How to modify child custody and parenting time in Massachusetts

Sources last checked 7 November 2026. Information only, not legal advice. This page rests on the text of Massachusetts General Laws chapter 208 sections 28, 28A, 31 and 31A, and chapter 209C section 10, as published by the Massachusetts General Court on malegislature.gov. Massachusetts statutes say “visitation” for what many parents call parenting time. Read what we could not confirm below.

Massachusetts divorce kit Child custody in Massachusetts Modifying child support and alimony in Massachusetts After your divorce: changing a support or custody order

The short version

After a divorce, section 28 lets the court modify its earlier judgment about the care and custody of the children, but only if it finds “a material and substantial change in the circumstances of the parties has occurred” and that “the judgment of modification is necessary in the best interests of the children”. That is two findings, not one: a real change, and a change in the order that the children need. For changing child support or alimony instead, see modifying child support and alimony in Massachusetts. If you were never married to the other parent, a different chapter applies; see what we could not confirm.

Who can ask, and what happens while the case is pending

Who, section 28. The request is a complaint after the divorce “filed by either parent or by a next friend on behalf of the children”, and it is made “after notice to both parents”.
Temporary orders, section 28A. While a modification case is pending, either party (or a next friend for the children) may move for temporary orders on care, custody and maintenance. Every such order must include specific findings of fact that show the “injury, harm or damage that might reasonably be expected to occur” if relief is not granted before judgment.
Without advance notice. A temporary care and custody order can be entered without advance notice only if the court finds “an emergency exists”. It then lasts “a period not to exceed five days”, with written notice to the other side of the reasons and of the hearing on continuing it.
Temporary shared legal custody, section 31. When an action is filed under section 28, the statute says that, absent emergency conditions, abuse or neglect, the parents have “temporary shared legal custody” until judgment on the merits. A judge may order temporary sole legal custody for one parent, but only on written findings that shared custody would not be in the child’s best interest. The statute adds that this creates no presumption of temporary shared physical custody.

How the court decides

Equal rights, welfare decides, section 31. In a custody order or judgment, the statute says the rights of the parents shall, “in the absence of misconduct, be held to be equal”, and “the happiness and welfare of the children shall determine their custody”. The court looks at whether the child’s “present or past living conditions adversely affect his physical, mental, moral or emotional health”.
The four kinds of custody. Section 31 defines sole and shared legal custody (major decisions about education, medical care and emotional, moral and religious development) and sole and shared physical custody (where the child lives). Shared physical custody must be arranged to assure the child “frequent and continued contact with both parents”.
No built-in preference. At the trial on the merits there is “no presumption either in favor of or against shared legal or physical custody”, except as section 31A provides for abuse.
Shared custody implementation plan. If custody is contested and either party seeks shared custody, the parties must submit a “shared custody implementation plan” at trial. It must cover details such as the child’s education and health care, how disputes will be resolved, and when the child is with each parent, including holidays and vacations. The court may accept a plan, change it, or reject it and award sole legal and physical custody to either parent.
Agreements. If the parents agree on custody, the court may enter an order in line with the agreement “unless specific findings are made by the court” that the order would not be in the children’s best interests.
Restraining orders. If the court orders shared legal or physical custody despite a current or prior chapter 209A restraining order against one parent, it must give written findings to support the shared order.
Support is separate. A shared custody order is not grounds to modify a support order “absent demonstrated economic impact” that is otherwise enough to warrant modification. See modifying child support and alimony in Massachusetts.
Records. A custody order does not remove the other parent’s “access to the academic, medical, hospital or other health records of the child”, with exceptions where a court has issued an order to vacate or restraint order, or where hiding an address is needed for safety.

When abuse is part of the case, section 31A

A factor against. In any temporary or permanent custody order the court must consider evidence of past or present abuse toward a parent or child as “a factor contrary to the best interest of the child”.
Presumption. If the court finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, that “a pattern or serious incident of abuse has occurred”, there is a rebuttable presumption that it is not in the child’s best interests to be placed in sole custody, shared legal custody or shared physical custody with the abusive parent. The presumption can be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence that the award is in the child’s best interests.
Protective orders alone. Issuing a chapter 209A order does not “in and of itself constitute a pattern or serious incident of abuse”. Ex parte orders cannot be used to show that a pattern or incident occurred, though the underlying facts can support a finding.
Written findings. If the court finds a pattern or serious incident of abuse, it must “within 90 days enter written findings of fact” on the effects of the abuse on the child.
Safe visitation. If it orders visitation with the abusive parent, the court must provide for the child’s safety and the other parent’s safety. Options include exchanges in a protected setting, “visitation supervised by an appropriate third party, visitation center or agency”, completion of “a certified batterer’s treatment program”, abstaining from alcohol and drugs, “prohibiting overnight visitation”, and a bond for return of the child.

Forms and filing

Court. Section 31A refers to the “probate and family court”. Ask that court’s register of probate which division handles your case.
Forms and fees. We could not confirm any statewide form, filing fee or fee waiver for a custody modification. See what we could not confirm.

What we could not confirm

Case law. We read no Massachusetts court decision, so we cannot say how judges apply “material and substantial”, how heavy the burden is, or how the standard differs where the change is only a schedule change.
Court forms, fees and procedure. The Massachusetts court system’s pages on mass.gov refused our automated tools, so we did not read any court form, instruction page, fee schedule or the Probate and Family Court rules. Ask the register of probate.
Parents who were never married. Chapter 209C governs custody of a child born outside a marriage. We read only section 10, which sets out how a court awards custody and repeats the abuse rules. We did not read its modification provisions, so we do not say whether the same two-part test applies.
Moving the child. We did not read the removal and relocation provisions of chapter 208 or the probate court’s rules on moving a child out of state.
Statute currency. We read the sections as published on malegislature.gov on 7 November 2026. We did not compare them with recent session laws or check for later changes.
Parts we summarized. Section 28 also covers initial custody and child support guidelines. We set out only the custody modification language here. Sections 31 and 31A have parts we summarized rather than set out in full.

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