Massachusetts Divorce Law...

Massachusetts Law - Why Courts in Massachusetts Tend To Award Sole Legal Custody

Under the law in Massachusetts, there is no presumption either in favor of, or against, shared legal or physical custody.

However, courts tend to award sole physical custody, because they have found that when physical custody is joint:

• The couple tends to have continuing disputes and end up back in court.
• The children do not seem to do as well. They miss the stability of a single residence.
• The higher-income parent tends not to pay the child support awarded, to the detriment of the lower-income parent and the child.

Exception: The courts in Massachusetts will consider shared physical custody when:

• The spouses are very amicable; and
• The spouses live very close to each other.

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