Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts

Re: Child custody/separation

By leaving the home you are opening the door to allow him to request physical custody and child support from you. I would not advise that you continue to do this unless you are afraid of physical harm. Parenting plans can be negotiated but I would wait until it is reduced to writing and adopted as a judgment or order of the Court.

Re: Child custody/separation

By leaving the home you are opening the door to allow him to request physical custody and child support from you. I would not advise that you continue to do this unless you are afraid of physical harm. Parenting plans can be negotiated but I would wait until it is reduced to writing and adopted as a judgment or order of the Court.

Re: Child custody/separation

No custody arrangement that is agreed upon and works shows that you are an unfit mother.

This is a shared physical custody plan, one which should in theory show that you are both custodial. If it is written that way, clearly stating that you share legal custody as well, and is signed by both parties, there is no reason that you should be deemed "unfit."

I hasten to note that this plan may not work in the longer term. When husband gets a live-in girlfriend or remarries, the new partner will have qualms about you having a key and access to the house. She might not like having to leave every other weekend (or might view it as a chance to get away to a nice hotel). When you get a husband or live-in boyfriend, there will be objections to -him- being in the house in which current husband sleeps. These are natural expectations of human nature, especially if you are both young enough to have young children who would benefit from both of you staying so closely involved.

I laud any attempt to find a civil and reasonable way to get the case resolved. However, you need to look beyond the next year or two in your drafting and planning.