Austin Family Violence Attorney
If you live in Austin and family violence has entered your marriage, your parenting situation, or your divorce, you are probably weighing several decisions at once: whether to leave, whether to seek a protective order, what happens to the children, and how any of this changes the divorce itself. The Law Office of Oprea & Weber is a boutique divorce and family law firm that handles divorce, custody, protective-order-related family court issues, support, and modifications for clients in Austin, Travis County, and across Central Texas. As an Austin family violence attorney practice, we help people understand how family violence changes the legal picture in a Texas family court, on both sides of the allegation.
Family violence matters in a Texas family case in ways that surprise many people. It can shorten the divorce timeline, open the door to spousal maintenance that would otherwise be unavailable, shape the possession schedule for your children, and decide how long a protective order stays in place. It can also be alleged unfairly, and a person accused deserves a careful, prepared response. The answers below are written the way we would explain them across a conference table.
How Family Violence Changes a Texas Divorce
The most concrete effect is on timing. Texas normally makes spouses wait until the 60th day after the divorce petition is filed before a court may grant the divorce, and that holds even when both spouses agree on everything. Family violence is one of the narrow exceptions. The waiting period does not apply if the other spouse was finally convicted of, or received deferred adjudication for, a family violence offense against you or a member of your household. It also does not apply if you hold an active protective order, or an active magistrate’s emergency protection order, based on a finding that family violence occurred during the marriage. The 60 days runs from the date of filing, not the date of service, so filing promptly matters when safety is in play.
Family violence also affects money. Texas spousal maintenance is limited, and most people only qualify after a marriage of ten years or longer. Family violence is a different route. If your spouse was convicted of, or received deferred adjudication for, a family violence offense against you or your child within two years before the divorce was filed or while it is pending, you may be eligible for maintenance even in a shorter marriage, with a duration of up to five years in that situation. Maintenance is still capped each month at the lesser of a fixed dollar figure or 20 percent of the paying spouse’s average monthly gross income, and you must show that you lack enough property, including separate property, to meet your minimum reasonable needs.
Property division follows the “just and right” standard for community property in Texas. Courts can weigh the circumstances of the marriage when dividing the estate, and the conduct of the spouses can be part of that analysis. How much it matters depends on the facts and the evidence, which is why documentation is so valuable.
Why Clients Choose Oprea & Weber for Family Violence Cases
The Law Office of Oprea & Weber is a boutique divorce and family law firm serving Austin and Travis County, along with Williamson, Hays, and Bastrop Counties. Our attorneys, Kevin Weber and Karen Oprea, 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 he also mediates family law disputes as well as representing clients in mediation. 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.
That background matters in cases where family violence is alleged. These cases turn on evidence, credibility, and precise legal standards, and they are often decided on how well a record was built. We keep our caseload intentionally manageable, and your attorney personally handles your case from the first consultation to the final decree, with no hand-off to layers of staff or junior associates. You get direct access to the lawyer making decisions about your case, and we explain your options in plain language.
We prefer cooperative resolutions when they are safe and realistic, but a case involving family violence is often not the place for a cooperative process, and we do not push one. We prepare every case for trial, which gives you leverage in negotiation and confidence in the courtroom. Clients describe us as knowledgeable, thorough, and caring, and one wrote that Kevin made sure she “always felt supported and heard” through a painful divorce.
Where Family Violence Surfaces in Austin Family Cases
- Divorce With a Waiting-Period Exception: A family violence conviction or deferred adjudication, or an active protective order based on a finding of violence during the marriage, removes the 60-day wait. We help clients document the qualifying order or disposition and file accordingly.
- Protective Orders and Divorce Overlap: When the respondent is also a party to a divorce with the applicant, a protective order lasts until the second anniversary of the day the final decree is signed. Otherwise, orders generally run for the period stated, up to two years, with longer terms possible in specific circumstances such as serious bodily injury or prior protective orders.
- Spousal Maintenance Based on Family Violence: A qualifying conviction or deferred adjudication within two years of filing, or while the case is pending, can support maintenance regardless of marriage length, for up to five years in a marriage under ten years.
- Custody and Possession Disputes: Family violence bears directly on conservatorship and on the possession schedule. A court focused on the child’s best interest looks at safety, and a standard schedule may be restricted or structured differently when violence is established.
- Modifying Existing Orders: A material and substantial change in circumstances is the usual gateway to changing custody or possession. If violence occurs after your decree, that change may open a modification, and certain qualifying convictions involving a child can remove the usual one-year restriction and the changed-circumstances burden.
- Child Support Effects of Incarceration: A parent’s incarceration for more than 180 days counts as a material and substantial change of circumstances for modifying child support.
- Defending a False or Exaggerated Allegation: A person accused in a protective order or custody case needs a prepared response, because findings made in one proceeding can echo through the divorce and the parenting plan.
- Enforcement of Protective and Custody Orders: When the other party ignores a possession order or a protective provision, we pursue enforcement through the family court.
What to Do When Family Violence Is Part of Your Situation
If you are in immediate danger, call 911 first. Everything else can wait. Once you are safe, the next priority is a record. Save texts, voicemails, photographs of injuries or damaged property, medical records, and police report numbers. Write down dates and what happened while your memory is fresh. Courts decide these matters on evidence, and a clear timeline carries real weight with a judge.
A protective order is a separate court proceeding from a divorce, though the two often interact. If you want one, speak with an attorney about what to file and where. Travis County family cases are heard in the district courts at the Travis County Civil and Family Courts Facility in downtown Austin, and contested hearings there are generally held in person unless the judge or the parties agree otherwise. Travis County courts also publish a standing order for family law cases that governs conduct while a case is pending, and we review it with every client. If you live in a neighboring county, your case may be heard in the district courts in Williamson, Hays, or Bastrop County instead, and we handle matters in all four.
If you plan to file for divorce, remember that residency matters: one spouse must have lived in Texas for at least six months and in the county of filing for at least 90 days. Filing early can also start the 60-day clock, and if you qualify for the family violence exception, your timeline may be much shorter. Avoid posting about the case on social media, avoid confronting the other person directly about the allegations, and do not delete messages or move assets without advice. If you have been accused, do not contact the accuser in violation of any order, even if they reach out first, and bring every document you have to your first meeting.
Protective Orders, Custody, and Parenting Time
When children are involved, family violence findings shape the parenting plan. Since a recent change in the law, the Expanded Standard Possession Order, with Thursday overnights and weekends running through Monday morning, is the default for new orders when parents live within 50 miles of each other. A court may depart from that schedule when safety requires, and a protective order can restrict contact or exchanges. Parents with an existing order generally need to file a modification to move to the expanded schedule.
Changing a custody order after a violent incident has its own requirements. You usually must show a material and substantial change in circumstances and that the change serves the child’s best interest. If you ask to change which parent has the exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence within one year of the earlier order, an affidavit is required, and it must allege that the child’s present environment may endanger the child’s physical health or significantly impair emotional development, or another qualifying ground. A child who is at least 12 may also tell the judge in chambers which parent the child prefers, which is one recognized ground for modifying primary residence.
Protective order length is a frequent question. Most run up to two years, and orders longer than two years require specific findings. Where a longer order is sought against a parent, recent Texas Supreme Court authority requires those findings to be made by clear and convincing evidence, with the child’s best interest considered. An order can be renewed by filing a new application no more than 30 days before it expires.
Questions Austin Clients Ask About Family Violence and Family Court
Do I have to wait 60 days to get divorced if my spouse was violent?
Not necessarily. The waiting period does not apply if your spouse was finally convicted of, or received deferred adjudication for, a family violence offense against you or a member of your household. It also does not apply if you have an active protective order, or an active magistrate’s emergency protection order, based on a finding of family violence during the marriage. Without one of those, the 60 days applies even if you both agree on everything.
Does the 60 days start when my spouse is served?
No. It runs from the date the petition is filed. Service affects when your spouse’s answer is due, but it does not restart the waiting period.
Can family violence help me get spousal maintenance?
It can. If your spouse was convicted of, or received deferred adjudication for, a family violence offense against you or your child within two years before the divorce was filed or while it is pending, you may qualify even if the marriage was shorter than ten years. You must still show you lack the property and income to meet your minimum reasonable needs, and the monthly amount is capped.
How long does a Texas protective order last?
Generally for the period stated in the order, up to two years, or until the second anniversary of issuance if no period is stated. A longer order is possible if the court finds the person caused serious bodily injury or was subject to two or more earlier protective orders. If the respondent is also in a divorce with you, the order lasts until two years after the final decree is signed.
What if the protective order expires while the person is in jail?
The order is extended while the person is confined, and if the sentence was longer than five years, it runs until the first anniversary of release. If you want to renew an order, you file a new application no more than 30 days before it expires.
Will a judge give my spouse unsupervised time with the kids after family violence?
It depends on the evidence and the child’s best interest. Texas favors frequent contact with both parents, but a court can restrict or condition possession when safety is at issue. Documentation, police reports, and protective orders all help the judge understand the risk.
I was falsely accused. What should I do?
Do not contact the accuser if an order is in place, and do not respond to the allegations on social media or by text. Preserve your own records, gather witnesses, and speak with an attorney before the hearing. Findings in a protective order case can influence the divorce and custody, so the response needs to be planned.
Can I change custody if my ex becomes violent after our divorce?
You can file to modify, but you generally need to show a material and substantial change in circumstances and that the change is in the child’s best interest. Certain convictions involving offenses against a child can remove the usual one-year restriction and the changed-circumstances requirement.
Does a parent’s jail sentence change child support?
Incarceration for more than 180 days is treated as a material and substantial change in circumstances, which can support modifying support. The change is not automatic; a request has to be filed with the court.
How long will my family violence-related case take in Travis County?
It varies with the court’s calendar and how much is contested. A case that qualifies for the waiting-period exception can finish sooner than the standard 60 days, but contested custody, property, or maintenance issues add months. Agreement on the narrower issues speeds things up, and we plan around your goals.
Can an unmarried parent seek protection and custody orders?
Yes. Unmarried parents can establish parentage and obtain custody, visitation, and support orders through a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship, and protective orders are not limited to married couples.
Serving Family Violence and Family Law Clients Across Travis County and Central Texas
We represent clients throughout Austin and Travis County, from Downtown, Hyde Park, Clarksville, and Zilker to East Austin, Mueller, Cherrywood, and the Windsor Park area. We also work with families in South Austin neighborhoods such as Bouldin Creek, Travis Heights, and South Lamar, and in North and Northwest Austin including Crestview, Allandale, Anderson Mill, and Steiner Ranch. Travis County communities beyond the city limits include Pflugerville, Manor, Lakeway, Bee Cave, West Lake Hills, and Del Valle.
Our work extends into neighboring Williamson County, including Round Rock, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Leander, and Hutto; Hays County, including San Marcos, Kyle, Buda, and Dripping Springs; and Bastrop County, including Bastrop and Elgin. Wherever your case is filed, we know the local courts, and your attorney is the one who appears for you.
Talk With an Austin Family Violence Lawyer
If family violence is shaping your divorce, your custody case, or your safety, a conversation with an Austin family violence lawyer can clarify what the law offers you and what to do next. The Law Office of Oprea & Weber will listen to your circumstances, explain your options in plain language, and build a strategy around your goals and your family’s safety.
Call to schedule a consultation. Whether you need to act quickly, respond to an allegation, or understand how an existing order affects your case, you will speak directly with an attorney who will handle your matter personally from start to finish.