Williamson County, TX · Free Consultation
Round Rock, 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 the one thing in a family case that nobody is willing to trade away, and that is exactly why it goes badly when it is handled by reflex. A Round Rock child custody lawyer is worth having for the unglamorous part: building a schedule that survives contact with real life, and knowing when a fight is worth having. Shane M. Boasberg has been licensed in Texas since 2003 and handles every one of these himself.
Round Rock custody cases often involve two working parents juggling Round Rock ISD schedules and I-35 commutes, which makes a workable, realistic parenting plan more important than a courtroom fight. We build schedules that actually fit how your family lives.
Where a Round Rock custody case is filed
In Texas the case is called a suit affecting the parent-child relationship, and it is filed where the child lives. Under Tex. Fam. Code § 103.001, venue belongs to the county that has been the child’s residence for the last six months. For a Round Rock family that means the Williamson County District Clerk at the Justice Center in Georgetown.
The six-month rule is not a formality. If one parent moved the children to another state recently, Tex. Fam. Code § 152.201 decides which state has jurisdiction at all, and that question gets answered before anyone argues about a schedule. Getting it wrong costs months.
Two separate questions Texas keeps separate
Texas does not use the word custody in its statutes, and the distinction it draws instead is the one that decides most cases.
Conservatorship is decision-making: who chooses the school, who consents to medical treatment, and who determines the child’s primary residence. Possession and access is the calendar. A case can come out lopsided on one and even on the other, and parents often argue for weeks about the wrong one.
The standard, and the presumption underneath it
Every decision runs through one test. Tex. Fam. Code § 153.002 makes the best interest of the child the primary consideration in any order concerning conservatorship, possession, and access. Judges weigh the child’s needs, each parent’s stability, and who has actually been doing the day-to-day parenting.
Underneath that sits a presumption. Under § 153.131, a parent is to be appointed managing conservator unless the court finds that appointment would significantly impair the child’s physical health or emotional development, and § 153.134 sets out how joint managing conservatorship is structured when it is ordered. The presumption is rebuttable, and § 153.004 is the most common way it gets rebutted: a documented history of family violence changes the analysis and can bar joint conservatorship outright.
What the schedule usually looks like
Most orders start from the Standard Possession Order in Tex. Fam. Code § 153.312 and adjust from there. If both parents live within fifty miles of each other, § 153.3171 lets the non-primary parent elect the expanded standard order, which stretches the alternating weekend from Friday pickup at school through Monday morning drop-off and adds a Thursday overnight. For most Round Rock and Georgetown families that fifty-mile radius is easily met, and the election is worth understanding before it is waived.
One more provision surprises parents. Under § 153.009, a judge must interview a child twelve or older in chambers on the request of a party about the child’s wishes as to primary residence. Must, not may. The child does not decide, and the judge is not bound by what is said, but the conversation happens.
Custody and support are decided together
The possession 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 Round Rock
Our office is about 20 miles south in downtown Austin, a 25-to-35-minute drive down I-35. We handle most Round Rock custody consultations and check-ins by phone and video so they fit around work and the kids’ schedules.
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 you 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.
How custody cases work in Williamson County
Round Rock custody cases are heard by the Williamson County District and County Courts at the Justice Center in Georgetown — and the county’s standing order applies automatically the moment a divorce or original custody suit is filed. From day one, neither parent may remove the children from Texas, pull them out of their current school, hide records, or drain accounts; after 14 days the order converts to a temporary injunction unless contested.
The standing order catches people who did not know it existed. A parent who books a summer trip out of state, or who enrolls a child somewhere new because the move was already planned, can find themselves explaining it at the temporary orders hearing. Read it the week you are served, not the week before the hearing.
After that, the best-interest analysis becomes very concrete. Round Rock ISD attendance zones, who has been driving to practice, and each parent’s actual commute along I-35 or US-79 are the facts a Williamson County judge weighs. A schedule that requires a parent to cross Round Rock at 5:15 on a weekday is not a schedule; it is a future enforcement case.
Family matters in Round Rock 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 Austin child custody attorneys.
Frequently asked questions
Does Texas favor mothers?
No, and the statute is explicit about it. 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. Both parents start on equal footing. What actually moves a judge is the record of who has been doing the parenting, and that is a question of evidence rather than gender.
My child is thirteen and wants to live with me. Does that decide it?
No, but it is heard. Under Tex. Fam. Code § 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 is not bound by the answer and weighs it alongside everything else. Coaching a child before that interview is the single most reliable way to damage your own case.
Can we agree on a schedule without going to court?
Yes, and most families do. An agreed parenting plan submitted to the court and signed by the judge carries the same force as one decided after a hearing, and it costs a fraction as much. It also produces schedules that actually fit the family, because the people who know the family wrote them. We push for that outcome whenever the other side is negotiating in good faith.
What does a Round Rock child custody lawyer cost?
Family cases are billed hourly against a retainer, not on contingency. What drives the total is conflict, 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. We put the rate and the retainer in writing before you commit, and we will tell you when a fight is not worth what it costs.
Do I have to travel to Austin from Round Rock?
No. Our office is about twenty miles south on I-35, and we handle Round Rock consultations and case updates by phone and video so they fit around work and the children’s schedules.
Custody cases are 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.