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Read. Follow. Verify.Massachusetts Senate bill redefines child custody terms to establish shared decision-making and parenting time standards
Last action · December 18, 2025: Accompanied a study order (under JR10), see S2886Sponsor: Mike Brady
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What This Bill Would Do
Senate Bill 1032 replaces traditional custody terminology across Massachusetts general laws with '' and ',' establishing shared parenting as the initial default upon filing and mandating comprehensive parenting plans for minor children.
Parents undergoing separation or divorce in Massachusetts will experience a legal framework that explicitly presumes shared decision-making prior to court orders and requires detailed, enforceable parenting plans covering schedules, education, and health.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
parents
Parents face new statutory definitions and default shared decision-making responsibilities upon filing family law actions, alongside mandatory parenting plan requirements.
minor children
Children are subject to new parenting plans incorporated into court orders that govern residential schedules, decision-making, and welfare provisions.
family courts
Judges and court personnel must evaluate new statutory factors regarding parental responsibilities and enforce contempt remedies for noncompliance with parenting plans.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to child custody arrangements immediately after a divorce or family law action is filed?
What constitutes shared residential responsibility under this bill?
What penalties can a court impose if a parent violates a parenting plan?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
5 actions- Dec 18, 2025SenateAccompanied a study order (under JR10), see S2886
- Oct 14, 2025JointHearing scheduled for 04/22/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-2
- Apr 18, 2025JointHearing scheduled for 04/22/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-2
- Feb 27, 2025HouseHouse concurred
- Feb 27, 2025SenateCommitteeReferred to the committee on The Judiciary
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Comprehensive Terminology Overhaul in Family Statutes
The bill systematically removes older terms like 'visitation' and 'physical custody' across chapters 71, 208, 209, 209A, 209C, and 262, replacing them with structured responsibility frameworks.
Connected Entities
Sources
malegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy45Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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