Massachusetts generally recognizes marriages and divorces between LGBTQ-identified persons, but the issues that may occur for LGBTQ-identified people are as unique and nuanced as people themselves. Note that there is not a separate or different process for separation...
What if a party in a family law proceeding is unable to testify at trial or a hearing in person? Should the court permit him or her to testify through the use of video or telephone? The Massachusetts Appeals Court addressed this issue in a recent case. Background: In...
In order for a divorce to be legally binding, court approval and judgment must be rendered. What happens, however, where the former spouses reach a post-divorce agreement between themselves without court approval? Do those types of agreements have any legal effect?...
Many natural born citizens in the United States take for granted the ease of navigating the legal system as a US citizen. This assertion is especially true in comparison to the ease of navigating the legal system for non-naturalized citizens. Many citizens do not...
In some cases, an uncontested divorce may be the most cost-effective and efficient option. For example... Mike and Barbara have been married for nine years. After meeting in college, they were married when Mike was nineteen-years old and Barbara was twenty-years old....
According to recent studies, divorce among doctors is not as common as one would expect. If you are a doctor who is considering getting a divorce in spite of the positive statistics, there will likely be special considerations that you may need to address with a...
What Massachusetts laws govern health insurance during divorce and custody cases? Divorce: When seeking a divorce and/or dealing with custody of children, a question that often concerns individuals is the issue of health insurance coverage. This is a great question to...
As many studies have shown, couples in which one spouse is an entrepreneur have a high rate of divorce. Whether it’s because the business encompasses much of entrepreneurs' time or because the non-entrepreneur spouse feels neglected, divorce is common. While divorce...
Consider the following scenarios, each involving lawyers and divorce: Rebecca and Zev lived together as a married couple for twenty years. Rebecca is an attorney. Zev is not. They want to divorce. Nancy and John spent three years married. John is an attorney. He wants...
Robert and Mary, a Massachusetts couple, have been married for ten years. They now seek a divorce. During the marriage, Robert worked and Mary took care of the home. They had no children. Since Robert has a pension plan, the question arises: How does a court address...