Guideline 12:07
There may be cases in which the Probate and Family Court issues a custody or parenting time order that is inconsistent with an existing c. 209A order issued by the District Court, Boston Municipal Court or Superior Court. As provided by c. 209A, Probate and Family Court orders supersede c. 209A orders with respect to child support, custody, and contact. Because a custody or parenting time order out of the Probate and Family Court is a separate order, the Probate and Family Court Judge should, to the extent possible, specifically and clearly identify which of the specific paragraphs of the c. 209A order are now amended by the issuance of the Probate and Family Court order. For example, the modified order should not simply refer to an attached order or agreement, particularly with respect to provisions regarding the contact and stay-away orders between the parties and/or child(ren). Without such specification, a c. 209A defendant may be subject to an improper arrest. See Guideline 13:00 Amending c. 209A Orders to Make Consistent With Subsequent Probate and Family Court Orders Regarding Children. The amended orders should be provided to the probation department for entry into the Statewide Registry of Civil Restraining Orders.
Commentary
A c. 209A no contact order entered by the Probate and Family Court should be amended to reflect a subsequently entered custody order in a divorce, parentage, or other custody proceeding. If the original c. 209A order is in a different Probate and Family Court division, the court entering the subsequent parenting time order may telephone the Administrative Office of the Probate and Family Court to request a special assignment to amend the original c. 209A order. If the conflicting no-contact order was issued by a court in a different department, it should be amended pursuant to Trial Court Administrative Order 21-3. See Guideline 13:00 Amending c. 209A Orders to Make Consistent With Subsequent Probate and Family Court Orders Regarding Children.
To ensure that a c. 209A defendant is not subject to an improper arrest, the Probate and Family Court judge, to the extent possible, should specifically and clearly identify the amended provisions on the face of the c. 209A order. For example, assume that paragraph 7 of the District Court c. 209A order prohibits a defendant from having any contact with the minor child of the parties. In a later proceeding, a Probate and Family Court judge orders (either directly or by incorporation of a stipulation of the parties into a court order) that the c. 209A defendant shall have supervised parenting time with that child at a local visitation center. At the same time that the Probate and Family Court judge enters such an order, that judge should amend the District Court c.209A order by using language similar to the following:
“Paragraph number 7 of this order is amended to permit the defendant to have supervised parenting time with the child at the Main Street Visitation Center, Boston, MA, all pursuant to a Probate and Family Court order dated this day at docket number SU18D000.”
Probate and Family Court personnel are to provide copies of the amended c. 209A order to the parties, if present, and, in accordance with Trial Court Administrative Order 21-3, the probation department in the Probate and Family Court will immediately transmit a copy of the order, including all additional pages of the order if there was inadequate space on the original order to include complete details of the modification, to the issuing court. The Probate and Family Court must also enter the order into the Statewide Registry of Civil Restraining orders, notify the appropriate police department of the modified order, and update its case file.
The Probate and Family Court’s authority to supersede c. 209A orders does not apply to any probation conditions ordered by a criminal court department.
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| Last updated: | October 20, 2025 |
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