Let Our Experience Be Your Guide

Hingham, Massachusetts Child Custody Lawyers

Divorce often has an outsize impact on children. Younger kids often don’t understand why their parents can no longer live together. Children sometimes feel guilty, believing that they caused the parental break-up. They can be pawns in fights between their parents. Divorce is stressful for everyone involved, but it is particularly confusing and challenging for children who don’t really understand what is going on. 

MA Attorneys on Your Side—and Your Kids’—in Child Custody Disputes

When parents fight about child custody and parenting time, they are putting the children in the middle. In their anger and hurt, they sometimes forget about the needs of their children, focusing instead on their own problems. When child custody decisions become battlegrounds, parents need help to protect themselves and their children. At Coastal Divorce and Family Law, LLC, our experienced and compassionate attorneys help clients develop the best outcome for the kids. Call our Hingham child custody lawyers at 781-749-7483 for a free initial consultation. You may also contact us online.

Things You Should Know About Child Custody in Massachusetts

MA child custody law is not always straightforward. Before, during and after divorce, parents should be aware of issues such as:

• There are two kinds of custody, legal and physical. Legal custody refers to the ability to make decisions for the child about religion, schooling, and medical care, among other matters. Physical custody determines where a child lives and the schedule for parental interaction (often called “parenting time” or “visitation”). Parents must have a plan for both types of custody. 
• If parents cannot agree on a custody and visitation plan, the court will decide for them. It uses the standard “best interests of the child” to determine where a child lives, a parenting time schedule, and who makes important decisions in the child’s life. 
• Even if parents agree on a custody plan, the court must approve it. In rare cases, the court may decide that the parental plan is not in the best interests of the child and adjust it. 
• When reviewing a proposed child custody plan or ruling on custody, the court will look at factors such as where the child currently lives, where both parents live, parental work schedules, substance abuse by either parent, parental moral and physical ability to care for a child, where the child attends school, and the wishes of an older child. 
• Mothers do not automatically receive physical custody. 
• In disputed child custody cases, the court may investigate whether one parent has tried to turn a child against the other parent. Such actions are known as parental alienation.
• Child custody and visitation can be modified by the court if circumstances change, or if one parent relocates. 

Our child custody attorneys will review these and other factors with you to develop a child custody and parenting plan that meets your goals, is fair, and is acceptable to the court. 

Contact a Hingham, MA Family Law Attorney to Learn About Your Child Custody and Parenting Plan Options

If you are contemplating divorce and have minor children, it is important to understand and implement the best child custody options, so your kids CAN have the best life possible after your divorce. At Coastal Divorce and Family Law, LLC, our attorneys spend the time necessary to advise you about the possibilities for child custody and visitation in Massachusetts. Call 781-556-5216to schedule a free initial consultation or contact us online.