Practice Areas Overview

Child Custody

Attorney John E. Studley, Jr.
Middleborough Child Custody Lawyer

Child custody is usually considered as part of divorce proceedings, but there can be other reasons for a parent or another adult to bring a child custody case to court.

Paternity: When paternity is established for a child, decisions can also be made about child support, child custody and visitation.

Abuse or neglect of the child by the custodial parent or parents can lead other family members to seek a change in custody temporarily or permanently.

Removal to another state: When one parent moves for work or remarriage, the parents will want to review child custody and visitation given the significant change of circumstances and the possible impact on the emotional and educational needs of the child.

Inability of a parent to properly care for a child because of illness, incapacity, incompetence, psychological dysfunction, alcohol or drug abuse, or incarceration.

At Studley Law Office, we pursue our client's goals of child custody while keeping our eyes firmly on the best interests of the child. Middleborough child custody lawyer John E. Studley, Jr. has been a court-appointed guardian ad litem for children in high-conflict divorce and custody cases. Mr. Studley was an invited panelist and participant in the Probate and Family Court Department Substance Abuse Training Workshop and has provided continuing legal education to other Massachusetts lawyers on trying child custody cases.

He has handled many complex child custody cases including cases in which a parent sought to remove the child from the state, cases in which a parent exhibited subtle or not-so-subtle mental health issues, and cases in which the evidence of "experts" was not in agreement.

It can be very difficult to cross examine "expert" witnesses, but Middleborough child custody lawyer John Studley has done so in many cases, deposing court-appointed guardians ad litem, parent coordinators and psychologists. He has experience working with interpreters of psychological tests, including the MMPI 2, MMPI 3 and other personality tests.

If you have lost custody of a child in the past, you may want to consider hiring an attorney skilled in the psychological aspects of custody cases to bring your next case to court. We can hire our own experts, including psychological experts to ensure that all aspects have been considered. Contact us to discuss your child custody concerns with our child custody attorney.

Our Middleborough child custody lawyer & visitation attorney at Studley Law Offices provides legal services to the people of Middleborough and the towns of southeastern Massachusetts, including Middleboro, Brockton, Taunton, Lakeville, Easton, Bridgewater, East Bridgewater, West Bridgewater, Halifax, Hanson, New Bedford, Fall River, and Plymouth and the counties of Plymouth, Bristol, and Barnstable.