Liberty Hill Child Custody Attorney

Parents in Liberty Hill are usually making this decision while still sorting out where a child will sleep on a Tuesday night, who handles school mornings, and whether a long commute changes what a fair schedule looks like. The Law Office of Oprea & Weber is a boutique divorce and family law firm that handles custody, visitation, child support, paternity, SAPCR suits, and modifications for families in Liberty Hill and across Williamson County and Central Texas. If you are searching for a Liberty Hill child custody attorney, the questions behind that search are rarely abstract. They are about time, schedules, and what a judge will actually order.

Texas does not use the word “custody” in its statutes. The law speaks of conservatorship, which covers decision-making rights and duties, and possession and access, which covers the schedule. The court’s governing question is the best interest of the child, and Texas law favors frequent and continuing contact with both parents. Most cases are decided far more by the specific schedule and the specific rights each parent holds than by any headline label like “primary” or “joint.”

Liberty Hill families face a practical wrinkle that shapes many parenting plans: parents often work in Austin or Georgetown and drive substantial distances each day. A schedule that looks balanced on paper can collapse under a 45-minute commute, school start times, and extracurricular logistics. Good custody work starts with the realities of your household and builds the order around them.

Why Choose Oprea & Weber for Custody Cases Near Liberty Hill

The Law Office of Oprea & Weber serves families in Williamson County, including Liberty Hill, along with Travis, Hays, and Bastrop Counties and the wider Central Texas region. The firm is led by attorneys Kevin Weber and Karen Oprea, who both graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School. The firm keeps an intentionally manageable caseload, and your attorney personally handles your case from the first consultation to the final decree. You are not passed to layers of staff or junior associates, and you get direct access to the lawyer making decisions about your case, with explanations in plain language.

Kevin Weber trained in complex commercial litigation and negotiation at Latham & Watkins in Manhattan, and he both mediates family law disputes and represents clients in mediation. That dual perspective matters in custody cases, where a durable agreement usually beats a contested ruling. 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 sharpens how orders are drafted and how a record is built if a custody dispute must be tried.

The firm’s approach is to prepare every case as though it may go to trial while pursuing cooperative resolution whenever it is realistic. Clients describe the attorneys as knowledgeable, thorough, and caring. One client who came to the firm through a referral for a child custody matter wrote that Kevin was professional and friendly and helped hold the family steady through a very emotional situation.

The Custody Issues Liberty Hill Parents Bring Us Most

Conservatorship and Decision-Making Rights: Texas courts typically name both parents joint managing conservators, then divide specific rights, such as education, medical care, and psychological treatment, and decide which parent holds the exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence.
Possession Schedules: Many families start from the Standard Possession Order, with weekends, holidays, and extended summer time for the non-primary parent. For new orders where the parents live within 50 miles of each other, the Expanded Standard Possession Order, which adds Thursday overnights and extends weekends through Monday morning, is now the default.
Existing Orders That Predate the Expanded Schedule: Parents already under a possession order do not receive the expanded schedule automatically. A modification must be filed to adopt it.
Child Support Alongside Custody: Support is calculated as a percentage of the paying parent’s net monthly resources, 20 percent for one child and 25 percent for two, rising with each additional child, up to a statutory cap on net resources that is adjusted periodically.
Paternity and SAPCR Suits: Unmarried parents must establish legal parentage before a court can order conservatorship, possession, or support through a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship.
Relocation Disputes: A parent who holds the right to designate the primary residence may be restricted to a geographic area, and moving beyond it generally requires an agreement or a modification.
Modifications and Enforcement: Changing an order requires proof of a material and substantial change in circumstances and that the change serves the child’s best interest. When the other parent ignores an order, enforcement actions are available.
Non-Parent Claims: Stepparents and other non-parents now face narrower standing to seek custody or possession, tied to exclusive care, control, and possession of the child.

What to Do Now If You Are Facing a Custody Dispute

Start by gathering what a court will actually look at: the existing order if there is one, your child’s school and medical records, your work schedule, and a record of who has handled pickups, appointments, and daily routines. Judges decide on facts about the child’s life, so a clear picture of the current routine is more persuasive than general statements about being a good parent. Keep communication with the other parent civil and in writing where possible, because texts and emails become evidence.

Do not change the arrangement unilaterally. Keeping a child from the other parent, or moving without addressing an existing order, can damage your credibility and expose you to enforcement. If there are safety concerns, such as family violence, document them and raise them with counsel promptly, because a protective order and a custody case can interact. A protective order lasts for the period stated in the order, generally no more than two years unless the court makes specific findings, and a child’s schedule with the restrained parent may be affected.

If you are married, custody is decided within the divorce. A divorce requires that one spouse has lived in Texas for six months and in the filing county for 90 days, and the court cannot grant the divorce until 60 days after filing, with narrow exceptions tied to family violence. During that wait, either parent can request temporary orders covering where the child lives and who pays what, and those early orders often set the pattern that later becomes permanent. Liberty Hill sits in Williamson County, whose district courts and county courts at law sit in Georgetown, so Liberty Hill families generally file there. Families who have lived elsewhere or whose existing orders came from another county should check which court holds continuing jurisdiction before filing.

How Texas Courts Decide Conservatorship and Possession

There is a strong presumption that parents will be named joint managing conservators, and judges look at factors such as each parent’s ability to put the child’s needs first, the child’s stability, and each parent’s willingness to support the child’s relationship with the other. Evidence of family violence or neglect can change that presumption. The court’s job is not to reward the parent who argues best but to identify an arrangement that works for the child, which is why concrete proof of caregiving matters.

Child preference plays a limited role. A child who is 12 or older may tell the judge privately in chambers which parent the child prefers to have designate the primary residence, and that can be a ground for modification, but it is not a vote and does not control the outcome. Mediation resolves most custody cases before trial, and an agreed order drafted with care tends to hold up better than a ruling imposed after a contested hearing.

Changing an Existing Custody Order

A modification of conservatorship or possession requires a material and substantial change in circumstances since the last order and a showing that the change serves the child’s best interest. Certain grounds are specifically recognized, including a child aged 12 or older stating a preference in chambers and a primary-residence parent voluntarily giving up primary care and possession to someone else for at least six months. A suit to change the primary-residence designation filed within a year of the existing order requires a supporting affidavit alleging a specific basis, such as danger to the child’s physical health or emotional development. Child support has its own route: modification is available after a material and substantial change, or after three years if the monthly amount differs from the guideline amount by 20 percent or $100.

Liberty Hill Child Custody Questions, Answered

Is custody in Texas always split 50/50?

No. The law favors frequent and continuing contact with both parents, but it does not guarantee an equal split. Many families use the Standard Possession Order or the Expanded Standard Possession Order, and parents can agree to an equal schedule that a court will approve when it serves the child.

What is the difference between conservatorship and possession?

Conservatorship covers legal rights and duties, such as making decisions about education and medical care and designating the child’s primary residence. Possession and access is the schedule of when each parent has the child. Parents can share conservatorship while having unequal time.

How is child support calculated?

Guidelines apply a percentage to the paying parent’s net monthly resources: 20 percent 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 amount. A cap on the net resources the percentages apply to is adjusted periodically, and courts can depart from the guidelines when they would be unjust or inappropriate.

Which court handles my case if I live in Liberty Hill?

Williamson County district courts hear family law cases, and they sit in Georgetown. The county’s district courts include the 26th, 277th, 368th, 395th, 425th, and 480th. Which court is proper depends on where the child and parents live and whether an earlier order already exists.

Can my child choose which parent to live with?

A child who is 12 or older may speak with the judge in chambers about which parent the child prefers to have designate the primary residence. That preference is a ground for seeking modification, but the judge still decides based on the child’s best interest.

Do unmarried parents have custody rights?

A mother generally has rights from birth, but a father must establish legal parentage, either through a signed acknowledgment of paternity or a court adjudication. Once parentage is established, a SAPCR suit resolves conservatorship, possession, and support.

How long do I have to challenge paternity?

An acknowledgment of paternity can be rescinded within 60 days of signing. After that, a signatory can challenge it only on grounds of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact, before an order affecting the child is issued. Other proceedings to adjudicate parentage generally must start within four years of the child’s birth or of the acknowledgment or adjudication, unless an exception applies.

Can a stepparent seek custody or visitation?

Standing for non-parents such as stepparents has been narrowed. A stepparent now generally must show exclusive care, control, and possession of the child, which is a higher bar than before. These cases turn on facts, so a prompt consultation matters.

My order is older. Do I get Thursday overnights now?

Not automatically. The Expanded Standard Possession Order is the default for new orders where parents live within 50 miles of each other. Parents with existing orders must file a modification to adopt it, and the court will still consider the child’s best interest.

What if the other parent moves far away with our child?

Many orders restrict the primary-residence parent to a geographic area. A move outside it without agreement or a modification can lead to an enforcement action or a change to the primary-residence designation. If a move is coming, talk to a lawyer before it happens.

Does a protective order affect custody?

It can. A protective order may limit contact and shape temporary orders. It is effective for the period stated in the order, generally up to two years, and can be longer in specific circumstances such as serious bodily injury or prior protective orders. When the respondent is a party to a divorce with the applicant, the order lasts until two years after the final decree is signed.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer if we mostly agree?

Often yes. An agreement that is vague about holidays, transportation, or decision-making can generate disputes later. A carefully drafted order is easier to enforce, and a lawyer can flag provisions that look fair now but do not work in practice.

Serving Custody Clients From Liberty Hill Across Williamson County and Central Texas

The Law Office of Oprea & Weber represents parents from Liberty Hill and throughout Williamson County, including Georgetown, Leander, Cedar Park, Round Rock, Hutto, Taylor, Florence, Jarrell, Bartlett, Granger, Weir, and Jonah. We also work with families in neighboring Travis County, including Austin, Pflugerville, Manor, Lakeway, and Bee Cave, as well as in Hays County, Bastrop County, and the broader Central Texas region.

Whether your case begins as a divorce, a paternity filing, or a request to modify an existing order, the firm handles custody, support, and enforcement for families wherever the dispute lands in the area.

Talk With a Liberty Hill Child Custody Attorney About Your Family’s Plan

If you are working out a parenting plan, responding to a filing, or trying to change an order that no longer fits, a conversation with a Liberty Hill child custody attorney at Oprea & Weber can clarify where you stand and what a realistic outcome looks like. You will talk directly with the lawyer who will handle your case, in plain language, without pressure.

Call the firm to schedule a consultation. Whether the goal is an agreed parenting plan or a firm position in court, we will help you decide the next step with a strategy built around your child.