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Having the Department of Revenue manage child support enforcement is a great benefit available under the law. That is, until a party overpays—and no child support flows in either direction between the parents, as here. In a May 2025 decision with broad implications...
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...
Finality in Parentage: The Supreme Judicial Court Reaffirms Limits on Challenging Voluntary Acknowledgments of Paternity In a recent decision, A.D. v. K.S., SJC-13665 (April 24, 2025), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) addressed the critical question of...
Modernizing the Rules: A Look at the Proposed Overhaul of Massachusetts Domestic Relations Procedure The Probate and Family Court is proposing major updates to the Massachusetts Rules of Domestic Relations Procedure, and it's inviting public comment through June 30,...
As of January 1, 2025, the updated Massachusetts Parentage Act (MPA) brings crucial legal protections for children and families. The law now ensures that all children, regardless of their family's formation, receive equal treatment. Since the original enactment of...
When custody disputes arise, few scenarios provoke more anxiety than the prospect of one parent taking a child abroad and failing to return. While parental kidnapping may occur domestically, international parental kidnapping is a significantly more complex issue....
For many, the notion of dual citizenship evokes a sense of belonging to two worlds. It provides a tether to a cultural past that might otherwise feel distant. Some countries extend this opportunity through a principle known as jure sanguinis—“by descent”—which grants...
Who keeps the engagement ring if a couple calls off the wedding? Does it matter who's at fault? For sixty-five years, Massachusetts courts have ruled that the person who gave the ring can reclaim it. This applies if they were not at fault for the engagement’s...
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...