Austin, TX Custody Lawyers

Your Relationship with Your Children Matters.

If you're facing a custody dispute, you're probably terrified. Not of the legal process itself, but of the possibility that you might lose precious time with your kids. That someone else might get to decide how often you see them, where they sleep, who helps with homework, and who's there for bedtime.

We understand that fear. And we want you to know: you don't have to navigate this alone.

At Hembree Bell Law Firm, we believe your relationship with your children is worth protecting and fighting for. Our Austin custody lawyers combine 275+ years of collective experience with genuine compassion for what you're going through. We've helped countless parents build custody arrangements that actually work for their families, and we're ready to do the same for you.

Led by award-winning attorney Hannah Hembree Bell, who understands the stakes of custody from her own experience as a mother who went through divorce, our team brings both legal skill and real empathy to every case. We see you as a parent first, a client second.

Call today to schedule your free case evaluation and discover how we can help you protect what matters most.

Understanding Custody in Texas

Texas uses different terminology than many other states, which can create confusion if you're new to family law. Understanding the basics helps you navigate conversations with attorneys, mediators, and the court.

Conservatorship

In Texas, "custody" is called "conservatorship." There are two main types:

Managing Conservatorship involves the right to make major decisions about your child's life, including their education, healthcare, religious upbringing, and extracurricular activities. Parents may share these rights as Joint Managing Conservators, or one parent may be designated as the Sole Managing Conservator.

Possessory Conservatorship refers to the parent's right to physical time with the child. Even when one parent has primary custody, the other typically receives a possession schedule outlining their parenting time.

The Standard Possession Order

Texas has a default possession schedule called the Standard Possession Order (SPO), which applies unless parents agree to something different or the court determines another arrangement better serves the child. The SPO provides the non-primary parent with time on the first, third, and fifth weekends of each month, Thursday evenings, alternating holidays, and extended summer possession.

While the SPO works for some families, it doesn't fit everyone—especially in Austin, where demanding careers, travel schedules, and unique family circumstances often call for customized arrangements. That's why our Austin custody lawyers help you develop parenting plans tailored to your family's real life rather than forcing you into a one-size-fits-all schedule. Whether you need flexibility for work travel, accommodations for a child's extracurricular commitments, or creative solutions for co-parenting across distance, we focus on building arrangements that actually work for you and your children.

Custody Challenges Unique to Austin Families

Austin isn't a one-size-fits-all city, and your custody arrangement shouldn't be either. Our Austin custody lawyers understand the specific challenges families here face.

Demanding Tech Industry Schedules

Austin's thriving tech sector means many parents work unpredictable hours, travel frequently for work, or maintain schedules that don't align with traditional possession orders. We help create flexible parenting plans that account for these realities while ensuring children maintain strong relationships with both parents.

Dual-Career Households

When both parents maintain demanding careers, crafting workable custody arrangements requires creativity and compromise. We help you develop schedules that honor both parents' professional commitments while keeping children's stability at the center.

Relocation Concerns

Austin's growth brings people here from across the country, and sometimes divorce raises questions about whether a parent can move away with children. Texas law has specific requirements for relocation cases, and how these situations are handled can dramatically impact your parental rights.

High-Conflict Co-Parenting

Some custody disputes involve parents who struggle to communicate or cooperate. When conflict runs high, we help establish clear boundaries, detailed parenting plans, and communication structures that minimize friction while protecting your children from being caught in the middle.

Our Austin Custody Lawyers’ Approach: Children First, Always

At Hembree Bell Law Firm, we believe children do best when they have meaningful relationships with both parents. That guides everything we do.

We always explore cooperative solutions first—mediation, negotiation, and collaborative approaches that reduce conflict and help parents build functional co-parenting relationships. Lower conflict means healthier children, lower legal costs, and a better foundation for the years ahead.

But we're not naive. Some situations require aggressive advocacy. When the other parent won't negotiate fairly, when your children's safety is at risk, or when someone is trying to push you out of your kids' lives, our Austin custody lawyers are prepared to fight hard in the courtroom. We bring strength and strategy to litigation while never losing sight of what matters most: your children's well-being and your relationship with them.

Beyond the Custody Order

Custody isn't just about court orders and possession schedules. It's about your daily life with your children—morning routines, after-school pickups, weekend adventures, and bedtime stories.

We take time to understand what your relationship with your children looks like now and what you want it to look like in the future. Then we build strategies designed to protect that relationship while creating practical arrangements that work in real life.

And our support doesn't end when your case closes. We connect you with resources like therapists, co-parenting tools, and other support networks that help you thrive as a parent in this new chapter.