Rolde v. Rolde, 12 Mass. App. Ct. 398 (1981)
The husband and the wife, married for 11 years, had three children, who were ages 10, 7 and 3 at the time of the trial. The trial court awarded Atwood & Cherny's client sole custody of the parties' three minor children after the court found that the parties had basic fundamental differences on the major areas of child rearing and day-to-day decision making as well as finding that the wife was the primary caretaker. On appeal, the Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed the trial court's custody award to the wife, declaring that a joint custody award is appropriate only when parents are able to mutually agree on the basic issues in child rearing and willing to cooperate in making decisions for their children.
The husband and the wife, married for 11 years, had three children, who were ages 10, 7 and 3 at the time of the trial. The trial court awarded Atwood & Cherny's client sole custody of the parties' three minor children after the court found that the parties had basic fundamental differences on the major areas of child rearing and day-to-day decision making as well as finding that the wife was the primary caretaker. On appeal, the Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed the trial court's custody award to the wife, declaring that a joint custody award is appropriate only when parents are able to mutually agree on the basic issues in child rearing and willing to cooperate in making decisions for their children.