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 their job and not support me or the children, can the Court order the spouse to work?

            Yes and no.  The Court does have a variety of remedies including ordering work searches for support obligations and can also impute or in just the division of assets and impute income.  If someone is involuntarily laid off, the Court might say that that person needs to do a job search if they do not look like they are trying to get the appropriate job.

However, if somebody that has a high paying job and quits to work at McDonald’s because of the divorce, the Court can impute income and can force them to pay what that higher paying job would be for the support obligations.

My Spouse and I agree that we want to get Divorced and know what we want to do in terms of the completed Agreement.  In Massachusetts is there a way to get divorced this way?

             Yes.  If the parties have a completed Agreement, the court still has final authority, but you can file a Joint Petition for Divorce with what is called a Separation Agreement or Divorce Agreement and related paperwork.  Again, the Court needs to approve the Agreement, but it can be much quicker, less expenses and less stressful then if it is a contested matter.