Grandparents rights are very limited.  In MA, there is a complaint for grandparent visitation but to meet the burden a grandparent has a high burden.  The grandparent must show that they basically cared for the child at some point.  It is almost easier to get custody through a guardianship where the grandparent must show that the parent is unfit.  In Troxel v Granville, the Supreme court found that a Washington state visitation law was unconstitutional in violating the parents due process rights to raise their children. On a practical level, many probate court Judge's favor the parents and grandparents stipulating to a schedule even if the case might otherwise be dismissed.

 In DCF cases, family is supposed to be looked at first and grandparent can get custody or be a foster care provider.

OUI have traditionally been one of the most litigated criminal cases in MA.  There are a lot of defenses and many cases that do not look winnable can become so.  Do not automatically plead out to your case.  A few things to do are:

1.  Have your attorney file an omnibus discovery motion that includes asking for the officer's training material and notes along with certain certifications and appropriate convictions for subsequent offenses.  Many times you can have the charge reduced- I had a 5th offense reduced to a second a few months ago becuase the DA could not produce the appropriate paperwork which made the offense on that did not have a mandatory jail sentence of 2 1/2 years.  The defendant was told by his prior attorney to plead to a 5th offense. 

2.  Filing pretrial motion to dismiss the case( if appropriate), suppress the stop or speech.  I had a case with a .08 BT dismissed at the pretrial stage this year based on lack of probable cause.  I have had parts of searches, stops and statements suppressed( not be uses against)

In Ma, to get a guardianship you need to have a medical letter ( a specific court form) showing that the elder is not competent.  Marge and Homer would need to be able to show why Abe is not competent and why they should make decisions about him.  The Simpsons would need to be able to explain to the court the risks and that they would be good caretakers.  Marge and Homer could go to court on an emergency basis is there was enough of a reason or on a temporary basis.  Nowadays there is a lot more paperwork  needed and there needs to be notice to both Abe and other relatives.

The Court will run people's criminal records and in Homer's case that may be an issue.  There are also further steps that would need to be taken to admit someone to a nursing home or treat with anti psychotic medicines.  Many guardianship's are uncontested but many will be fought by family members.

There is a separate action to be in charge of Abe's  money( (estate) called a conservatorship.  Both a guardianship and conservatorship have a lot of obligations including reporting to the court.

Holidays have a lot of good things about them but as everyone know can be very stressful.  I am a lawyer who helps people in trouble.  One of the most troubling times for people is during and after the holiday season.  This is one of the busiest times of the year for an attorney as people are dealing with many issues with family and finances.  A lot of people also wait until after the holidays to file for divorce, bankruptcy and more. 

 A lawyer is not a counselor and can not tell you whether  this is right for you emotionally but can tell you some of the advantages and disadvantages.   There is a lot of information that is useful to think about.  The more information about your finances regarding incomes, assets, liabilities and expenses will be a large part of any discussion.  Looking at what the best case scenario, worst case and in between scenario if you do not file and the same if you do file is a good way to explore some of your options.  Most lawyers, including myself, offer a free initial meeting but if you have some of this information it will help the lawyer to advise you.

Generally the answer is yes.  As an attorney, my answer is self serving but the only negative of having a at least competent attorney is the financial cost.  The attorney can help keep the initial interview on track and articulate for you, be able to advocate why the 51A should not be supported legally and factually, appeal the 51A to a fair hearing appeal, negotiate a fair hearing appeal and more.  If you have custody hearing it is essential that you have an experienced and competent attorney for advice and to be able to present your case and shoot holes in DCF's case.

 The short answer is Yes.  Unless it is dismissed prior to the arraignment, the charge will show up but there will be a dismissal on your record with the charge.  It is not easy to use this against you but the courts and anyone who has access to your record will see it.

 Many times, Judge's, Lawyers and others will tell you that a CWOF does not show up or just shows up as a dismissal.  It is not a conviction but shows up on your record as  CWOF for the period of time and then a dismissal.  It is many times a very reasonable disposition but you need to realize that it does show up on your record as a continuance without a finding which is generally treated as an admission to sufficient facts by the court  and others.  It is much better than a conviction but not the same as a straight dismissal.

The criminal justice system is a big bureaucracy.   If charged you want to get out of the bureaucracy.  One issue is to look closely at the police report and to determine if there are sufficient evidence to charge you with a crime.   You can file a motion to dismiss arguing that even if you assume the evidence in the police report is accurate there is not enough evidence to meet the probable cause. This is an excellent vehicle to get weak cases dismissed at the outset.

In MA, child support is generally one of the more straightforward areas.  There is a guideline or formula that would be used and the Court is supposed to make a written finding if the guidelines are not being used within 2 percentage point.  The typical formula first looks at what the income for the recipient spouse( Marge) and what the cost of child care, health and dental and prior support orders is to her.  The guidelines examine how many children ( 3) Bart, Lisa and Maggie.  The guidelines then look at the GROSS income of the payer spouse, Homer and his cost for health, dental, child care costs minus any other support obligations.  So for example, if Marge is a stay at home Wife with no income or obligations and Homer made $1000 gross a week and pays $100 a week for Health and Dental then under the guidelines, Homer would pay Marge $284.  

There are reasons why the guidelines are not followed or are harder to determine   Figuring out income for those without w-2 earning, self employed individuals, overtime, bonuses, second jobs, different child sharing and so forth.  Looking at the Simpson's it appears to be that Homer has a pretty straightforward job but that both he and Marge have entrepreneurial spirit and how to figure out all of there additional income.

Generally, it would be up to Marge to choose if the money will be paid to DOR by Homer's attached check.  Other issues include who would claim the dependency exemptions for tax purposes.  Homer likely would becuase unless Marge makes a certain amount of money ( over $20,000) there is no benefit to her.  If she is making more money child support can be modified and parties can each claim one child and alternate one child.  There are questions when a child is emancipated along with college expenses( less likely for Bart) and extracurricular activities not directly related but to be examined.

In criminal law, a lot of people will tell you to plea bargain right away.  Even if you committed the crime, the state has the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt and you are presumed to be innocent.

 There are a lot of factual and legal defenses you have.  You can ask that the case be dismissed due to lack of probable cause, citation not handled correctly, the stop and seizure being wrong, the statement being excluded.  You can also force the state to provide discovery and if they do not you can have the charges dismissed reduced or evidence excluded.  The alleged victim may have a spousal privilege or 5th amendment issue.  You can ask for a dismissal due to lack of a speedy trial and more.

 I do not mean never to plead out but be careful before assuming that you automatically need to plead out.  I have handled cases with these defense and had them dismissed or reduced.  I have had many cases dismissed due to witness testimony, lack of probable cause and more.  I had a 4th offense OUI reduced to 2nd by the court due to lack of compliance( client told by other attorney to plead out to jail time), a serious sex offense dismissed on my motion for lack of speedy trial, a variety of lack of probable cause cases and much more within the last year.

I have been in the midst of  a long trial dealing with the issues of the so called family first policy versus possible bonds with a prior foster family.  Their have been several experts in the case dealing with bonding versus the identity issues with biological family.  This appears to be a cutting edge issues.  The ultimate decision is what is in the child's best interest and there is a legal question of how much weight should be given to kinship versus a bond with a prior none kinship family. 

Originally, the courts and DSS appeared to have a policy not favoring family in practical terms but in the more recent decades DSS( DCF) appeared to have had a policy of always looking for family first so long as the family passes a minimal standard before looking at at alternatives.  The cases are not as clear cut as the policy appears to state.  In fact there are more de facto parents rights that are coming across the court and there is litigation about what a family actually means.