Williamson County, TX · Free Consultation
Cedar Park, TX Child Custody Lawyer
What Our Clients Say
Written and reviewed by Shane M. Boasberg, founder of SMB Law, PC · Licensed in Texas since 2003 · Updated September 2026
A parenting plan that looks fine on paper can fall apart on a Tuesday afternoon, and the schedule nobody can actually run is the one that comes back as an enforcement case. A Cedar Park child custody lawyer is worth having for that reason as much as any other. Shane M. Boasberg has been licensed in Texas since 2003 and drafts every one of these himself.
Most Cedar Park families we work with are raising kids in the Leander ISD area with both parents living nearby, which shapes what a practical schedule looks like and which possession options are realistically on the table.
Where a Cedar Park custody case is filed
In Texas the case is called a suit affecting the parent-child relationship, and Tex. Fam. Code § 103.001 puts venue in the county where the child has lived for the past six months. For most Cedar Park families that is the Williamson County District Clerk in Georgetown.
Cedar Park straddles the county line, though, so an address in the southern reach of the city can put the case in Travis County instead. We confirm that before anything is filed. If a parent has recently moved the children out of state, Tex. Fam. Code § 152.201 decides which state has jurisdiction at all, and that question is answered before anyone argues about a schedule.
Two separate questions Texas keeps separate
Texas does not use the word custody in its statutes, and the distinction it draws instead decides most cases. Conservatorship is decision-making: school, medical treatment, and who determines the child’s primary residence. Possession and access is the calendar. Parents routinely spend weeks arguing about one when the thing they actually care about is the other.
The standard, and the presumption underneath it
Tex. Fam. Code § 153.002 makes the best interest of the child the primary consideration in any order on conservatorship, possession, and access. Beneath it sits a presumption: under § 153.131 a parent is appointed managing conservator unless the court finds it would significantly impair the child’s physical health or emotional development, and § 153.134 sets out how joint managing conservatorship is structured. Section 153.004 is the most common route around that presumption, because a documented history of family violence changes the analysis and can bar joint conservatorship outright.
The Standard Possession Order and the fifty-mile election
Most orders start from the Standard Possession Order in Tex. Fam. Code § 153.312: alternating weekends, a weeknight period, holidays split on a rotating basis, and an extended summer block.
The part that matters most in Cedar Park is § 153.3171. When both parents live within fifty miles of one another, the non-primary parent may elect the expanded standard order, which begins the weekend at school dismissal on Friday and runs to Monday morning drop-off, and adds a Thursday overnight. Across a year that election is worth roughly a month of additional time with the children.
Nearly every Cedar Park family clears the fifty-mile threshold, often by a wide margin, so this election is on the table in almost every case here. It is also the one that most often gets signed away by a parent who did not know it existed.
One more provision surprises people. Under § 153.009, a judge must interview a child twelve or older in chambers, on a party’s request, about the child’s wishes as to primary residence. Must, not may. The child does not decide and the judge is not bound, but the conversation happens.
The schedule drives the support number
Our calculator applies the Texas guideline percentages to your net resources so you can see the figure before it is on the table.
Try the Texas Child Support CalculatorWorking with us from Cedar Park
We are about 18 miles southeast in downtown Austin, a 25-to-30-minute drive on US-183. We handle most Cedar Park custody work by phone and video so it fits around work and school.
At SMB Law, PC you work with Shane M. Boasberg directly. He has been licensed in Texas since 2003 and has spent those years in Central Texas family courts. You get his read on your case in plain English, including the parts you may not want to hear.
Why clients choose SMB Law, PC
- Direct attorney access — you talk to Shane, not a call center or a rotating case manager.
- Straight answers — if a fight will cost more than it returns, in money or in your children’s stability, we say so in the first meeting.
- A schedule that works on a Tuesday — parenting plans built around real jobs, real commutes, and real school calendars.
- Fees in writing — explained before you sign anything.
What working with us looks like
- Confidential consultation to understand your goals and the law that applies.
- Strategy and records tailored to your situation.
- Negotiation or court — we settle when we can and litigate when we must.
- Resolution implemented correctly so you can move on.
Custody cases for Cedar Park families
Cedar Park custody cases are heard at the Williamson County Justice Center in Georgetown, and the county’s standing order takes effect the moment a case is filed: no removing the children from Texas, no school changes, no hiding records or draining accounts — converting to a temporary injunction after 14 days unless contested.
The standing order catches parents who did not know it existed. A summer trip out of state booked before the filing, or a school enrollment that was already in motion, becomes something you explain at the temporary orders hearing. Read it the week you are served.
One Cedar Park detail is worth knowing before you argue school stability: most of the city is in Leander ISD, not a district named for Cedar Park. Attendance zones here cross municipal lines in ways that surprise people, and a stability argument built on the wrong assumption falls apart quickly. Bring the actual zone, the actual campus, and the actual drive time from both households, because those are the facts a Williamson County judge weighs.
A Cedar Park family-law issue often connects to others, so we also handle setting or collecting support, revisiting an existing order, and a hard-fought divorce — the SMB Law child custody team explains our approach.
Frequently asked questions
Can we write our own schedule instead of using the state default?
Yes, and it is usually the better outcome. A court will sign a parenting plan both parents agree on so long as it serves the child’s best interest, and an agreed plan costs a fraction of a contested one. The Standard Possession Order is the fallback for families who cannot agree, not a requirement. It also tends to fit families with unusual work schedules poorly, which is a good reason to write your own.
Does Texas favor mothers?
No. Tex. Fam. Code § 153.003 prohibits a court from considering the sex of a parent or of the child in deciding conservatorship, possession, or access. What moves a judge is the record of who has actually been doing the parenting, which is a question of evidence.
My child is thirteen and wants to live with me. Does that settle it?
No, but it is heard. Under § 153.009 a judge must interview a child twelve or older in chambers, on a party’s request, about the child’s wishes as to primary residence. The judge weighs it alongside everything else. Coaching a child before that interview is the most reliable way to damage your own case.
What does a Cedar Park child custody lawyer cost?
Family cases are billed hourly against a retainer, not on contingency. Conflict drives the total, not complexity: an agreed plan may take a handful of hours, while a contested case with temporary orders, discovery, and a final hearing runs considerably more. The rate and retainer go in writing before you commit.
Do I have to travel to Austin from Cedar Park?
No. Our office is about eighteen miles southeast on US-183, and we handle Cedar Park consultations and case updates by phone and video so they fit around work and school.
Custody is decided on facts that accumulate quietly: who takes the child to the doctor, who knows the teacher’s name, who is where they said they would be. Whether you are filing, responding, or trying to head off a problem, the earlier you have a plan the more of those facts work in your favor. Call SMB Law, PC at (512) 561-5003 for a free and confidential consultation.