Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts
Child Abandonment
I am a divorced father of 2 kids ages of 14 and 9. My ex-wife has had physical legal custody since our divorce in 2001. This week my ex has announced to her mother that she will relinquish custody of my kids. My kids had been living with their grandmother and their mom since 2001 but their mother has abandoned her kids gradually for the last 6 months to a point of no longer living there at all since June. I learned about my ex-wife's custody wishes from her mother yesterday. Though I see my kids thru scheduled visits, getting physical custody of them is not a viable option mostly due to the space of our home owned by my wife and our work schedule & her school schedule. After I agreed to the situation yesterday she filed or will be filing a 51A child abuse case against her for abandonment. My ex wife's mother has spoken to a social worker for DSS last week and they already went over the issues and requirements. My kids would be put in temporary foster care under their grandmother's care. Currently DOR/CSE deducts child support from my paychecks and mails the ammt. to my ex. Based on the information here;Do I still have to pay some kind of child support once the kids are in foster care with their grandmother? Thank you
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Child Abandonment
Yes, you will still have to pay support! The state is not adopting your children, they are simply taking care of them. Unless, your children are adopted, you still have the obligation to pay child support. Good luck! Sincerely, Maria Murber
Re: Child Abandonment
In addition, I strongly suggest that you contact the DSS to ascertain your rights as well as, your obligation to your children. Good luck! Sincerely, Maria Murber
Re: Child Abandonment
The short answer is, yes, you have to pay child support until the children are emancipated (married, supporting themselves or turn 18) or adopted by someone else.
However, in my experience, avoiding entanglement with DSS is always the wisest move. If the grandmother is willing and you and your ex can agree, you can have the grandmother appointed guardian of the children, which will entitle her to the child support and give her the legal authority to handle their education, health and other matters. You would still be allowed to visit, of course, although grandma could legally stop the visits if she found they were harmful to the children. (DSS could stop the visits also, could remove the children from grandma's, and could put the children up for adoption, going to court to dispense with your consent and the consent of the mother.)
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