If the parents are unmarried, the mother has the sole, legal and physical custody of the child until the Court orders otherwise.  However, if the parents are married, both parties share legal custody of the child and have equal rights to parenting time until the Court orders otherwise; or they agree to custody or parenting […]

There has been some controversy and there have been arguments in some cases, military veterans maybe able to avoid convictions for driving under the influence because of the recognition of the impact being in the military. The SJC in Massachusetts made that determination where there are very limited exceptions for returning military members where judges […]

In recent years, there has been a lot of controversy regarding bail decisions; particularly, to people who have limited resources. More recently the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court; which is the highest court in Massachusetts, said that bail should factor in whether the criminal defendant has less money and what the risk of having a bail […]

I was Divorced some time ago and I am unhappy now with what occurred in terms of a settlement. Can I make changes now?        That depends. There are parts of the Agreement that survive; which means they can not be changed and that typically consists of divisions of assets, such as a house […]

In Massachusetts if my Spouse does not want to get a Divorce, can I still get a Divorce?         Yes.  Even if your spouse says that the marriage is not over, the Court will grant the divorce upon your testimony that the marriage has irretrievable broken down.  Your spouse can make the process […]

If my spouse and I are still living together can I file for Divorce? Yes.  In Massachusetts it does not require that one of the spouses move from the marital home in order for the divorce to be filed. Other states may be different, depending on the state. If my spouse has threatened to quit […]

I had more cases recently where there have been issues regarding identity theft.  There are some common-sense things that people can do.   One of them is too try not to share your Social Security number unless it is necessary, including on court paperwork. Also, avoid having your Social Security card or Medicaid card with […]

In a care and protection DCF case permanent custody does not necessarily mean a termination of parental rights. Permanent custody and termination of parental rights are significantly different than permanent custody. If DCF has permanent custody you can seek to file something called a Review and Redetermination, where you have to produce some credible evidence […]