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Child Custody Child Support. Alimony Divorce and Property. Market Your Law Firm. Lawyer Directory. Call us at 1 Although the law no longer presumes mothers are better parents, the best interests of the child often dictate that children stay with mom.
Who Is the Primary Caregiver? Parent-Child Bond Another factor courts use in making custody determination is the relationship between parent and child. Relationship With the Other Parent In many states, the law presumes that children will be best served by having a meaningful relationship with both parents. Getting Legal Help A father wishing to get joint or primary custody of his child following a divorce action should consult an experienced family law attorney.
Talk to a Lawyer Need a lawyer? Start here. Practice Area Please select Zip Code. How it Works Briefly tell us about your case Provide your contact information Choose attorneys to contact you. Considering Divorce? Child custody is one of the most sensitive and life-altering aspects of a divorce.
Make sure you have an experienced child custody attorney in Massachusetts such as Jay Davis on your side who has extensive experience in this area of family law. Book your consultation with Jay now by calling at The court will decide child custody and visitation matters solely based on the needs and welfare of the child. In other words, family law judges in the state have substantial discretion on this account while deciding child custody.
When you are considering a divorce or have already initiated the divorce proceedings in Massachusetts, you should be aware of your parental rights as a father with regard to custody and visitation.
In nearly every state, one of the main priorities for judges is to maintain stability for the child when deciding custody matters. This strong preference to maintain the status quo can make it difficult—but not impossible—for parents to modify existing custody orders; judges understand that changing family circumstances might require updating the current orders.
To modify custody or visitation , most states require the requesting parent to demonstrate that there's been a substantial change in circumstances. Additionally, the parent must also show that the current order no longer serves the child's best interests.
If the court agrees to review the case, the judge will review the changed circumstances in light of the same best interest standards that are listed above. Courts frequently award at least partial custody to both parents, called " joint custody. In some states, like New Mexico , the law requires courts to award joint custody, except where joint custody would compromise the children's best interests or a parent's safety.
Many other states expressly allow courts to order joint custody, even if one parent objects to such an arrangement. In the past, many states provided that the court should order the custody of young children five and under to the mother.
Today, however, most states and courts have either rejected this preference entirely or relegated it to tiebreakers' role if two equally fit parents request custody of their preschool children. Today, no state requires that a judge award a child to the mother without regard to both parents' fitness. Instead, most states now require the court to determine custody based solely on what's in the children's best interests, without regard to the parent's gender. If you are a father and want to ask the court for physical custody, do not let gender stereotypes stop you.
If both you and the mother work full-time, and the kids have after-school care, you might be on equal footing when it comes to who is better situated to have physical custody. In fact, if you have more flexible hours than the mother, you might have an advantage. In any event, the judge will look at what's best for the children. So if you think that you should have primary custody and that you can persuade the judge that it's in the kids' best interests, you should go ahead and ask for custody.
If you present yourself as willing and able to parent, it will go a long way toward eliminating any lingering prejudice against you as a father. As it turns out, many divorcing parents will work together to determine what's best for the child after they separate or divorce. For example, some couples might agree that a mother will have custody and that the father will have reasonable visitation because the mother has more time, a greater inclination, or a better understanding of the child's daily needs.
Judges usually approve any custody agreements entered into by divorcing parents unless they are not in the best interests of the child. It can. Even when a parent leaves to avoid a dangerous or highly unpleasant situation such as domestic violence , if the parent hopes to have physical custody later, it's unwise to leave the child behind without a firm, written agreement between the parents stating that the arrangement is temporary.
Otherwise, the court might interpret the parent's move as a message to the court that the other parent is better suited to have permanent physical custody of the child. Also, if the children stay in the home where the parents lived as a family, continue in the same school, and participate in their usual activities after a parent moves out, a judge might be reluctant to change physical custody.
Any further change might be viewed by the court as an unnecessary disruption in the children's routines. Suppose a parent must leave the familial home but wants to be the children's primary physical custodian. If the parents don't have an agreement that the move is temporary and won't affect permanent custody, the moving parent should take the children along and, as quickly as possible, file a motion request in family court for temporary custody and child support orders.
If the parent who moves out doesn't file quickly, the other parent might go to court first and allege that the children were wrongfully taken. Family law judges frown on a parent who removes the children from home without seeking the court's recognition. A judge might order that the parent return the children to the family home, pending future proceedings to determine physical custody. Generally, the court will consider a parent's sexual orientation only if it negatively impacts the child.
For example, suppose a child's parent enters into an abusive relationship with a same-sex partner, causing the child to experience domestic violence that requires frequent moves between homes, hospitalizations, or police intervention.
In that case, the court is less likely to award custody to that parent. Instead, the court will allocate parental responsibility to the other parent if the judge finds that parent to be "fit" under the law. However, lesbian, gay, or transgender parents might still experience discrimination from judges who can't set aside their own prejudices when evaluating what's in a child's best interests.
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