Successful Case Samples for Child Custody
David Wilkinson has litigated countless child custody and visitation matters in over twenty years of family law practice. He has also settled countless more custody and visitation cases without the necessity of litigation. Below is a small sample of some of the matters David handled in the past. Please note that every case is different, and no facts are the same between cases. Although David’s efforts resulted in success in these cases, it does not mean that the results will be the same in another case.
In a case involving a high conflict matter between two parties struggling to choose an appropriate school for their child, David litigated the issue extensively in court. The issue involved is a “legal custody” issue, meaning which parent was going to be allowed to make the decisions for the child’s education. The court looked at the parties’ respective reasons for wanting their child to attend their school of choice, and David understood that the Court was most interested in receiving evidence about which school most benefited the child as opposed to which school most benefited a parent. Through testimony and documentary evidence, David guided the court to enter an order allowing his client to make the selection for where the child was to attend school.
In another litigation matter, David assisted his client in responding to a “post-judgment” modification action filed by a former spouse to change the child custody and visitation schedule. In preparing for the trial, David prepared a list of examination questions for the witnesses that would result in showing the trial judge that the moving party had no basis whatsoever to modify the current custody orders. Additionally, David made significant and timely evidentiary objections to the other party’s moving papers and provided the court with well-reasoned declarations and points and authorities (the law) prior to the hearing. Ultimately, David’s client was successful on all issues after the trial.
In yet another matter involving a post-judgment request by a party to modify custody orders, David not only defended the motion for his client and the court did not end up making any changes detrimental to the client, but the Court actually reduced the amount of time the other parent was allowed to spend with the child. David strategically outlined for the court seven different requirements that the court previously ordered the other party to complete before they could move to change the orders (which David obtained after several days of trial during his previous representation of the client), and showed the court that the other party did not fully meet those requirements. David’s previous representation at trial and his subsequent representation resulted in an outstanding outcome for the client.
During a recent divorce case where David represented the Wife, our firm filed a motion for child custody and visitation and a domestic violence restraining order against the Husband for his emotional abuse of Wife and even the parties’ children. At the hearing on the motion for custody, visitation, support, and a restraining order, David was able to “meet and confer” with the Husband’s attorney and reach a complete and full agreement on all the issues including a “permanent” (although not lengthy) restraining order to give the parties time to separate, child custody, child support and spousal support.
These case samples are an extremely small sample of David’s vast experience in dealing with custody and visitation matters over the past twenty years. To discuss your matter with our firm in person, contact our office today. We offer a brief, free, private consultation.
Our firm serves the entirety of Eastern Massachusetts. We handle many cases in Middlesex County (courthouses are in Woburn and Lowell) and Norfolk County (Canton), as well as Essex County in Salem. We also handle matters in Bristol County, including the New Bedford, Fall River and Taunton courthouses. We also serve all courts in Plymouth County including the Family and Probate Courthouses in Plymouth and Brockton. We have offices conveniently located in Needham, Boston, Hingham and New Bedford.