How do the stages of child development impact the custody order?
Whether a child is an infant, an eight-year-old, or a teenager, the court will establish custody orders with the “best interest of the [dependent] child” as the priority and focus. [1]This standard, known as “best interests of the child” standard, is established by courts to make decisions for the child’s betterment, from the child’s perspective. Id.
Rights of the parents:
In Massachusetts, the rights of the parents to the custody of their minor children are generally equal.[2] Courts are concerned with the happiness and welfare of the child, including understanding the ways in which the child’s present or past living conditions affect his or her physical, mental, moral, or emotional health. Id. If custody of a child is contested, the parties should submit a custody implementation plan. This sets forth the details of their shared custody including, but not limited to, the child’s education, the child’s health care, the parental procedure to resolve disputes between the parties, the parties’ visitation periods, and more. Id. The court may accept the plan established by the parties, modify it, or reject it completely.
Although it is possible that one parent may “offer some extraordinary advantage to the child that makes [a change in the child’s living arrangement] worth the risk,” Massachusetts courts have held that “if the child has been living with one parent for some time, the child’s needs are being adequately met under that parent’s care, and that parent is capable of continuing to care for the child, it is not in the child’s best interests to disrupt that successful arrangement.”[3] If, however, a court determines that it is in the best interest of the child to re-arrange the child’s legal and physical custody, a judge may do so.
Each case is different:
As a result, the stages of a child’s development are often varied and complex. No two children are alike; therefore, judges will look to the facts of each case to determine the best interest of the child. This could include the theoretical and actual milestones of a child’s development. Additionally, it could be how each parent could impact that child’s growth, happiness, development, and welfare.
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[1] Mass. Gen. Laws. ch. 208 § 28
[2] Mass. Gen. Laws. ch. 208 § 31
[3] In re Custody of Kali, 439 Mass. 834, 844 (2003)