Custody in Georgetown is conservatorship and possession — not a slogan.

Texas does not use the word “custody” in the Family Code. The court decides conservatorship (who makes the decisions) and possession and access (the schedule). If you walk into a Williamson County courtroom talking only about “full custody,” you are using a phrase the order will not even contain. Fowler Legal, PLLC handles those cases from Georgetown. Natalie N. Fowler will translate what you want into what a judge can actually sign.

The first meeting is a free 30-minute Zoom. In-person meetings in Georgetown are by appointment only. There is no public lobby. This is private family law. It is not a lecture about who the better parent is. The standard is the best interest of the child. Everything else is evidence. For the full practice-area overview, see Child Custody & Visitation.

Conservatorship: joint is the default, not equal time

In most Texas cases, both parents are appointed joint managing conservators. That means both keep rights and duties. It does not mean a 50/50 calendar. One parent is usually given the exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence. The other parent receives a possession schedule and keeps rights to information and, often, to be involved in major decisions about school and medical care.

Sole managing conservatorship is less common. Courts use it when joint decision-making is not in the child’s best interest — typically family violence, serious substance abuse, neglect, or a parent who cannot or will not participate. If you are asking for sole conservatorship, or defending against it, the evidence has to be specific. A messy co-parenting relationship is not, by itself, sole conservatorship.

Geographic restrictions — keeping the child’s primary residence in Williamson County, or in a defined set of counties — are often the real fight hiding inside “custody.” If one parent wants to move and the other wants the child to stay in Georgetown or Round Rock schools, that is a conservatorship issue, not a moving-truck issue.

Possession: the Standard Possession Order is a starting point

For parents who live within 100 miles of each other, the Standard Possession Order typically gives the non-primary parent the first, third, and fifth weekends, a Thursday period, alternating holidays, and extended summer possession. An expanded standard order adds Thursday overnights. Parents can agree to something that fits the actual family. Courts can order something different when the facts support it.

Infants, nursing schedules, shift work, and long drives between Marble Falls and Georgetown are examples of facts that may not match a stock SPO. The order should match the child’s life, not a form you downloaded. If the other parent will not follow even a clear order, that is an enforcement problem, not a reason to keep living with a broken schedule.

Possession is also where people accidentally build a bad record. Missed pickups, late returns, and arguments in the driveway become the exhibit list. Follow the order you have while you fight for the order you want.

Best interest is not a vibe

Every custody decision in Texas is supposed to serve the best interest of the child. Judges do not guess. They work from a set of factors most often associated with Holley v. Adams: the child’s desires; physical and emotional needs now and later; danger to the child; each parent’s abilities; programs available to help; plans for the child; stability of the home; and acts or omissions that show the parent-child relationship is not what it should be. No single factor wins. Family violence is weighted heavily. There is a rebuttable presumption against appointing a parent who has engaged in family violence as a joint managing conservator.

A child who is 12 or older may file a written preference about the primary residence. The judge is not required to follow it. Younger children are not put on the stand to pick a parent. If you want the longer explanation of how those factors actually play in court, that is the resource at best interest of the child in Texas custody.

What helps in a Georgetown case is ordinary and documented: school, medical appointments, a stable home, a parent who does not use the child as a messenger, and compliance with temporary orders. What hurts is easy to do when you are angry: social media, coaching the child, withholding possession, or turning a CPS report into a custody tactic. If DFPS is already involved, say so on the first call. That is a different docket and a different set of risks — see CPS Defense.

Relocation, modifications, and the order you already have

If the parent with the right to designate residence wants to leave the restricted area — across Texas or out of state — you are in a modification or enforcement fight, not a U-Haul argument. If your order no longer matches a job, a new school, or a child’s needs, Texas allows modification when there has been a material and substantial change and the change is in the child’s best interest. If the other parent simply will not comply, enforcement (including contempt) is how the court makes the order real.

Do not treat an old decree as optional because “we have been doing something else.” Informal schedules can be evidence. They are not a substitute for a signed order.

Williamson County, from Georgetown

Natalie represents parents in Williamson County courts in Georgetown and in Travis, Bell, Burnet, and Lampasas Counties. Round Rock, Cedar Park, and Leander are in the service area; the filing county depends on the case. Austin is Travis County service only — Fowler Legal, PLLC does not have an Austin office. Temple and Killeen are Bell County. Marble Falls is Burnet County. Lampasas, Kempner, and Lometa are Lampasas County.

Call (512) 765-5811, email fowlerlegal@gmail.com, or use the contact form. Free 30-minute Zoom with Natalie. In-person in Georgetown by appointment only. Bring the current order if you have one, any temporary orders, and a clear picture of the schedule you actually use — not the schedule you wish you had. We will talk about conservatorship, possession, and best interest in that order, because that is the order the decree uses.

Serious legal help. Without the judgment.

Common questions

Does joint managing conservatorship mean 50/50 time?

No. It means both parents share rights and duties. One parent usually designates the primary residence. Possession is a separate question.

Will the judge ask my child where they want to live?

A child 12 or older may file a written preference. The judge is not bound by it. Younger children are generally not asked to testify as if they were choosing sides.

Can I move out of Williamson County with the children?

Only if the order allows it or a court changes it. Check the geographic restriction before you lease a house. Moving first and asking later is how people lose primary.

Talk with Natalie

If you need conservatorship or possession orders in Georgetown — or the ones you have no longer work — call Fowler Legal, PLLC at (512) 765-5811 or request a free 30-minute Zoom consultation. In-person by appointment only. Learn more about Natalie N. Fowler. When custody is inside a divorce, see Divorce & Separation.