Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts

Re: best interests standard

On my site, there is a grandparent's complaint: http://falseallegations.com/granpama.htm

"See also the excerpt below from Mass. Lawyers Weekly: This summer, the supreme Judicial Court acknowledged that some non-parents are so like parents from the child's standpoint that they constitute "de facto" parents. The Court gave visitation to an aunt who had been the longtime legal guardian of a 13-year-old girl was entitled to visitation rights after custody was

awarded to the girl's father, the lesbian partner of a child's biological mother, a biological mother after she had given up her child for adoption.

"The judges will look to see if a child should have a relationship with an adult and then find the tie that binds it."

"The courts may look to factors including whether the adult participates in the child's life as a member of the family, lives with the child with the consent of the legal parent, actively shares care-taking duties and addresses the child's developmental, emotional, social and disciplinary needs.

". . . in every state, including Massachusetts, there is a statute providing for grandparent visitation.

"`A de facto parent is a nonbiological parent

who provides for all of the needs of a child. . .

. That could include finances, but in our

particular case, it involved providing for the

educational, developmental, religious, social

and emotional needs of the child.'

"The SJC also considered factors such as whether

the adult shapes the child's daily routine,

directs the child on a day-to-day basis,

addresses the child's developmental needs,

disciplines the child, provides for education

and medical care and serves as a moral guide."

"