Under the child support law there are some talks about what happens if you have a subsequent family. Usually, it is not considered a defense to reduce your child support if there is an order in place, but it may be a defense to child support being modified up. Meaning that if you have a […]

Massachusetts has two forms.  One is a short form Financial Statement and the other is a long form Financial Statement. The long form is a 9-page Financial Statement which you would list your asset’s, expenses, income and liabilities and if you earn $75,000 or more per year you fill out the long form.  A short […]

If you looked at a Kelly bluebook and putting some information about your car that would be the value that the courts would accept.  You would also put down what loan, if any, that you have on it. You would do a fair market value for the car.

There are several different ways you can go about valuing the house. The most common ways are to get a formal appraisal, broker price opinion, comparative market analysis, property tax assessment, or use an online price estimator such as Zillow or Redfin. It is important to know the real value of the home before deciding how […]

The provisions of Massachusetts Separation Agreements either “merge” or “survive” a Judgment of Divorce. When an Agreement is “merged” into the Judgment, the terms of the agreement become incorporated into the Judgment and are modifiable by the Probate & Family Court, because the court always has the power, when appropriate, to revise or modify its own Judgment. A […]

It is a question that a lot of people have asked me.  A DOR Wage Assignment means the Department of Revenue will take the child support directly out of the person that pays their check. A suspended Wage Assignment means that the person receiving the money will get it directly from the person that is […]

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.