In custody cases, a lot of the time for lawyers if you either take notes of what has happened during parenting time with drop off and pickups that is helpful. I sometimes ask clients for a timeline as a starting point; which can give me a better grasp of what is going on in the […]

Anyone seeking such an order must be prepared to present some physical evidence in addition to their own written statements and testimony in court. Evidence such as photographs, text messages, police reports or medical records. The court will not entertain a simple exchange of allegations. There is no time period that you have to file something […]

Go to Masscourts.org, you can call the specific Probate and Family Court that you got your divorce in or go there in person.  You can also get copies of your divorce pleadings and other family law cases; including by going to court and making copies yourself; which you pay for; or paying the court to […]

Massachusetts does not have jury trials for divorces.  If you go to trial a family and probate court judge would oversee your case.  The judge would make both the factual and legal determinations and would make the Order.  There is no right to a jury trial on divorce cases in Massachusetts.

Fault Base Grounds for divorce shows that the spouses conduct was inappropriate which led to the divorce. The fault base grounds have to be proven in court by the Plaintiff.  As a general rule, it is either alternatively filing a fault base ground with the alternative on being an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. Most […]

A “no fault” divorce is a divorce where the marriage is broken beyond repair but neither spouse blames the other. In Massachusetts, the no fault divorce grounds are called “Irretrievable Breakdown of Marriage.”  There are 2 kinds of “irretrievable breakdown” divorces. They’re often called “1A” and “1B.” The most common approach is no-fault based on an […]

If the cause of the divorce occurred outside of Massachusetts, the plaintiff must reside in Massachusetts for at least one year prior to the filing of the action. If the cause of the divorce occurred within Massachusetts, at least one of the parties must be a Massachusetts resident. Where the cause of action occurred and […]

Massachusetts is not an automatic 50/50 state. The court looks at a variety of different factors; in terms of deciding how the property assets and liabilities are divided. It is called an Equitable Distribution State or Equitable Division State where there are different factors based on the length of the marriage; health of the parties; […]

The DCF 51A/51B Investigation is supposed to be completed within 15 working days after the intake. However, in reality that does not always occur.  DCF has to make a determination whether the allegations are supported or unsupported or a substantiated concern.  If it is supported that means that there is a reasonable cause to believe […]

What ends up happening is there is going to be a DCF worker assigned to look into the 51A report and they are supposed to provide a Notice of Response letter that will state the child’s name, the allegations, the parent or caregiver associated with the allegation and signed by the DCF worker appointed to […]