Massachusetts Divorce and Family Law Blog
Divorce & Family Law Answers from Experienced Attorneys
Condonation
Condonation, along with connivance, collusion and recrimination, are affirmative defenses to a fault claim for divorce. These defenses were commonplace in England’s ecclesiastical courts[1]. They are infrequently asserted in Massachusetts divorce cases, however, and...
Visitation Options in Cases of Domestic Violence
Matt and Mary are going through a divorce. Matt alleges that during the marriage, Mary had engaged in a repeated pattern of physical and verbal abuse toward him. The couple had two children together, and the children live with Matt. Both parties want to know whether...
Provisions in a Separation Agreement?
For just about every couple seeking a divorce, the separation agreement is an exhausting and time-consuming document. With the right attorney, the process can be smoother, but it is imperative that a person seeking a divorce contact an attorney experienced in these...
Absent Parents and Termination of Rights
A judge may draw a negative inference from a parent’s absence and find that the parent is unfit. This thus terminates parental rights, according to a recent decision of the Massachusetts Appeals Court. Background: In Adoption of Talik, the Court terminated parental...
Alimony Modification and the Emancipation
A recent Massachusetts case addressed the issue of alimony modification where the event triggering a material change of circumstances was the emancipation of a child. Background: In Flor v. Flor, the parties’ divorce judgment ordered the husband to pay the wife child...
The Health of the Parties in Modification of Alimony
After a judgment has been ordered by the court for alimony there are certain situations where either party may take action to modify the judgment.[1] For a party to be successful on a claim for alimony modification, the party must prove to the court that there has...
What is a Parenting Plan?
Benjamin and Sarah are divorcing. They have four children between the ages of 6 and 17. Both parties contest the issue of custody of the children. And, both parties want to establish a plan to share legal and physical custody. The parties want the parenting plan to be...
Estates of the Parties and Alimony
Suppose Grace and Will own a home and have pension plans. Now that they are divorcing, they want to know how a court would impose alimony payments. How do the respective estates of the parties factor into the court’s decision regarding alimony? What is alimony?...
Enforcement of Child Support Orders
James must pay $153 per week in child support as part of his divorce from Jeri. For the past two months, James has not paid any support to Jeri. What could happen in this case? There can be several consequences for parents when they do not pay their child support...
Modification of Alimony Payments
Kelly and Alex were granted a divorce. The judge also entered a judgment for alimony payments that ordered Kelly to pay Alex $800 per month, along with providing health insurance for Alex. Kelly has not complied with the health insurance requirement, although she has...