Attorney Fields Speaking on Family Law Mediation in Wellesley

Fields and Dennis, LLP is pleased to announce that Jonathan Fields will be speaking on the topic of “Mediation Challenges for the Family Law Practitioner” in Wellesley on April 8th. He, along with Kate Fanger, Esq. and Ellen Waldorf, Esq., will be presenting on behalf of the Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation (MCFM) at the…

Read More

Mediation for Families

Mediation is a tool that can be invaluable to families. At Fields and Dennis, we are well-versed in all aspects of Family Law, and we often turn to mediation as an agreeable and less distressing means to an end.  There are many ways that mediation can benefit families at various stages of life. From divorce to estate planning and everything in between, mediation can be an…

Read More

Case 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 More

Case 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 More

MA 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 More

MCFM President's Letter: The Genius of Family

On September 13, as most of you know, MCFM marked an important milestone – our 30th anniversary.  We honored the occasion with an event at the Endicott House in Dedham.  Thanks to the organizers (in alphabetical order – Lynn Cooper, Barbara Kellman, Diane Spears, Laurie Udell, and Fran Whyman,) it was a well-attended and unqualified…

Read More

MCFM FPresident's Message

Dear Mediators: I am so honored that you, my peers, have elected me President and hope that, over the next two years, I prove worthy of the choice. For those of you who don’t know me, I have been practicing law for 21 years and the last 16 have been in the family law area.…

Read More