The short answer is that you can choose to not go forward at any point with the Fair Hearing.  The best practice is to put that in writing to the Fair Hearing office and the local area office.   It usually does not have a negative impact on your case.  It can always depend on the […]

The purpose of supervised visitation is to provide a safe and neutral environment for children to have a relationship with parents and is often used in high conflict situations. Many courts take the position that it is better to make an error that protects the child as opposed to leaving a child at risk. Supervised parenting time may occur in […]

It is the same.  The court still calls “parenting time” “visitation” in many of the forms and in the law but most of the time Probate and Family Court have begun to use parenting time as a better term.  It can be confusing in terms of physical custody, legal custody or physical joint or legal […]

In Massachusetts the court can order the parenting time; particularly during COVID-19 but at any point it can be monitored at a visitation center. However, there is normally a cost associated with that as the visitation centers in Massachusetts usually charge for both in person visits at the center along with virtual or zoom visitation. […]

In Massachusetts a child needs to be 18 before they are the sole decider about where they would live.  In Massachusetts it’s what is in the child’s best interest. However, if the child is mature enough their input can be part of the decision-making process for what is in that child’s best interest.

There is a lot of confusion about what the waiting period is in a divorce and what it means after a binding divorce agreement (called a “separation agreement” in MA) is approved by the court. In Massachusetts, a spouse must wait for the “Nisi Period” of either 90 days or 120 days before the divorce […]

Both state and federal laws require if children are in and out of a home state placement be reviewed periodically and not less at least once every six (6) months.  Interested individuals can participate in a meeting; which focuses on the child’s placement and the appropriateness of that.  The individual’s participation and completions are what […]

It is important to ask them and to also if you have an attorney to talk to an attorney about what their different roles might be.   There are different social workers for different aspects of the case. There are screeners that will take the emergency information about the 51A over the phone.  There are investigators […]

There is physical neglect, where the child is not getting the basic needs met or not being properly supervised or kept safe.  An educational neglect, emotional neglect or medical neglect are examples as well.

The answer typically is that DCF is allowed to show up unannounced.  You do not need necessarily have to let them in unless there is a court order, an administrative hold or the police are present with them.  It would be important to talk to a lawyer prior to determining whether or not the advantages […]