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…

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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…

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MA 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…

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Husband Receives No Part of Wife’s $12,000,000 Inheritance

The Appeals Court upheld a Probate judgment in which the judge did not award husband any part of the wife’s $12,000,000 inherited interest in various trusts.  The decision does not indicate the precise extent of the marital estate but infers that the wife was left with substantially greater assets than the husband.  The parties lived…

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Is Income Equalization Dead?

The Probate Court equalized the incomes of two parents with a child support order.  On the father’s appeal, the Appeals Court affirmed.  On further appellate review, the SJC vacated the support award, holding that “income equalization is inconsistent with principles that inform child support orders in the Commonwealth.” Such orders, said the SJC, should not…

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