Posts by Jon Fields
Family Mediation Quarterly: President’s Letter
Dear Mediators: The most recent professional development meeting, “Collaborative Law and Mediation Tools and Techniques: A Common Ground” was a product of the joint committee of the MCFM and the Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council chaired by our own Lynn Cooper. The panelists, in addition to Lynn, were Dan Finn, Kate Fanger, Karen Levitt, and Lisa…
Read MoreAttorney Jon Fields Elected to the Board of Directors of the MA-AFCC
On Friday, April 5th, Attorney Jon Fields was elected to the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (MA-AFCC). Mr. Fields has always been deeply involved in the family law arena, and he has over 22 years of experience representing clients. Family law can be a complex…
Read More"Gray Divorce" on the Rise
While the circumstances of each divorce vary from couple to couple, there has been a recent influx in “Gray Divorce,” or divorce involving couples over the age of fifty. This growing phenomenon poses its own set of complications. Most of these issues involve alimony and retirement, things which younger married couples sometimes haven’t even begun…
Read MoreExtreme Divorce Avoidance: Man Jumps from Window to Avoid Divorce
Divorce is a difficult decision, one that is not came upon lightly, and it is hard on everyone involved. This proved especially true for one couple in Jerusalem. In early March, a man actually jumped out of a courthouse bathroom window to avoid divorce proceedings. This sounds extreme and it is safe to say that…
Read MorePrenup: No Longer Binding?
After spending nearly half a million dollars and three years fighting a bizarre prenuptial agreement, a Long Island woman has won an “unprecedented” case against her estranged millionaire husband, Peter Petrakis. Elizabeth Cioffi-Petrakis had to prove in court that she was coerced into signing the prenuptial agreement that her husband threw at her only four…
Read MoreAmerican Girl Dolls and Divorce
American Girl dolls have been a staple with children since they first debuted in 1986. They initially presented historical characters at various tumultuous stages in history, surmounting obstacles and overcoming odds. There was the Colonial American Girl facing the Revolutionary War, the young pioneer whose family was settling the West, and an Eastern European immigrant…
Read MoreSkype Aids in Proxy Marriages
Proxy marriages are on the rise. Web chat programs such as Skype allow for these marriages to occur more easily and for the bride and groom to exchanges vows from around the world. In the United States this practice is used, but infrequently and most often by members of the military in order to ensure…
Read MoreSocial Media, Marriage and Divorce in China, 140 Characters at a Time
Marriage and divorce are huge decisions and both are not made hastily. At Fields and Dennis, we deal with the repercussions of divorce on a daily basis, finding resolutions to some of the most difficult situations. Divorce is not something easily decided upon by our clients, but sometimes it is the only solution. In our…
Read MoreMassachusetts Most-Divorced Towns – 2012
New data released by the United States Census Department in December 2012 reports that on average 9.2 percent of Massachusetts residents have reported themselves at one time as being divorced. Conveniently published by WCVB Boston on January 7, 2013, this date is released just in time to encourage any Valentine’s Day cynics that love might…
Read MoreOde to a Spell Checker
ODE TO A SPELL CHECKER by Jerrold H Zar I have a spelling checker, It came with my PC. It plane lee marks four my revue Miss steaks aye can knot sea. Eye ran this poem threw it, Your sure reel glad two no. Its vary polished in it’s weigh. My checker tolled me sew.…
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