It's not uncommon for a hearing to occur and a judge to take a matter under advisement. That means the judge essentially wants to think about the matter before deciding what to do. Sometimes days or weeks pass before an order actually issues, but as we explain here,...
Generally, the court will consider matters of custody by examining what is in the best interests of the child. The best interests of the child standard includes many factors. The court evaluates all relevant factors when making custody orders. It weighs each factor...
Jane and Jonas are getting a divorce after fifteen years of marriage. Jane, an engineer, receives a substantial annual bonus in stock options. Her company uses them as an incentive to retain good employees. Jane wonders whether the court will consider these stock...
Gene and Gerri are in the middle of a contentious divorce case. Gerri knows Gene bought valuable stocks using money from their joint bank accounts during their marriage. The portfolio is in Gene's name. Gerri wants to know if she can ask the Court to transfer some...
Frieda and Fred, married for eight years and in that time have unsuccessfully tried to conceive a child. Last year, the couple underwent in-vitro fertilization and have stored for implantation six fertilized embryos at a Massachusetts clinic. However, shortly after,...
When married, most every couple files taxes jointly. They claim both children as dependency exemptions. This allows them to maximize the tax benefits of being a family in the United States. When that party divorces, they raise these once simple tax decisions for...
As I've previously discussed on this blog, taxation is relevant to divorces in three main categories. The first relates to support, including child support and alimony. The second is about property distribution, called equitable distribution in Massachusetts. The...
This past week, I attended a two-day training by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. It covered various topical issues in our profession. Programs like this are always great to refresh memory regarding issues we don't necessarily deal with in every case. One...
Is a trust interest part of the marital estate? The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently answered this question in Pfannenstiehl v. Pfannenstiehl. In this important case, the court concluded that the distribution of a trust as "marital property" depends on...
I am a bit biased on this issue. This bias is likely to be expected. I'm a divorce and family law attorney I believe my knowledge and experience are invaluable when it comes to handling your own divorce. However, I also recognize that everyone, myself included, faces...