Consider the following hypotheticals involving parents, children, and the lifestyle of the parents:
1. A Massachusetts judge must decide whether a parent with a history of drug addiction should have custody over the parent’s two children.
2. One parent, named Justin, is a collector of vintage and modern guns, knives, and other weapons. The other parent owns no guns in her household.
3. A mother named Jessica maintains an unhealthy lifestyle, often consuming highly processed foods. She feeds the food to her three children. The medical records of the children reveal that two of the three children are obese. The father of the children wants custody of the children. He argues that he has a balanced relationship with food and exercise and states that he would feed the children nutritious fruit, vegetables, and legumes.
4. Dennis is a father of two boys and wants custody of his sons. He goes out to nightclubs often and occasionally invites female guests overnight. The mother of the two boys is Diane. She dates on occasion, but never brings a partner around her sons, nor does she return home late in the evening.
5. Derek enjoys smoking marijuana for recreational purposes. His passion for cannabis consumes much of his time. He argues that he would never smoke in front of his daughters. The mother of the daughters is Josie. She struggles with an addiction to opiate pills, but is in recovery.
6. Nina and Lindsay are both in their twenties and both appear to be physically in shape. Nina exercises about 4 times per week in the morning when she wakes up at 5:00am. Lindsay never exercises – she appears fit. The former partners each want custody of the parties’ son.
7. Jack likes to hunt and James does not. Jack hunts animals for sport; he has previously brought their son Anton with him to measure the weight of dead animals. Jack takes a photograph of Anton posing with a dead animal Jack hunted. James is outraged that Anton is exposed to dead animals and that Jack allowed Anton to pose with the dead animal.
Considerations:
When a Massachusetts Probate & Family court judge is tasked with the difficult decision of awarding custody to a parent or parents, the judge may consider several factors. A Massachusetts justice may evaluate the unfitness of a parent. A judge may consider whether either parent has a history of abuse or violence. A judge could also determine the child’s health needs and requirements, the residence of the child’s siblings or other relatives, the child’s preference, each parent’s health, and the lifestyle of the parents, including drug and alcohol addiction.
Even if a child has been living with one parent for some time, the lifestyle of the parents may affect the judge’s decision in awarding custody. Massachusetts judges want to ensure that the needs of children are adequately met under that the care of their parents. Judges want to ensure the best interests of a child. If 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.
What about for those examples?
In the examples above, a judge may determine that a parent with a history of drug addiction may or may not be an acceptable option for legal or physical custody, given the lifestyle involved with drug addiction and recovery. With regard to the issue of weapons in a home, a judge may determine that if the items affect the lifestyle of a parent then it may be in the best interest of the child to reside with the parent who does not own guns. A judge may determine that children should be with parents who maintain healthy lifestyles. This may extend to food, exercise, and mental fitness.
A judge may determine that a nightclub and party lifestyle or a lifestyle heavily involved in the use of any substance, whether legal or otherwise, may not be in the best interest of children. Finally, a judge may determine that a parent who hunts for sport and takes photographs of children is not the type of lifestyle practice that will benefit children in the future, especially because children who witness the abuse of animals become immune to violence and could then harm people in the future. In all of these examples, the lifestyle of the parents will be a factor considered by the court when making custody decisions.
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