Williamson County, TX · Free Consultation
Leander, 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
Custody is not one decision. It is a stack of them, and a few made in the first month will still be shaping your family in ten years. A Leander child custody lawyer earns his keep by telling you which ones those are and which can be revisited later. Shane M. Boasberg has been licensed in Texas since 2003 and works every one of these himself.
Leander’s rapid growth means many of our custody clients are younger Leander ISD families, sometimes with one parent commuting far down the 183A corridor — a reality that directly affects what a workable possession schedule looks like.
Where a Leander custody case is filed
Texas calls it a suit affecting the parent-child relationship, and Tex. Fam. Code § 103.001 places venue in the county where the child has lived for the past six months. For most Leander families that is the Williamson County District Clerk in Georgetown.
The county line runs through the city, though, so a southern Leander address can belong in Travis County. We confirm that before anything is filed. If one parent has already moved the children out of state, Tex. Fam. Code § 152.201 decides which state has jurisdiction at all, and that gets answered first.
Two questions every custody case decides
The first is conservatorship: which parent holds which rights and duties. Choosing schools. Consenting to medical treatment. Establishing where the child primarily lives. The second is possession and access, which is the calendar.
Texas presumes both parents will be joint managing conservators. 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 sets out how joint conservatorship is structured. But joint speaks to rights, not to equal time, and that misunderstanding causes more disappointment in these cases than anything else. A parent can be a joint managing conservator and still see the children on a standard weekend schedule.
The right that decides the most: primary residence
Section 153.134(b)(1) requires a joint conservatorship order to designate which parent has the exclusive right to determine the child’s primary residence, and it is the most consequential line in the order. That parent’s address sets the school. That parent is generally the one receiving support. And the possession schedule is built around that household.
It usually comes paired with a geographic restriction, most often confining the primary residence to Williamson County and contiguous counties. That restriction is what keeps one parent from relocating the children to Dallas or out of state, and it is worth negotiating carefully. In a fast-growing city like Leander, where families move for housing and jobs, we have seen restrictions written too tightly to survive an ordinary move across town and too loosely to stop a real one.
Every part of this is measured against Tex. Fam. Code § 153.002, which makes the best interest of the child the primary consideration, and § 153.004 changes the analysis where there is a documented history of family violence.
What the schedule usually looks like
Most orders begin from the Standard Possession Order in § 153.312 and adjust. When both parents live within fifty miles of each other, § 153.3171 lets the non-primary parent elect the expanded standard order, extending the weekend from Friday dismissal through Monday morning and adding a Thursday overnight. That election is on the table in most Leander cases and is frequently signed away by a parent who did not know it existed.
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 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 Leander
Our office is roughly 22 miles southeast in downtown Austin. Given the drive, we default to phone and video for Leander custody clients and meet in person when it genuinely helps.
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 Leander parents
These 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. From that day 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. Parents get caught by it constantly, usually over a trip booked months earlier. Read it the week you are served.
After that, the best-interest analysis gets very concrete. Leander ISD attendance zones, who has been driving to practice, and each parent’s actual commute down the 183A corridor are the facts that decide it. A schedule requiring a weekday pickup from a parent who is on the tollway at that hour is not a schedule; it is a future enforcement case.
Family matters in Leander rarely stay in one lane — we also help clients with setting or collecting support, revisiting an existing order, and a hard-fought divorce, and you can learn more from our child custody lawyers in Austin.
Frequently asked questions
Can I move out of the area with my children?
That depends on the geographic restriction in your order. Most Central Texas orders confine the child’s primary residence to a named county and those contiguous to it. Moving outside that boundary without agreement or a court order is a violation, not a gray area. If a move is genuinely necessary, the path is a modification filed before you go, not an apology afterward.
Who decides where my child goes to school?
The parent holding that right under the conservatorship order. Sometimes it is shared and requires agreement; more often it belongs to the parent with the exclusive right to determine the child’s primary residence, because the address sets the attendance zone. It is worth knowing which version your order uses before an enrollment deadline arrives.
Does joint managing conservatorship mean fifty-fifty time?
No, and this is the most common misunderstanding in Texas family law. Joint conservatorship allocates rights and duties. The possession schedule is decided separately, and many joint conservatorship orders pair with a standard weekend schedule rather than equal time. If equal time is what you want, it has to be argued for on its own.
What does a Leander 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 Leander?
No. Our office is about twenty-two miles southeast, and we handle Leander 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.