There are different custody arrangements in Massachusetts for different situations and they are generally defined by the law.

There can be “Sole Legal Custody”, which means that one parent has the right and responsibility to make major decisions regarding the child’s welfare; and that can include education, medical, emotional, religious issues.

Then there is “Shared Legal Custody”, which means that there is the continued responsibility of both parents to make the same major decisions regarding the child’s welfare.

With “Physical Custody”, there can be “Sole Physical Custody”, which means that the child resides with or under the supervision of one parent, and that can be subject to reasonable visitation by the other parent; unless the court determines that that visitation would not be in the best interest of the child.

Further, there is “Shared Physical Custody”, which means that a child has periods of residing with and being under the supervision of each parent and that it shared by the parents in such a way that assures that the child has frequent and continuous contact with both parents. A lot of the time that means close to a 50/50 division, but not always.

There is a question about if you have not been to court, who has custody of the children; and if the parents are married to each other, both parents share legal and physical custody of children unless and until a court order says otherwise.

However, if the parents are not married to each other, the mother has the Sole Legal and Physical custody unless and until the court orders otherwise. That is the case even if the father has formally acknowledged paternity.

The standards that the courts use to make custody decisions are “based on what is in the best interest of the child”. It can sound vague and unclear, but it is really a child center standard and it is based on the child’s needs and not based on what the parents wants or what the parents needs are. The courts make the decisions based on which parent they think can best meet the child’s needs.