Child Custody and Visitation Attorney in Hingham, Massachusetts

How do courts determine the “best interests of the child?”

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The best interests of the child is something that the court has to consider when making custody decisions, particularly legal and physical custody and parenting plans. It’s not very well-defined in Massachusetts law. It’s essentially what’s going to promote the child’s happiness and welfare. For example, if you’re looking at custody, they look at how is the living situation of each parent, how could it adversely affect the social, emotional, moral, health, and development of the child. There’s no one right answer I mean, and judges are put sometimes in a really tough position to make that determination of what is in the best interests of the child.

I mean we often hear at court – judges will tell the litigants in an effort to encourage them to come to an agreement about these issues – that we don’t know your family. We don’t know your children, you know? We will make the decision about what’s best for them, or what we think is best for them if we have to, but really, you two should be making that decision, and sometimes they can’t. And sometimes, you know, it does fall to the court to make that determination, but it’s a vague standard that can be informed by a number of factors.

It can be informed by the history of the roles that each party has played, you know, whether one has traditionally been the caretaker of the children. It can be informed by the health histories of the parties. Sometimes you have to have a guardian ad litem conduct an investigation and make a recommendation to the court as to what that person thinks might be – what that person thinks would be in the child’s best interest. It’s something that, you know, I think courts probably grapple with quite a bit because nobody has a crystal ball, and nobody knows for sure what is the right decision, but we as attorneys, we have to, you know, take our clients. We have to take the information they give us, and impart it to the judge, and make the best case for what our client feels is in the best interest of the child.

Hingham, MA family law attorney Kimberley Keyes explains the many factors that play into how a court determines the “best interests of the child.” She remarks that the “best interests of the child” is the guiding principle the court must consider when making custody determinations, particularly in matters involving legal custody, physical custody, and parenting plans. In Massachusetts, this standard is not clearly defined by statute. Instead, it is generally understood as whatever promotes the child’s overall happiness, welfare, and healthy development.

When evaluating custody, the court examines factors such as each parent’s living situation and how those circumstances may affect the child’s social, emotional, moral, and physical well-being. There is no single correct answer, and judges are often placed in the difficult position of deciding what arrangement serves the child’s best interests.

Judges frequently remind litigants that, while the court will make the decision if necessary, they do not personally know the family or the children. As a result, judges often encourage parents to reach their own agreement whenever possible. However, when parents cannot agree, the court steps in and applies this broad and flexible standard.

The determination is influenced by many factors, including the historical caregiving roles of each parent, the health of the parties, and, in some cases, the findings of a guardian ad litem who may be appointed to investigate and provide recommendations. Because no one can predict with certainty what arrangement will best serve the child in the long term, courts carefully weigh the evidence presented. Attorneys, in turn, play a critical role in gathering information from their clients and presenting a strong case to the court for why a particular outcome aligns with the child’s best interests.

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