What is a Restraining Order?  Is it a Civil Case or a Criminal Case? In Massachusetts a Restraining Order or Harassment Prevention Order is not a criminal case in terms of the Order itself, yet a violation of the Order would be considered a crime. Restraining Order Violations are Considered Misdemeanors under and handled in […]

Unless otherwise agreed by the parties that in divorces and many other probate court actions the parties will have to provide Federal and State income tax returns and schedules for the past three (3) years. You will have to provide the four (4) most recent paystubs from each employer; documentation regarding the cost and nature […]

As you can see from the attached form of what a Waiver of a typical Temporary Custody Hearing would be.  You determine whether or not you want to waive your rights to this 72-hour hearing or a custody hearing. It does not mean that you are terminating your parental rights and you would have to […]

When you are meeting with Probation or Family Services which is a type of mediation.  They ask for a “Intake Form” asking if there has ever been a restraining order in the case and if it is currently in effect and what court it is in.  If so, in asking whether the address is impounded […]

In Massachusetts you have to file something called “Complaint for Annulment” in Probate and Family Court for the county that you and your spouse lives; or if one spouse still lives in the county that the couple last lived together the Complaint should be filed in that county.  You can get the Complaint for Annulment […]

In Massachusetts getting an annulment is very difficult.  An annulment is not just because the marriage was short. There has to be some significant legal criteria for you to meet in order to potentially get an annulment and the party can contest the annulment. So nearly all cases are divorces rather than annulments.  There are […]

A divorce ends a legal marriage while an annulment means that the marriage never legally existed. To qualify for an annulment, it has to be found to be either legally void or voidable which basically means invalid.

In something called a Care and Protection of Erin 443 Mass 567, 571 2005.  The court determined that a burden of proof on a petition for review and redetermination that the parent must make the initial showing of the change circumstances but then that the burden shifts back to DCF that has to prove by […]

In 2018 in the Guardianship of Calvin 94 Mass Appeals Court 448 2018 the court concluded that the parent needs to make the initial showing of a change in circumstances; such as the child no longer in need of a guardian but once the parents satisfies the initial “Burden of Production”, the guardian then bears […]

It shows that a child requires proof that a defendant wantedly or recklessly engaged in a conduct that created substantial risk of serious bodily injury or sexual abuse to a child who wantedly or recklessly failed to take reasonable steps to alleviate such risk where there was a duty to act. There are issues about […]