Williamson County, TX · Free Consultation
Georgetown, 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
When a family changes shape, the question that keeps people awake is almost never about the house. A Georgetown child custody lawyer is useful to the degree he will tell you where you actually stand, including when that is not where you hoped. Shane M. Boasberg has been licensed in Texas since 2003 and has spent those years in the Williamson County courts.
Georgetown custody cases run the full range, from young Georgetown ISD families to situations where grandparents in the Sun City area are closely involved in a child’s life. We tailor the approach to who is actually raising the child and what arrangement will hold up over time.
Where a Georgetown custody case is filed
Texas calls it 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. Georgetown is the Williamson County seat, so the case stays in town at the Justice Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Street.
That is a real advantage in a case that may involve several hearings. Temporary orders, mediation, a status conference, and a final hearing are each a short drive rather than a day off work. 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 anything else.
Conservatorship and the presumption underneath it
Texas keeps two questions separate. Conservatorship is decision-making: school, medical treatment, and where the child primarily lives. Possession and access is the calendar.
Under Tex. Fam. Code § 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 governs how joint managing conservatorship is structured. The presumption favors both parents, but joint speaks to rights, not to equal time. A parent can hold joint conservatorship and still have a standard weekend schedule. Section 153.004 is the usual route around the presumption, because a documented history of family violence changes the analysis and can bar joint conservatorship.
Everything is measured against § 153.002, which makes the best interest of the child the primary consideration.
When someone other than a parent is raising the child
Georgetown sees more of these than most Central Texas cities, partly because of how many grandparents live here. Two provisions matter.
The first is standing. Under Tex. Fam. Code § 102.003(a)(9), a person who has had actual care, control, and possession of the child for at least six months ending not more than ninety days before filing may bring a suit. A grandmother who has been raising a grandchild for a year is not a bystander in the legal sense; she has the right to be in the case.
The second is access short of custody. Section 153.433 allows a court to order grandparent possession or access, but only in defined circumstances: the grandparent’s own child must be dead, incarcerated, legally incompetent, or have had parental rights terminated, or must not have actual possession of the child. Even then the grandparent must overcome the presumption that a fit parent acts in the child’s best interest, which is a high bar and is supposed to be.
We say that plainly because the honest answer usually saves a family money. These cases are winnable on the right facts and expensive on the wrong ones.
What the schedule usually looks like
Most orders start from the Standard Possession Order in § 153.312 and adjust. When both parents live within fifty miles, § 153.3171 lets the non-primary parent elect the expanded standard order, running the weekend from Friday dismissal to Monday morning and adding a Thursday overnight. 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 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 Georgetown
Our downtown Austin office is about 30 miles south of Georgetown, a 35-to-40-minute drive on I-35. Most Georgetown parents prefer to meet by phone or video, and we make that the default whenever it is easier.
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 in the county seat
Georgetown parents have the shortest path in Williamson County, and it matters more than it sounds. The Justice Center is minutes from home, so the hearings that make a contested case exhausting elsewhere are manageable here.
The county’s standing order takes effect the moment a case is filed. Neither parent may remove the children from Texas, change their school, hide records, or make unusual withdrawals, and after fourteen days it converts to a temporary injunction unless contested. It catches people constantly, usually over a trip booked months in advance. Read it the week you are served, not the week before the hearing.
From there the best-interest analysis becomes concrete. Georgetown ISD attendance zones, who has been driving to practice, and each household’s actual routine are the facts a Williamson County judge weighs. Documented facts, not adjectives.
Many Georgetown families we represent are also dealing with setting or collecting support, revisiting an existing order, or a hard-fought divorce; our Austin child custody practice can guide the whole matter.
Frequently asked questions
Can grandparents get custody or visitation in Texas?
Sometimes, and the two questions have different answers. A grandparent who has had actual care, control, and possession of the child for at least six months has standing to file for conservatorship under Tex. Fam. Code § 102.003(a)(9). Court-ordered access short of custody is narrower: § 153.433 requires that the grandparent’s own child be deceased, incarcerated, incompetent, have had rights terminated, or not have possession, and the grandparent must still overcome the presumption that a fit parent acts in the child’s best interest. Strong facts win these. Hurt feelings do not.
Does joint managing conservatorship mean equal time?
No, and it is the most common misunderstanding in Texas family law. Joint conservatorship allocates rights and duties between the parents. The possession schedule is decided separately, and plenty of joint conservatorship orders pair with a standard weekend schedule. If equal time is your goal, it has to be argued for on its own terms.
Can we agree on a schedule instead of litigating?
Yes, and most families should. 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. It also fits the family better, because the people who know the family wrote it.
What does a Georgetown 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 Georgetown?
No. Our office is about thirty miles south on I-35, and we handle Georgetown consultations and case updates by phone and video whenever that is easier for you.
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.