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Key Takeaways Alimony is based on need and ability to pay. Massachusetts defines alimony as support paid by a spouse who has the ability to pay to a spouse who needs support for a reasonable period of time. There is no automatic formula. Income matters, but judges...
Key Takeaways Alimony is not automatic in Rhode Island. The Family Court considers whether one spouse needs support, whether the other can pay, and the factors listed in R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-16. Rhode Island generally treats alimony as rehabilitative. Its usual...
Key Takeaways Maine calls alimony “spousal support.” Maine law uses the term spousal support, although many people still call it alimony. The governing statute is 19-A M.R.S. § 951-A. There is no automatic formula. Unlike child support, Maine spousal support generally...
Key Takeaways Popp mainly affects older alimony judgments. The Appeals Court’s analysis is especially important for divorces entered before the Massachusetts Alimony Reform Act took effect. Marital lifestyle still matters in some modification cases. When a court...
One of the more common questions that comes up after a divorce is whether it makes sense to go back to court to modify child support or alimony. The answer, as unsatisfying as it may initially sound, is that it depends. More specifically, it depends on the facts, the...
For many people going through a divorce, alimony is one of the biggest question marks. You may have heard about it from friends, seen it portrayed in movies, or read something online that made it seem either inevitable or impossible. The reality, as is often the case...
Cavanagh 2025 Introduction: A Case that Keeps Changing the Rules Few family law cases in Massachusetts have had the sweeping effect of Cavanagh v. Cavanagh. What began as a routine post-divorce dispute over child support and alimony has now produced two landmark...
When Wealth and Parenting Collide: The Appeals Court Upholds Major Support Increases in Smith v. Smith In a recent and instructive decision, the Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed a Probate and Family Court judge’s order substantially increasing both alimony and...
In the Massachusetts Appeals Court case, S.S. v. S.S., Turco Legal partner Maureen Booth successfully argued that the Probate and Family Court erred in deviating from the presumptive durational limits on alimony during a divorce proceeding. A deviation was deemed...
A new Massachusetts Appeals Court case, Michael A. Trethewey v. Rosalia F. Trethewey, highlights the risk of “double dipping” in divorce matters involving marital asset division and alimony (or other support) orders. In Trethewey, the probate and family judge treated...