Mass. Gen. Laws » Part IV Title I Chapter 273
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 273, § 8 (2026)

Lack of custody as defence; duty to support child

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 8. In proceedings under sections one or fifteen against a parent, relative to any minor child, it shall not of itself be a defence that the defendant has ceased to have custody or the right to custody of such child on his own acquiescence or by judicial action. The legal duty of the parent or parents to support a minor child shall continue notwithstanding the absence of a court decree ordering them or either of them to pay for the support of said child and notwithstanding any court decree granting custody of such child to another.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases, 1923–2000 · leading case: Silvia v. Silvia, 400 N.E.2d 1330 (Mass. App. Ct. 1980).
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Silvia v. Silvia, 400 N.E.2d 1330 (Mass. App. Ct. 1980). “G. L..c. 273, § 8, as amended through St.”
Commonwealth v. Chase, 432 N.E.2d 510 (Mass. 1982). “Compare G. L. c. 273, § 8, as amended through St.”
Miller's Case, 138 N.E. 254 (Mass. 1923). · cites it 2× “The Industrial Accident Board based its ruling largely upon the language of the uniform desertion act, now embodied in G. L. c. 273, § 8, which reads as follows: “In proceedings under section one against a parent, relative to any minor child, it shall not of itself be a defence…”
Dep't of Revenue v. C.M.J., 731 N.E.2d 501 (Mass. 2000). “, G. L. c. 273, § 8, this regulatory definition of noncustodial parent, read too literally, might appear to apply to any parent — an unsupportable result.”
Kirby v. Kirby, 155 N.E.2d 165 (Mass. 1959). “While there is nothing to show that the respondent has been deprived of such custody, it should be noted that the rule now is otherwise under G. L. c. 273, § 8, as amended by St. 1953, c.”
Flynn v. Connors, 656 N.E.2d 1266 (Mass. App. Ct. 1995). “209C, § 1; G. L. c. 273, §§ 8, 15. On June 13, 1995, another panel of this court in a separate appeal reversed the District Court judge’s June 17, 1993, ruling and ordered Connors’s probation status as established January 23, 1965, terminated.”
Kesten v. Frothingham, 40 Mass. App. Dec. 111 (Mass. Dist. Ct., App. Div. 1968). · cites it 2× “G.L. c. 273, § 8. Kirby v. Kirby, 338 Mass.”
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