Taylor Child Custody Attorney

Texas does not use the word “custody” in its courtrooms, and the difference matters more than it sounds. The court decides conservatorship, which is who holds decision-making rights, and possession and access, which is the actual schedule of time with each parent. A Taylor child custody attorney spends most of the case working on those two things. The Law Office of Oprea & Weber is a boutique family law firm that handles child custody and visitation, SAPCR suits, paternity, child support, and modifications for families in Taylor and across Williamson County, along with Travis, Hays, and Bastrop Counties.

Taylor families often land in Williamson County district court, but the schedule your children live with is built long before any judge signs it. How far apart the parents will live, who handles school pickups, how holidays split, and who decides medical questions are all choices written into the order. Once an order is signed, changing it requires a formal case and a showing the court will not simply assume.

The rules also shifted recently. 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 starting point. Parents under an older order do not get it automatically; they have to file a modification to adopt it.

Why Choose Oprea & Weber for Custody Cases Near Taylor

The Law Office of Oprea & Weber is a boutique divorce and family law firm serving clients in Taylor, the rest of Williamson County, Travis County, Hays County, Bastrop County, and the wider Central Texas area. Parents come to us for custody and visitation, SAPCR suits, paternity cases, child support, relocation disputes, enforcement, and modifications. The attorney who meets you at the first consultation personally handles your case through the final decree. You are not passed to layers of staff or junior associates, and the firm keeps its caseload intentionally manageable so calls and emails get answered.

Kevin Weber, Attorney, and Karen Oprea, Attorney, 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, which is where he learned to prepare a dispute so thoroughly that the other side has reason to settle. He also mediates family law disputes himself and represents clients in mediation, so he knows what a workable parenting agreement looks like from both chairs. 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 matters in custody work because orders are only as good as the record and the drafting behind them.

Our approach is cooperative where cooperation is possible and trial-ready where it is not. Every case is prepared as if it may be heard by a judge, and that preparation is what gives a parent leverage at the negotiating table. Clients describe us as knowledgeable, thorough, and caring, and several have said Kevin helped hold them steady through a very emotional situation while explaining legal terms in plain language.

Custody Disputes We Handle for Taylor Parents

Initial Custody in a Divorce: When married parents separate, conservatorship and the possession schedule are decided alongside property division. Temporary orders early in the case often set the pattern the final order follows, so the first hearing deserves real preparation.
SAPCR Suits for Unmarried Parents: A Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship lets parents who never married get a court order on conservatorship, possession, and support. Without one, there is no enforceable schedule, no matter what the parents verbally agreed to.
Paternity and Establishing Parentage: A father with no legal standing cannot ask for custody. If a child has a presumed father, a parentage proceeding generally must begin before the child’s fourth birthday, subject to narrow exceptions. A signed acknowledgment of paternity can be rescinded within 60 days, and afterward challenged only for fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact.
Modification of Existing Orders: Changing conservatorship or possession requires a material and substantial change in circumstances and a showing that the change serves the child’s best interest. A job relocation, a parent’s incarceration, or a child’s changing needs can all qualify.
Primary Residence Disputes: The parent with the exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence controls where the child lives within any geographic restriction. Contested changes can turn on a child aged 12 or older telling the judge in chambers which parent they prefer, or on a parent voluntarily giving up primary care for at least six months.
Relocation Disputes: A move out of the area or outside the order’s geographic restriction can upend a possession schedule. We handle both sides of these fights, including requests to move and objections to them.
Enforcement: When a parent withholds the child, ignores the exchange schedule, or refuses to follow the order, the remedy is an enforcement action in court, not self-help.
Non-Parent and Stepparent Claims: Texas narrowed standing for non-parents in 2025. The law now looks to whether the person has had exclusive care, control, and possession of the child, a tighter test than the old six-months-of-care approach.

What to Do Right Now When a Custody Question Is Pending in Williamson County

Start with the paper. If there is an existing order, find it and read the possession schedule and any geographic restriction. If there is no order, you are in a gap where neither parent has enforceable rights, which is the strongest reason to file a case rather than wait for things to get worse.

Write down the facts a judge will care about: who has handled school, doctor visits, and daily routines; the child’s current schedule; each parent’s work hours; and any concerns about safety or substance use. Keep the record factual and dated. Save messages between you and the other parent, and keep your own side civil, because texts and emails routinely end up as exhibits.

Do not withhold the children from the other parent because you are angry, and do not move the children without checking what the order says. Either can hand the other side a motion and a story. If safety is the issue, say so directly to your attorney; protective orders and emergency relief follow different rules, and a protective order generally lasts no more than two years unless the court makes specific findings that justify longer.

Cases from Taylor are filed with the district clerk in Georgetown, where Williamson County’s district courts sit, including the 26th, 277th, 368th, 395th, 425th, and 480th, alongside the county courts at law. If the other parent lives in another county, the right place to file can change, and Travis, Hays, and Bastrop Counties each have their own courts and procedures. We sort that out before anything is filed, because a case started in the wrong county wastes months.

Expect to go through temporary orders, then either settlement or a contested path involving discovery and, if needed, a hearing or trial. Most families settle, often through mediation. Our job is to make sure what you sign is workable in real life, with holidays, summer weeks, exchange locations, and decision-making rights spelled out clearly enough that there is nothing left to argue about later.

How Texas Courts Decide Conservatorship and Possession

The governing question is the best interest of the child. Texas law favors a child having frequent and continuing contact with both parents, and the usual starting point is joint managing conservatorship, where both parents share rights and duties. That is not the same as a 50/50 schedule. One parent typically holds the right to designate the primary residence, and the other follows the possession order.

The conservatorship order divides specific rights: who makes educational decisions, who consents to non-emergency medical care, who can make psychiatric decisions, and who may establish the child’s residence. Parents can split these rights in ways that fit their family, and negotiated allocations often outlast anything a judge would impose.

Child support travels with custody. Guideline support is a fixed percentage of the paying parent’s net monthly resources, 20 percent for one child, 25 percent for two, 30 percent for three, 35 percent for four, and 40 percent for five, with a floor at the five-child percentage for six or more. The percentages apply up to a statutory cap on net resources that is adjusted periodically. Support can be modified after three years if the amount differs from guidelines by 20 percent or $100, or sooner on a material and substantial change in circumstances.

Custody Questions Taylor Parents Ask

Is custody in Texas always split 50/50?

No. The law favors both parents staying involved, but it does not mandate equal time. Parents can agree to an equal schedule, and courts approve it when it serves the child’s best interest. Without an agreement, the standard possession order governs.

What is the Expanded Standard Possession Order?

It is the default possession schedule for new orders when the parents live within 50 miles of each other. It gives the non-primary parent Thursday overnights and weekends that run through Monday morning, which is more time than the older version allowed.

I already have an order. Do I automatically get the expanded schedule?

No. Existing orders stay as written. To move to the expanded schedule, a parent must file a modification and get the court to sign a new order.

How do I change a custody order?

You file a suit to modify and show a material and substantial change in circumstances since the last order, plus that the change is in the child’s best interest. The facts that count are specific to your family, such as a move, a change in a parent’s stability, or a child’s new needs.

Can my child choose which parent to live with?

A child who is at least 12 can tell the judge in chambers which parent they prefer to have the exclusive right to designate the primary residence, and that is one ground for modification. It is not binding. The judge still decides what serves the child.

Do I need a custody order if the other parent and I get along?

Yes, especially if you were never married. Without an order there is nothing enforceable, and an agreement that works today can fall apart over a new partner, a move, or a job change.

Can an unmarried father get custody rights in Texas?

Once he is, he can seek conservatorship and possession through a SAPCR suit.

What if the other parent keeps violating the order?

Enforcement is the remedy. You bring the violations to the court through a motion, with dates and documentation, and the court can order compliance and, in appropriate cases, penalties. Keep a log of missed exchanges and denied visits.

Can a stepparent or grandparent ask for custody?

Only if they have standing, and the standard for non-parents tightened in 2025. The question now centers on whether the person has had exclusive care, control, and possession of the child. A grandparent or stepparent should talk to an attorney before filing.

Does a protective order affect custody?

It can. Findings of family violence can shape conservatorship and the possession schedule, and a protective order may include provisions about the child. Protective orders generally run up to two years unless the court makes findings that justify a longer term, and they can be renewed by a new application filed within 30 days before expiration.

How long does a custody case take in Williamson County?

It depends on whether the parents agree. Agreed cases can resolve soon after filing, while contested cases involving discovery, evaluations, or trial settings take many months. The court’s calendar and how quickly the parties exchange information drive the timeline.

If I moved out of state with the children, can the other parent change the order?

The other parent can seek enforcement or modification depending on the order and where the child lives. The details turn on the original order and the current jurisdictional facts, so bring the order to a consultation as soon as possible.

Serving Custody Clients From Taylor Through Central Texas

Our work for Taylor families extends across Williamson County, including Georgetown, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Hutto, Liberty Hill, Jarrell, Granger, Thrall, Coupland, and Florence. Many of these parents also have ties to neighboring Travis County and Austin, where the district courts and associate judges handle a large volume of family cases, and we represent clients there as well.

Beyond Williamson County, we serve families in Hays County, including San Marcos, Kyle, Buda, and Dripping Springs, and in Bastrop County, including Bastrop, Elgin, and Smithville. Wherever the child lives, the right court and the right procedure can differ, and we plan the case around where it will actually be heard.

Talk With a Taylor Child Custody Lawyer About Your Parenting Plan

Whether you are starting a first custody case, trying to enforce an order that is being ignored, or looking to change a schedule that no longer fits your child’s life, a conversation with a Taylor child custody lawyer is the fastest way to find out where you stand. Bring your existing order if you have one, a list of the facts that matter, and your questions.

Call The Law Office of Oprea & Weber to schedule a consultation. You will speak with the attorney who will handle your case, get plain answers about your options, and leave with a clear plan for what happens next.