If you do not know where your spouse lives or how to serve them paperwork in a divorce and you have made some reasonable attempts to try and locate them you can file a motion for publication and have the notice listed in newspaper where he or she was last known to live( there is […]

In past the only way to get a divorce was to find that your spouse was at fault such as adultery, abuse and so forth.  Now MA( and most states) allow no fault divorce simply because one spouse does not want to be married.  This avoids showing that your spouse was at fault and makes […]

Getting a divorce is traumatic and sometimes you can spend too much time, money and emotions in an unwise fashion.  5 Tips:  Do not fight over the “pots and pans”.  Personal property has a lot of emotions involved and some sentimental pieces are very important but many times people spend too much time fighting over […]

In part, a mandated reported who in his or her professional capacity has “reasonable cause” to believe that a child is suffering physical or emotional injury that results from either (1) abuse inflicted upon the child which causes harm or substantial risk of harm to the child’s health or welfare( includes sexual abuse); (2)neglect( includes […]

If DCF decides to place children away from the parents or guardians DCF policy is supposed to look for “family first” as placement such as grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins( also to a certain extent family friends, teachers etc.).  The reason is that the transition will be easier for the child.  You should at least […]

Talking to social workers, court investigators and GAL’s is stressful.  They are looking at you like you are on stage and looking to see if you are a loving, stable and thoughtful parent. A few hints are:  keep focus on children not your or significant other or ex if you need to make focus on […]

There is relatively new law regarding children in foster care or residential treatment.  There is a presumption that child should go to the same school( school of origin) and DCF has a meeting to make this determination.   Parents and children should have a voice as many times DCF will aim for having child go […]

The costs of insurance can be prohibitive and is a very important factor in may divorces both for the spouse and children. For the spouse and children most issues are similar: 1. The policy effect 2. What is the obligation of the coverage 3. The duration of that obligation 4. what happens if policy changes […]

Every case is unique but this is a common question. Many people are concerned with ‘abandonment”. This is typically not the issue with leaving the house(in a very few cases it might be) but moving out does impact you case. A negatives include that it sets a precedent and a divorce can take some time […]

Many times in probate and family court, the court refers you to probation or family service. What this means is in some contested cases, the court feels that it may be helpful to meet with a probation officer or family service officer(FSO). The term is for the same office. The idea is that sometimes you […]