MCFM President's Letter: The Genius of Family

On September 13, as most of you know, MCFM marked an important milestone – our 30th anniversary.  We honored the occasion with an event at the Endicott House in Dedham.  Thanks to the organizers (in alphabetical order – Lynn Cooper, Barbara Kellman, Diane Spears, Laurie Udell, and Fran Whyman,) it was a well-attended and unqualified…

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Appeals Court Overturns Joint Legal Custody Award

It’s not often that the Appeals Court overturns a Probate Court judgment of joint legal custody, which is why this case caught my attention.  The Probate judge acknowledged that there was great conflict between the parties but found they “were not totally incapable of maintaining a cooperative relationship.”  The conflict, according to the judge, was…

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Fleshing Out Best Interest Standard

A recent SJC opinion made headlines by finding that a California registered domestic partnership was equivalent to a marriage, and that the biological mother and her “partner” were both parents to the child born during their partnership through in vitro fertilization.  The case, too, contains an excellent review of the standards of primary physical custody…

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