Divorce and Family Law Blog
Divorce & Family Law Information, Answers, and Analysis from Experienced Massachusetts and New Hampshire Divorce & Family Law Attorneys
What is the Role of a Parenting Coordinator?
When divorced parents in Massachusetts have issues related to decisions involving their children, the parents can employ the use of a parenting coordinator.[1] A parenting coordinator is a neutral court-appointed party who helps divorced parents to resolve...
How Retirement Impacts Alimony
Sally and Bob's marriage lasted nearly thirty years. During most of this time Sally worked as a doctor while Bob took care of the couple’s children. In 2002, they divorced, and the court ordered Sally to provide $500 per week to Bob. Sally has now reached “full...
Prenuptial Agreements and Fairness
In Massachusetts family law in general, the importance of equity and fairness is of utmost concern. The court will review prenuptial agreements to ensure fairness and reasonableness. It will also consider whether enforcement conflicts with countervailing equities. The...
Open Adoption Agreements
In a recent case, the Massachusetts Appeals Court discussed open adoption agreements. Specifically, it looked at the enforcement of clauses in agreements at the sole discretion of the adoptive parents. Background: In the case at hand, the adoptive parents adopted two...
Adultery as Grounds for Divorce
Adultery is one of the most distressing and devastating challenges to any marriage. Although some marriages survive the stressful impact of one spouse’s unfaithfulness, others simply cannot. Sometimes a party files for divorce because of a spouse's infidelity. In that...
2017 Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines
As we discussed in a previous post, the 2017 Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines, effective September 15, 2017, made significant changes from the 2013 Guidelines in how parenting time affects a child support order, how health/vision/dental insurance is accounted...
Do We Need Lawyers for a Prenuptial Agreement?
Generally, in order for an antenuptial agreement (also known as a prenuptial agreement) to be considered valid and enforceable in Massachusetts, the agreement must meet the following elements: it must be in writing; signed by the parties; signed voluntarily and under...
2017 Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines
The 2017 Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines have just come out and, whether you are an attorney handling these cases or a party paying or receiving child support, it’s worth diving deep on this particular issue. Start here with our first deep dive into the new guidelines.
Retroactive Modification of Child Support Payments
Is the retroactive modification of child support payments a possibility in Massachusetts? Say, for example, that a payor party’s income increases. The receiving party does not file for modification right away--perhaps because she does not know of the increase in...
Impotence as Grounds for Divorce in Massachusetts
A touchy subject to discuss, but one which becomes an issue from time to time, is the subject of impotence as grounds for divorce. In Massachusetts, a spouse may choose to request either an annulment or a fault-based divorce on the grounds of the other party’s...