Massachusetts Statutes

Section 10. (a) A court of the commonwealth may request the appropriate court of another state to hold a hearing to adduce evidence, to order a party to produce or give evidence under other procedures of that state, or to have an investigation made with respect to the custody of …

Section 11. (a) Upon request of the court of another state the courts of the commonwealth which are competent to hear custody matters may order a person in the commonwealth to appear at a hearing to adduce evidence or to produce or give evidence under other procedures available i…

Section 12. (a) A certified copy of a custody judgment of another state may be filed in the office of the clerk or register of any court of competent jurisdiction in the commonwealth. The clerk or register shall treat the judgment in the same manner as a custody judgment of a cou…

Section 13. In any custody proceeding in the commonwealth the court shall preserve the pleadings, orders and judgments and any record that has been made of its hearings, investigations and other pertinent documents until the child reaches eighteen years of age. Upon appropriate r…

Section 14. To the extent that the legal institutions of other nations have rendered custody determinations in substantial conformity with the provisions of this chapter, the courts of the commonwealth shall grant due recognition to such determinations.

Section 15. (a) A law of a jurisdiction outside the commonwealth that authorizes a child to be removed from the care or custody of a parent or guardian based on the parent or guardian allowing their child to receive gender-affirming care health care services, as defined in sectio…

Section 2. (a) Any court which is competent to decide child custody matters has jurisdiction to make a custody determination by initial or modification judgment if: (1) the commonwealth (i) is the home state of the child on the commencement of the custody proceeding, or (ii) had …

Section 3. (a) Every party in any custody proceeding shall state in an affidavit which shall be filed together with his first pleading the following information:— (1) the child's present address of residence; (2) each address at which the child has resided during the two years im…

Section 4. (a) After examination of the pleadings, affidavits, certified copies of the documentation relative to other custody proceedings and such oral testimony as it may require, the court shall determine the proper parties to the custody proceeding. (b) During the pendency of…

Section 5. (a) Reasonable notice in conformity with section six and an opportunity to be heard shall be given to the contestants, to any parent whose parental rights have not been previously terminated, to any person acting as parent, and to any other persons designated proper pa…

Section 6. (a) Notice to a person in the commonwealth shall be given in accordance with the applicable Massachusetts rules of court or in such other manner as is prescribed by law. (b) Notice required for the exercise of jurisdiction over a person outside the commonwealth shall b…

Section 7. (a) A court which has jurisdiction pursuant to section two may decline to exercise its jurisdiction at any time prior to making a custody determination upon finding that its assumption of jurisdiction would be (i) violative of the purposes of this chapter; or (ii) woul…

Section 8. (a) The court may order any party to the proceeding who is in the commonwealth to appear personally before the court. If that party has physical custody of the child the court may order that he or she appear personally with the child. (b) If a party to the proceeding w…

Section 9. In addition to other procedural devices available to a party, any party to the proceeding or a guardian ad litem or other representative of the child may adduce testimony of witnesses, including parties and the child, by deposition or otherwise, in another state. The c…

Section 1. Children born to parents who are not married to each other shall be entitled to the same rights and protections of the law as all other children. A child shall have the same rights and protections under law to parentage without regard to the marital status, gender, gen…

Section 10. (a) Upon or after an adjudication or voluntary acknowledgment of parentage, the court may award custody of a nonmarital child to either parent or to them jointly or to another suitable person as hereafter further specified as may be appropriate in the best interests o…

Section 11. (a) A written voluntary acknowledgment of parentage executed jointly by the alleged genetic parent, presumed parent or intended parent, whether a minor or not, and the person who gave birth to the child, whether a minor or not, and filed with the registrar of vital re…

Section 12. In actions under this chapter, the trial shall be by the court without a jury. In an action to establish parentage, the court shall, upon request of any party, exclude the general public from the room where the trial is held and may admit only persons directly interes…

Section 13. In an action to establish parentage or in which parentage of a child is an issue, all complaints, pleadings, papers, documents or reports filed in connection therewith, docket entries in the permanent docket and record books shall be segregated and unavailable for ins…

Section 14. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, an action to establish parentage of a child may be instituted during pregnancy but shall only be filed by the person who is to give birth to the child or such person's representative or by the IV–D agency as set forth in c…

Section 15. At any time pursuant to an action under this chapter, the court may upon motion of any party or on its own motion issue a temporary order or final judgment including a vacate, restraining or no-contact order to protect a party or child. Any such order or judgment, inc…

Section 16. (a) Both the plaintiff and the defendant are competent to testify in proceedings hereunder. (b) Upon refusal of a witness, including a party, to testify under oath and produce evidence, the court may order such witness or party to testify under oath and produce eviden…

Section 17. In an action under this chapter to establish parentage of a nonmarital child based on alleged genetic parentage, the court shall, on motion of a party and upon a proper showing except as provided in this section, order the person who gave birth to the child, the child…

Section 18. Each judgment or order of support which is issued, reviewed or modified pursuant to this chapter shall conform to and shall be enforced in accordance with the provisions of chapter one hundred and nineteen A.

Section 19. A judgment of support issued in conclusion of a proceeding under this chapter or a temporary support order issued under this chapter may be enforced with one or more of the following methods: (1) contempt in accordance with sections thirty-four and thirty-four A of ch…

Section 1A. For the purposes of this chapter the following terms shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly requires otherwise: ''Acknowledged parent'', a person who has established a parent-child relationship through a voluntary acknowledgement of parentage. '…

Section 2. Parentage may be established by filing with the court, the clerk of the city or town where the child was born or the registrar of vital records and statistics an acknowledgment of parentage executed by both parents pursuant to section 11 or pursuant to an action to est…

Section 20. A court with original jurisdiction pursuant to section three has continuing jurisdiction, upon a complaint filed by a person or agency entitled to file original actions, to modify judgments of support, custody or visitation; provided however, that no modification conc…

Section 21. Any interested party may bring an action to determine the existence of a mother and child relationship. Insofar as practicable, the provisions of this chapter applicable to establishing parentage shall apply.

Section 22. (a) A decree or judgment entered on a petition filed pursuant to sections three or six of chapter two hundred and ten shall be a bar to a proceeding under this chapter. (b) A proceeding under chapter two hundred and seven, two hundred and eight, two hundred and nine, …

Section 23. (a) If, after adjudication of parentage or voluntary acknowledgment of parentage, the parents of the child intermarry, any order or judgments of the court relative to support, custody, visitation and restraint on personal liberty shall be null and void, except as to a…

Section 24. The administrative justices of the district, Boston municipal and the probate and family court department of the trial court shall jointly promulgate forms for complaints, agreements and registrations of parentage for use under this chapter, which shall be in such for…

Section 25. (a) This section shall apply to nonmarital and marital children. (b) A proceeding to adjudicate parentage of a child under this section may be commenced only by a person who: (i) is alive when the proceeding is commenced; and (ii) claims to be a de facto parent of the…

Section 26. (a) In a proceeding to adjudicate competing claims of, or challenges to, parentage of a child by 2 or more persons, the court shall adjudicate parentage in the best interest of the child, based on: (i) the age of the child; (ii) the length of time during which each pe…

Section 27. (a) This section shall apply to nonmarital and marital children. This section shall not apply to the parentage of a child conceived by sexual intercourse or assisted reproduction under a surrogacy agreement under sections 28 to 28P, inclusive. (b) Venue for a proceedi…

Section 28. (a) Sections 28 to 28P, inclusive, shall apply to nonmarital and marital children. This section shall not apply to the birth of a child conceived by sexual intercourse or assisted reproduction under section 27. (b) Venue for proceedings under sections 28 to 28P, inclu…

Section 28A. (a) To execute a surrogacy agreement to act as a surrogate, a person shall: (i) be not less than 21 years of age; (ii) have previously given birth to at least 1 child; (iii) complete a medical evaluation by a licensed physician related to surrogacy; and (iv) complete…

Section 28B. A surrogacy agreement shall be enforceable if it meets the following requirements: (i) the prospective surrogate, their spouse, if any, and each intended parent are parties to the agreement; (ii) the prospective surrogate and each intended parent meet the eligibility…

Section 28C. (a) A surrogacy agreement is enforceable only if it contains the following terms: (i) the surrogate: (A) shall undergo assisted reproduction and attempt to carry and give birth to any resulting child; (B) except as otherwise provided in sections 28I, 28M and 28N, sha…

Section 28D. Unless a surrogacy agreement expressly provides otherwise: (i) the validity of a surrogacy agreement shall not be affected by the marriage of the surrogate or of an intended parent after the surrogacy agreement has been signed by all parties and in such instances: (A…

Section 28E. After the execution of a surrogacy agreement and before the date of termination of the surrogacy agreement pursuant its terms or 180 days after the birth of a child conceived by assisted reproduction under the surrogacy agreement, whichever occurs earlier, the court …

Section 28F. (a) A party to a gestational surrogacy agreement may terminate the agreement at any time before an embryo transfer or implantation by giving written notice of termination to all other parties. If an embryo transfer or implantation does not result in pregnancy, a part…

Section 28G. (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c), or sections 28H or 28J, upon the birth of a child conceived by assisted reproduction under a gestational surrogacy agreement, each intended parent shall be, by operation of law, a parent of the child. Parental right…

Section 28H. Except as otherwise provided in section 28J, an intended parent shall not be a parent of a child conceived by assisted reproduction under a gestational surrogacy agreement if the intended parent dies before the transfer or implantation of a gamete or embryo unless: (…

Section 28I. (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c) of section 28G or section 28J, before, on or after the birth of a child conceived by assisted reproduction under a gestational surrogacy agreement, any party to the agreement may commence a proceeding for a judgment …

Section 28J. (a) A gestational surrogacy agreement that substantially complies with sections 28A, 28B and 28C shall be enforceable. (b) If a child was conceived by assisted reproduction under a gestational surrogacy agreement that does not substantially comply with sections 28A, …