Q: Will a Massachusetts judge grant a motion for video chat visits twice a week for 15 minutes with a 1 year old child?
I live in MA & currently have temporary sole legal and physical custody of our child. My ex lives out of state in Maryland and will soon start court ordered parenting time every other weekend for 6 hours. He frequently disappears for weeks to months at a time without any contact. He has also refused to help me with contribution to our son’s medical bills and has not given me any $ since our child was born. Needless to say, communication lately has been quite strained & hostile. We have a child support hearing coming up soon. In response to my request for sole legal /physical custody & child support, my ex’s lawyer filed a motion for joint legal custody & video chat visits twice a week with the baby. It is very difficult to get a one year old with a lot of energy to stay in place or hold the phone. Will the judge approve this motion?
A: The Court could enter a version of the requested order , but you should assert the difficulty involved in having the child participate for the full length of the call . Of greater concern at this point is the lack of consistency by father "disappearing for weeks or months" . Is there also an alcohol or substance abuse issue involved? The location of the six hour visit has not been stated, nor whether it is supervised nor if so , the type of supervision- i.e., by a Visitation Center, Social Worker? If there is no supervision has supervision been requested? You could well benefit and so would your child from having legal representation in this matter.
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