Legal Blog - Divorce - Custody

When issuing custody decisions, Massachusetts probate and family court judges are required to decide what is in the best interests of the child. This standard gives the judge broad discretion when issuing custody decisions. A common question parents ask is, will a judge listen to what my child has t…

Abuse Prevention orders (209A) have serious impacts on divorce proceedings. A 209A is a civil protective order requested by one party against another pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 209A. A violation of a 209A is a criminal offense. Once it is ordered, vacating this orders (209A) is no small feat. M…

You would not buy a house without giving it careful thought and consideration, the same applies when entering into a post judgment agreement. Post judgment agreements are agreements between the parties after a case has ended. These agreements can be verbal or written. Often these agreements are reac…

This post concludes the two-part series on the 2017 Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines (“2017 Guidelines”). This post focuses on the changes made relating to the relationship between a) child support and parenting time and b) child support and health care/childcare costs.…

On July 18, the 2017 Child Support Guidelines were released with an effective date of September 15, 2017. Many changes were made under these new guidelines. This post will focus on changes made relating to adult children between the ages of eighteen and twenty-three.…

This post concludes the three-part series on the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court’s recently released Parenting Coordinator Standing Order 1-17. Below is a further discussion of Bower v. Bournay-Bower and whether Standing Order 1-17 successfully implemented the advice of the Massachusetts Su…

Following Part I in this three-part series on the Probate and Family Court’s newly released Standing Order 1-17, this post discusses the 2014 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision (“SJC”) that first suggested the creation of a rule pertaining to the appointment of parenting coordinator…

Two and a half years ago, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) issued a decision regarding the ability of judges to appoint parenting coordinators to assist parties with their parenting plans. …

This post is about the intersection of Massachusetts child custody and being a Jehovah’s Witness. When representing a Jehovah’s Witness whose spouse does not believe in the doctrines of Jehovah’s Witnesses there can be a major roadblock to agreeing to joint child custody. Specifically, the dis…

Divorce does not begin with legal representation in front of the Judge. Long before a divorcee decides to pursue a divorce, an analysis of whether or not the spouse should stay married is done. Obviously, this decision should not be taken lightly. Many spouses will find themselves in this situation …