Posts Tagged ‘Massachusetts Family Law’
Jonathan Fields Selected for Inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® for Family Law
Jonathan E. Fields was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America ® 2015 edition in the field of Family Law. The listing is based entirely on exhaustive peer-review surveys and, according to the publisher, “is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession.” A Federal Court…
Read MoreCase Law Updates from Family Mediation Quarterly, April 2014
Temporary Alimony Doesn’t Count. In the most significant case concerning the Alimony Reform Act, the SJC determined that the period during which temporary alimony is paid during the pendency of a divorce proceeding pursuant to G.L. c. 208 s. 17 is not included in the calculation of the maximum presumptive duration of general term alimony. …
Read MoreCase Law Updates from Family Mediation Quarterly, October 2013
PC Agreement Held Enforceable. A recent Appeals Court decision held that an agreement to use a parenting coordinator (PC) was enforceable, even where one party does not want to use one anymore. The father had sought the appointment of a new PC after the PC’s initial one-year term ended; the Probate and Family Court judge…
Read MoreCase Law Updates from Family Mediation Quarterly, July 2013
“Agreed upon Educational Expenses” and the Price of Silence. Because “agreed upon expenses” recurs so frequently in our agreements, this recent case from the Appeals Court should be of great interest. The separation agreement, incorporated into a California divorce judgment and registered in Massachusetts, provided that each party would pay one-half of all agreed-upon educational…
Read MoreMA Family Law: Inconsistency Standard v. Material Change of Circumstances
What standard must a Probate and Family Court use when faced with a modification of a child support order when the case is within the Child Support Guidelines? The trial judge in this case dismissed the modification complaint because, although the ex-husband’s income had increased, she found there was not a “substantial and material change…
Read MoreMA Family Law: Modifying Age of Emancipation of an Out-of-State Child Support Order
As mediators and lawyers, we are often confronted with out-of-state divorce judgments. Since Massachusetts has the most generous emancipation statute in the country, those out-of-state judgments often provide that support ends long before a child’s 23rd birthday, depending on the state. Steve and Mary Ellen Freddo had four children and were divorced in Florida. Following…
Read MoreMA Family Law: Imputing Income: Reasonable Efforts to Find Employment
The Probate and Family Court imputed income to an ex-wife based on her present ability to obtain employment. On appeal, the Appeals Court reminds us that the test for imputing income is a two-part inquiry: (1) whether the person has a present ability to obtain a particular job and (2) whether the person exercised “reasonable…
Read MoreMA Family Law: Court Must Consider Tax Consequences if Presented
Court Must Consider Tax Consequences if Presented. Under the Internal Revenue Code, alimony cannot be contingent on a child-related event lest it be re-characterized as non-deductible support. Here, the Probate and Family Court entered a judgment requiring the Father to pay alimony until the youngest child graduated from high school at which point it would…
Read MoreMarlene's Material Modification
Material Change Trumps Inconsistency Standard. Marlene Morales sought to modify child support when her ex-husband’s hourly wage increased $.87 per hour. Although child support would have increased in this Guidelines case, the Probate and Family judge dismissed Marlene’s modification action on the basis that she failed to prove “a material change of circumstances.” On appeal,…
Read MoreLawyer-Mediator’s Subsequent Representation of Party
A Nebraska attorney served as a mediator for an unmarried couple in a child custody dispute; later, after the mediation had concluded, this same attorney represented the mother against the father in a suit involving the father’s alleged wrongful theft of certain of the mother’s property. The father sought to disqualify the attorney on the…
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