Chapter 273

Section 1. A spouse or parent shall be guilty of a felony and shall be subject to the penalties set forth in section fifteen A if: (1) he abandons his spouse or minor child without making reasonable provisions for the support of his spouse or minor child or both of them; or (2) h…

Section 10. Sections one to eight, inclusive, shall be so interpreted and construed as to effectuate their general purpose to make uniform the law of those states enacting their provisions.

Section 15. A parent of a minor child born out of wedlock whether or not the child was born in the commonwealth who wilfully neglects or refuses to contribute reasonably to the support of the child or who leaves the commonwealth and goes into another state without making reasonab…

Section 15A. (1) The penalty for violation of sections one and fifteen of this chapter shall be by fine or by imprisonment or by both fine and imprisonment as specified below. (2) A person who abandons his spouse or minor child without making reasonable provisions for the support…

Section 15B. Whoever receives or conceals an asset of another knowing that said asset is being transferred for the purpose of concealing it to avoid payment of an order or judgment for support issued pursuant to the provisions of chapter 119, 207, 208, 209, 209A, 209C, 209D or 27…

Section 16. The provisions of sections two, six, seven and ten shall apply in proceedings under sections one and fifteen.

Section 17. If the court having jurisdiction of a case under sections fifteen to eighteen, inclusive, becomes satisfied that the alleged father and the mother have married each other and the child has become or will be the legitimate child of the alleged father or that it is for …

Section 18. If money is forfeited or recovered upon a recognizance or deposit in lieu thereof given in proceedings under sections fifteen to eighteen, inclusive, or any of them, the court in which such proceedings are pending may order such money paid to the probation officer and…

Section 18A. (a) Any order issued by a court pursuant to sections one, five, or fifteen as those sections appeared prior to the effective date of this section directing the defendant to pay certain sums periodically to the probation officer as a condition of releasing the defenda…

Section 2. Proceedings under section one shall be begun if in the superior court, in the county in which is situated the place where the husband and wife last lived together or where the husband or wife or parent of the child is living, and, if begun in a district court, in the c…

Section 20. Any person, over eighteen, who, being possessed of sufficient means, unreasonably neglects or refuses to provide for the support and maintenance of his parent, whether father or mother, residing in the commonwealth, when such parent through misfortune and without faul…

Section 21. Proceedings under the preceding section shall be begun, if in the superior court, in the county in which is situated the place where the defendant or the parent lives, and, if begun in a district court, in the court having such place within its judicial district. Comp…

Section 22. Before trial, with the consent of the defendant, or after entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, or after conviction, the court may make for the benefit of such destitute parent orders similar to those provided by section five; and the practice established by t…

Section 23. The father or mother of any needy disabled person who unreasonably neglects or refuses to provide for the support and maintenance of such person shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than two years, or both.

Section 3. The court imposing a fine under section fifteen A may at any time order it paid in whole or in part to a probation officer, to be paid by him to the spouse or to the city, town, corporation, society or person actually supporting the spouse, child or children, or to the…

Section 6. The court shall also have the power to release the defendant from custody on probation for a period so fixed, upon his or her entering into a recognizance, with or without surety, in such sum as the court may order and approve. The condition of the recognizance shall b…

Section 7. No other or greater evidence shall be required to prove the marriage of the husband and wife, or that the alleged father is the parent of the child, than may be required to prove the same facts in a civil action. In any prosecution begun under section one, both husband…

Section 8. In proceedings under sections one or fifteen against a parent, relative to any minor child, it shall not of itself be a defence that the defendant has ceased to have custody or the right to custody of such child on his own acquiescence or by judicial action. The legal …