Divorce and Family Law Blog
Written by an experienced Divorce and Family Law Attorney with offices in Boston | Andover | Newburyport | Newton
Division of the Marital Home Restrictions: New Case
What to do with the marital home can be a major point of contention for divorcing spouses. Some spouses decide to sell the marital home and split the proceeds. Others decide that one spouse will keep the home after the divorce and buy the other out of their interest...
New Restraining Order Case: Child Support in District Court
We've encountered this issue repeatedly. A parent seeks a 209A restraining order in the District Court. Notice is given to the alleged abuser that the District Court will hold a restraining order hearing. At that hearing, the parent seeking the order asks for child...
Protect Retirement Accounts in a Divorce
Financial security in retirement takes years of planning and saving. Married couples may do this retirement planning together. Perhaps each spouse has their own retirement account or pension. Or maybe one spouse is a stay-at-home parent or cannot work. So, the couple...
Unallocated Support Modification: ‘Duval’ Case
The Massachusetts Appeals Court recently decided Duval v. Duval. This case deals with the modification of an unallocated support order. While a court may order alimony to support a former spouse and order child support for the care of the parties' children,...
Calculating Alimony and Child Support in Massachusetts after ‘Cavanagh’
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ("SJC") recently decided Cavanagh v. Cavanagh (2022). This decision has major implications for alimony and child support orders, adding more complexity for judges, attorneys, and parties. The SJC in Cavanagh made multiple...
Find Hidden Assets and Income in a Divorce
In a previous blog post, we discussed how a spouse may hide assets and income in a divorce. If you believe your spouse is hiding assets and/or income in your divorce, there are ways you, an experienced divorce attorney, or an expert can investigate. In this article,...
Hiding Assets & Income in a Divorce: Ways It Happens
Hiding assets is a hot topic in divorce. In Massachusetts, one of the court's goals in a divorce is to divide assets fairly--though not necessarily equally--between the parties. This is done through a process known as equitable distribution. The court also aims to...
Automatic Restraining Order in a Divorce Case
An automatic restraining order is a court order that issues as a matter of course in every Massachusetts divorce or separate support case. Unlike the commonly understood meaning of a restraining order, an automatic restraining order does not have anything to do with...
New Child Support Guidelines in Massachusetts
In Massachusetts, new child support guidelines went into effect on October 4, 2021. Click here to tune in as our attorney team discusses some of the biggest and more interesting changes to the 2021 Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines. Or, read the abbreviated...
Can a Co-Parent Force a COVID Vaccine for a Child?
Can my former spouse / co-parent force me to get a COVID vaccine for our minor child? As the COVID vaccine becomes available for younger children, many are asking this question. The short answer is that it's possible. Judges may make orders and judgments covering a...