As of May 15th, 2020 the courts are still closed until June 1st, 2020 due to COVID-19, but with some exceptions. Letters from the Leaders of the Judiciary and the Massachusetts Bar Association have indicated that the courthouses will most likely be closed for most or all of the summer.  Emergency cases or ones in […]

Should you take steps such as taking cash advances, refinancing the home, making large charitable contributions shortly before filing bankruptcy? The answer is no. You want to be very careful of doing anything that would be looking to manipulate the bankruptcy situation. You should talk to an attorney before trying to take any steps like […]

Delinquency/Youthful Offender Proceedings The recent Standing Order OE-144 has closed courthouses off to the public other than for emergency situations. This order goes into effect May 4, 2020 and will be in effect until at least June 1, 2020. This is applicable to various non-emergency delinquency/youthful offender proceedings, according to Mass.gov. Probable cause (show cause) […]

My office is open during these unprecedented times and fully functioning remotely. I am meeting with clients by phone, Facetime and Zoom. Although courts are not open for in- person public hearings, I have been having more and more hearings by phone-whether or not they are contested or uncontested. In addition, courts are proceeding and […]

You can go to the Bristol Probate and Family Court schedules to look at the monthly judicial calendar for the Probate and Family Court judges.  In Bristol County there are 4 judges and they have a particular calendar for each judge in terms of which court they sit in and what types of cases can […]

Child Requiring Assistance (CRA) The recent Standing Order OE-144 has closed courthouses off to the public other than for emergency situations. This order goes into effect May 4, 2020 and will be in effect until at least June 1, 2020. This order is applicable to non-emergency CRA hearings. According to Mass.gov,  these hearings will be […]

That would include Attleboro, Mansfield, North Attleboro, and Norton cities or towns.

Adoptions The recent Standing Order OE-144 has closed courthouses off to the public other than for emergency situations. This order goes into effect May 4, 2020 and will be in effect until at least June 1, 2020. This order is applicable to adoptions. According to Mass.gov, if a party wants to hold the adoption as […]

That would include Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Freetown, New Bedford and Westport.

New Filings in Non-Emergency Matters The recent Standing Order OE-144 has closed courthouses off to the public other than for emergency situations. This order goes into effect May 4, 2020 and will be in effect until at least June 1, 2020. This is applicable to new filings in non-emergency matters, which should be filed by […]