Additional Information:

My husband and I are getting divorced. We’ve been amicable toward one another, he is even still living in our home in West Roxbury, so I was surprised when I received papers from his attorney stating negative things about me that my spouse denies.  We have a 7 year old daughter and we agreed to be respectful of one another as we go through the divorce for her sake. Does it seems like his lawyer is setting it up to ask for sole custody?   My lawyer doesn’t think so, but I wanted to get a second opinion.

ATTORNEY ANSWER:

I doubt that your husband’s attorney is seeking sole custody.  The negative statements in the court papers may merely reflect your husband’s attorney’s combative style.    It is important to know that “custody”, covers two legal concepts.  The first is “physical custody”, i.e., which parent does your daughter live with and when.  The second is “legal custody”, i.e., the authority to have a say in your daughter’s health, welfare and education.  It is becoming more rare for a court to award sole physical and legal custody to one parent.  Increasingly, parents are sharing both physical and legal custody.  Do you and your husband both plan to remain in Greater Boston after the divorce?  Will you both be in the same town or neighborhood?  Physical proximity can ease many of the physical custody issues that can arise post-divorce. 

The Dedham divorce lawyers at Walters, Shannon and Jensen provide legal representation regarding divorce and custody matters to individuals and families in Dedham, MA and the Greater Boston communities of : Brookline, Watertown, Waltham, Weston, Wellesley, Needham and West Roxbury.