Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 208, § 29 (2026)

Minor children; foreign divorces, care and custody

✓ current as of July 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MAmalegislature.gov (official) JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Section 29. If, after a divorce has been adjudged in another jurisdiction, minor children of the marriage are inhabitants of, or residents in this commonwealth, the probate court for the county in which said minors or any of them are inhabitants or residents, upon an action of either parent or of a next friend in behalf of the children, after notice to both parents, shall have the same power to make judgments relative to their care, custody, education and maintenance, and to revise and alter such judgments or make new judgments, as if the divorce had been adjudged in this commonwealth.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 19 cases, 1927–2013 · leading case: Morrill v. Tong, 453 N.E.2d 1221 (Mass. 1983).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Morrill v. Tong, 453 N.E.2d 1221 (Mass. 1983). · cites it 2× “On January 30, 1980, the plaintiff petitioned the Probate Court for care, custody, education, and maintenance pursuant to G. L. c. 208, § 29, 2 *123 and sought an order to the Department of the Navy to divert from the defendant’s pension an amount equal to the arrearages on…”

Gil v. Servizio, 375 N.E.2d 716 (Mass. 1978). · cites it 5× “In this action the plaintiff petitioned the Probate Court, pursuant to G. L. c. 208, § 29, prior to its amendment by St.”

Custody of a Minor, 468 N.E.2d 251 (Mass. 1984). · cites it 2× “In general terms, there is no question of the competency of the Probate and Family Court to determine child custody matters.”

Heard v. Heard, 82 N.E.2d 219 (Mass. 1948). · cites it 2× “When the Glass case was decided the statute, G. L. c. 208, § 29, referred only to minor children who were “inhabitants” of the Commonwealth.”

Glass v. Glass, 53 A.L.R. 1157 (Mass. 1927). · cites it 2× “The jurisdiction of probate courts to consider petitions of this nature is found in G. L. c. 208, § 29, and by § 6A added to that chapter by St.”

Peddar v. Peddar, 683 N.E.2d 1045 (Mass. App. Ct. 1997). · cites it 2× “In 1995, the plaintiff filed a complaint for modifica *193 tion of the Georgia divorce judgment pursuant to G. L. c. 208, § 29. 1 Her complaint seeks, inter alia, modifications to the orders of the Georgia Superior Court regarding child support.”

Buchanan v. Buchanan, 231 N.E.2d 570 (Mass. 1967). · cites it 2× “By petition filed on June 24, 1966, the petitioner sought in the Norfolk Probate Court under G. L. c. 208, § 29, modification of a divorce decree entered on April 28, 1965, in the Circuit Court, in Equity, for St.”

Murphy v. Murphy, 404 N.E.2d 69 (Mass. 1980). “The wife may consider whether she would be required to seek relief pursuant to G. L. c. 208, § 29.”

Freddo v. Freddo, 983 N.E.2d 1216 (Mass. App. Ct. 2013). “” We note, however, that the judge, in a prior case management order, cited G. L. c. 208, § 29, as amended through St.”

Stolk v. Stolk, 574 N.E.2d 429 (Mass. App. Ct. 1991). “We find such authority in G. L. c. 208, § 29, read in conjunction with G.”

Gallup v. Gallup, 171 N.E. 464 (Mass. 1930). “These provisions were continued in force through the revision of the statutes and are now embodied in G. L. c. 208, §§ 29, 30, with the change that the authority now rests in the Superior and in the Probate Court, St.”

Brown v. Tobyne, 402 N.E.2d 1097 (Mass. App. Ct. 1980). “On January 7, 1980, the plaintiff was awarded temporary custody of the children by the Probate Court for Worcester County.”

Show all 19 citing cases →

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.