When Distance Divides: How Massachusetts Courts Structure Parenting Schedules After a Parent Relocates Out of State
Creative problem-solving is required when separated parents live in different states. The parenting schedule that once was in place when both parents lived twenty minutes apart is no longer workable. Luckily, Massachusetts courts have developed a substantial body of law addressing both the threshold question of whether a parent may relocate with a child and the practical question of how parenting time should be structured once that distance becomes a reality.
The Law That Governs Whether a Child Can Leave Massachusetts at All
Before a discussion of long-distance parenting schedules can ensue, the threshold question must be answered: does the relocating parent have the legal right to take the child out of Massachusetts in the first place? Under Massachusetts General Laws chapter 208, section 30: A minor child of divorced parents who is a native of or has resided five years within Massachusetts and whose custody and maintenance is the jurisdiction of a probate court shall not, if of suitable age to signify their consent, be removed out of Massachusetts without giving consent, or, if under that age, without the consent of both parents, unless the court orders otherwise.
The Real Advantage Standard and What It Requires
When parents cannot agree on removal and the relocation parent has sole or primary physical custody, the court evaluates whether the parent seeking relocation has demonstrated a genuine good-faith reason for the move – what the courts call a “real advantage.” Sufficient reasons to remove the child have included a sincere desire to join a new spouse in another state, economic opportunities, proximity to extended family, and pursuit of educational advancement.
The “real advantage” framework does not apply when parties have shared physical custody. Instead, the court applies the pure best interest of the child standard. This standard is a more demanding inquiry because the court must assess whether removal is in the child’s best interests when weighed against all circumstances.
How Courts Construct Long-Distance Parenting Schedules
Once removal is permitted, whether by agreement or court order, the parenting schedule must be rebuilt from the ground up to reflect the new geographic reality. Massachusetts courts typically approach this restriction by concentrating parenting time into longer, less frequent blocks of time.
In practice, this typically means that one parent receives extended parenting time during school vacations, while the other has the child while they’re in school. Holidays can be divided on a rotating or fixed basis. Typically, the child’s school schedule becomes the organizing framework around which all other scheduling decisions are made.
When distance is substantial, such as a move across the country, the schedule should account for the financial cost of travel, the physical and emotional toll that frequent long-distance travel places on a child, and the disruption to the child’s school attendance and extracurricular life.
Allocating the Costs and Logistics of Long-Distance Parenting Time
Transportation costs and logistics are among the most contentious practical issues in long-distance parenting arrangements. Massachusetts courts have authority to allocate travel costs between the parents, and the financial circumstances of each parent are relevant to how that allocation is made.
The Role of Technology in Maintaining the Parent-Child Relationship
Massachusetts courts are aware that modern communication technology can supplement but not replace in-person parenting time. A parenting plan for a long-distance arrangement may include specific provisions for regular electronic communication, including agreed-upon times and platforms.
When Circumstances Change After Removal Has Occurred
A long-distance parenting arrangement that works for a seven-year-old may become unworkable for a teenager. Either parent may seek modification of the parenting schedule through a complaint for modification filed in the court that retains jurisdiction, provided that a material and substantial change in circumstances can be demonstrated.
Building a Parenting Plan That Can Survive the Distance
The most effective long-distance parenting plans are those drafted with enough specificity to minimize future conflict while retaining enough flexibility to accommodate the inevitable changes in a child’s life. They address the school calendar, holiday rotation, travel logistics, cost allocation, electronic communication, and the process for resolving disputes when they arise. They anticipate the child’s changing needs as the child grows older and build mechanisms for revisiting the schedule at defined intervals. Most importantly, they are drafted with the recognition that the goal of any parenting arrangement remains what has always been under Massachusetts law: the best interests of the child.