Boston Mothers Rights Lawyer

If the other party has more economic resources than you during a family dispute, it might feel like the odds are against you. It could be especially concerning if a dispute involves mother’s rights, child custody or child support issues.

Therefore, if you need help with a divorce, child custody issue, or child support as a mother, you need an experienced family law attorney on your side. A Boston mother’s rights lawyer could use their skills to resolve any disagreements and ensure that a court puts your children’s wellbeing first when making any decisions.

Rights of Unmarried Mothers

When parents are divorcing, the law assumes that both parents should have equal parenting time if possible. However, the law favors the mother in a situation where the parents were never married.

By default, the mother will have sole physical and legal custody of a child born outside of marriage. She could seek child support through the courts if the father has acknowledged paternity. If not, she could demand an Order of Parentage that would entitle her to child support from a man proven to be the father of her child.

A father who proves his paternity could seek custody and visitation rights through the courts. If the mother objects to the father having these rights, an attorney in Boston could help her establish that the father’s involvement does not serve a child’s best interests.

Mother’s Rights and Divorce

In a divorce, the law does not favor either parent regarding children of the marriage. Physical custody, which relates to where the child lives most of the time, and legal custody, which indicates who makes decisions regarding the child, could be split between parents. A Boston lawyer can advocate for a custody arrangement the mother believes is right for the children.

Massachusetts General Laws c.208 §31 prefers awarding joint legal custody to divorcing parents. Before the court decides, parents are granted joint legal custody by default. Parents with this custody arrangement must resolve issues concerning the children’s religion, education, health care, and other important matters together. Similarly, courts typically choose to split parenting time with the children as evenly as possible. However, a skilled Boston attorney could help challenge this to maximize the time that a mother can spend with a child.

Seeking Sole Custody as a Mother

Mothers could seek to limit a father’s contact with children if the circumstances merit it. While courts usually decide on equal custody when child safety is not an issue, a mother might be able to limit a father’s time with a child if they demonstrate that the father poses a threat to the child’s wellbeing. This is often due to a father abusing drugs or alcohol, associating with undesirable people, or being a neglectful or abusive parent.

If a mother has experienced domestic violence at the hands of a father, she could seek a protective order from a court. If a child witnessed an incident or if a father physically harmed a family member, the protective order might bar the father from having any more contact with the mother or children.

In other circumstances, a mother could push for all visitation with a father to be supervised. The supervisor could be a grandparent, another relative, a visitation center, or someone that a court appoints to ensure the children’s safety and the father’s appropriate behavior during visits. A lawyer in Boston could fight to ensure a child’s safety and a mother’s rights in any situation involving domestic violence or child abuse.

Work With a Boston Mother’s Rights Attorney

If you are divorcing or trying to get support from your child’s father, you need guidance from a legal team committed to helping mothers and children in similar situations.

A Boston mother’s rights lawyer understands the pressures you are under as you try to do what is best for your children. Call today to speak with a compassionate legal professional.