference is a recognized ground for modification. It is not binding on the court, which still decides what is best for the child.

Can my spouse’s stepparent or another adult ask for custody?

Texas narrowed standing for non-parents such as stepparents to seek custody or possession. The law now looks to whether the person has had exclusive care, control, and possession of the child, so a non-parent who simply helped raise the child alongside the parents generally no longer qualifies.

What if we were never formally married but lived together with children?

Texas recognizes informal marriage if the couple agreed to be married, lived together in Texas as spouses, and held themselves out as married, or if they filed a signed declaration. A proceeding to prove it generally must start within two years of separating, or the law presumes no agreement to marry. If there was no marriage, parentage and custody are handled through a suit affecting the parent-child relationship instead.

Can a protective order affect my divorce and custody case?

Yes. An active protective order based on family violence can waive the 60-day wait and influence temporary orders on possession. When the parties are in a divorce, a protective order generally lasts until two years after the decree is signed.

If the other parent signed an acknowledgment of paternity, can it be challenged?

It can be rescinded within 60 days of signing. After that, a signatory may challenge it only for fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact, and outside parties generally face a four-year limit from the effective date.

Serving Divorcing Parents Across Austin and Central Texas

The firm represents parents throughout Austin and Travis County, from Downtown, Hyde Park, Clarksville, and Zilker to South Congress, Bouldin Creek, and Barton Hills, and from Mueller, Windsor Park, and North Loop to Circle C, Steiner Ranch, Westlake, and Lakeway. We also work with families in Pflugerville, Manor, Bee Cave, Lago Vista, and Jonestown.

North of Austin, we help parents in Williamson County, including Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Georgetown, Hutto, and Taylor. To the south and east, we represent families in Hays County communities such as San Marcos, Kyle, Buda, and Dripping Springs, and in Bastrop County, including Bastrop, Elgin, and Smithville. Wherever your children go to school and wherever the case is filed, your attorney handles it personally.

Talk With an Austin Divorce Attorney Who Handles Cases With Children

The orders that come out of a divorce with children will shape your family for years, so they deserve the same care you would give any major decision about your children’s future. A conversation with an Austin divorce attorney who will actually handle your case from start to finish can clarify your options, your timeline, and the approach that fits your family. Call The Law Office of Oprea & Weber to schedule a consultation.