USA – MASSACHUSETTS Law and Practice Contributed by: Mary H. Schmidt, Rachel A. Deering, Hannah R. Zukoff and Mariah G. Tappan, Verrill Dana, LLP
2.3.3 Age/Maturity of the Child Massachusetts courts have consistently held that the weight given to a child’s expressed preferences increases with age and maturity, although no exact age threshold has been established. For younger children, preferences are treated with significant cau - tion and are in no way a decisive factor in the court’s relocation analysis. The preferences of older children, particularly those in their teenage years, may carry greater weight in a court’s analysis. Importantly, at any age, it is the child’s best interests and not their stated preferences that remain the court’s chief concern. 2.3.4 Importance of Keeping Children Together Though not a controlling or decisive factor, Massa - chusetts courts may consider sibling relationships and the impact of keeping children together as one relevant factor in the context of a relocation case. In its findings, a court must make specific, evidence-based findings about the importance of any sibling relation - ship to a particular child’s wellbeing. Importantly, Mas - sachusetts courts have repeatedly enforced the prin - ciple that while a child’s relationship with other family members is valuable and deserves protection, those relationships should not be placed above the child’s relationship with their primary custodial parent. This sentiment played out in Abbott v Virusso , when the Trial Court denied a mother’s petition to relo - cate out of state with her son, where the son’s sister remained in Massachusetts with the father. ( Abbott v Virusso , 68 Mass.App.Ct. 326 (2007).) In making its decision, the Trial Court placed particular weight on the son’s close relationship with his sister and the impact a move would have on the sibling relation - ship. (Id.) The Appellate Court vacated the Trial Court’s denial, holding that the Trial Court placed improper weight on the sibling relationship above all other fac - tors. (Id.) The Appellate Court went on to hold that consideration of a sibling relationship may be one of the many factors to be considered when evaluating what is in a child’s best interests in the context of a relocation matter, but the court must make specific and detailed findings based on evidence within the record, apart from the child’s own statements of pref - erence to remain with their sibling(s). (Id.)
2.3.5 Loss of Contact Under Massachusetts law, the loss of contact between a child/children and the left-behind parent is a signifi - cant factor for the court’s consideration when evaluat - ing a petition for relocation, though it is not decisive or controlling. The impact that relocation would have on the relationship between a child and the left-behind parent must be evaluated collectively with all other relevant considerations related to the best interests of the child. Importantly, the weight given to the relationship between the child and the left-behind parent differs depending on the custodial arrangement. When par - ents have shared physical custody, the relationship between the child and the left-behind parent is likely to receive considerably greater weight than it would if the parent seeking removal had primary or sole physi - cal custody. In Yannas v Frondistou - Yannas , the court engaged in a two-step inquiry to evaluate a custodial parents request to relocate a child from Massachusetts. ( Yan- nas v Frondistou - Yannas , 395 Mass. 704 (1985).) As part of the first step, the parent seeking relocation must not only show a good and sincere reason for wanting to relocate but must also show the absence of any motive to deprive the noncustodial parent of reasonable visitation. (Id.) Critically, this mandatory inquiry highlights the court’s commitment to ensuring the relocating parent is not motivated by a desire to undercut the left-behind parent’s relationship with the child. (Id.) In Yannas , the court found removal to Greece to be in the children’s best interests despite the significant geographical distance it would create between the children and the left-behind parent. (Id.) To support the conclusion, the court cited that the move offered the mother and children financial, emotional and social advantages, the father travelled to Greece often, and the children could engage in extended visits to the United States annually. (Id.) One of the most important factors in assessing the weight of a child’s diminished contact with the left- behind parent is whether the proposed alternative par - enting schedule is reasonable, practical, and allows
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