In Massachusetts if child support has never been ordered then whether it is retroactive support will depend in large part about whether the child was born during the marriage or out of wedlock. There is a presumption in Massachusetts that married couples will support each other and the children and therefore child support can only […]

Although, a frequent question and a large concern of the parent paying the child support in Massachusetts there does not have to be an accounting or specifics of what the child support is being used for by the party that is receiving the child support.  In general, Massachusetts assumes things such as food, shelter, clothing […]

There are a variety of factors in the Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 210, Section 3C to determine parental unfitness.  Not limited but includes where the parents abused or neglected the child or another immediate family member. The parents have maintained contact with the child for previous 6 months. The child who is 4 or older […]

There is something called the “UCCJEA” where the home state is for an initial custody order and where the child has resided for the prior 6 months leading up to the divorce so long as one parent continues to reside in that state.  That means that the Home State would be the controlling state and […]

Massachusetts has very limited options in order to have the child support obligations go away. There is a case Rosen v. Rosen in 2016 that allows very limited amount of exceptions, but it is a fairly technical requirement for retroactive child support for the court to actually allow that.  You would need to file a […]

Although I have not seen this in my practice, there was a recent article in CNN about whether emoji’s can be looked at as a threat; such as can a knife emoji double as a threat to kill someone.  According to CNN’s article the reported cases have been increasing significantly while still a fairly low […]

A Massachusetts law does require if you need to make an oral report to DCF if in your professional capacity you have a reasonable cause to believe that a child under the age of 18 is suffering from abuse or neglect and an original report is supposed to be submitted within 48 hours. In addition, […]

That would include but not limited to: physicians medical interns hospital personnel; engage in the examination or care treatment of people; medical examiners; emergency medical technicians; dentists; nurses; optometrists; chiropractors; public or private teachers; educational administrators; including family and also guidance counselors; childcare licensers including department of education and childcare, early educators; including pre-school, childcare […]

There has always been a lot of controversy about college contribution responsibilities for divorced or divorcing parents. As it is getting more and more expensive for students to attend college, parental financial contribution can end up being a crucial element in the divorce settlement and in a further modification after the settlement. The courts have […]

In Massachusetts can I Stop or Suspend Visits because I am not getting Child Support? Massachusetts does not allow you to stop visits even if you are not getting child support you can file a Contempt action. Other states may allow that, but not Massachusetts. One Question People ask is if One Attorney can represent […]