Legal Blog - Divorce - Finances

Annulment vs. Divorce: many confuse the two family law processes as being one in the same. One similarity of the two processes is that, like in divorce, the Court has the power to make orders relative to the care and custody of any children born from an annulled marriage. Massachusetts General Laws …

It is far too common that a party hides income and assets before and/or after filing for divorce. However, uncovering hidden income and assets is possible through the discovery process. It is the court’s job to make rulings to ensure that the parties and their children receive support and an equit…

It is customary in Islam that parties negotiate a mahr. A mahr is a payment from the groom to the bride at the time of the marriage and becomes the bride’s property. During a divorce, does Massachusetts have the authority to enforce the mahr?…

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.…

Upon filing a Massachusetts complaint about divorce, you will receive a summons that you must have served on your spouse. The summons serves several purposes. 1) It informs the non-filing spouse that you have filed for divorce. 2) It then instructs your spouse to file an answer to the complaint with…

Often times, the decision of whether or not to file for divorce is a tough one. Once you file and the complaint and summons are served on your spouse, you may feel a sense of relief but also a feeling of panic: what do I do next? According to Massachusetts Supplemental Probate and Family Court &hell…

A question that frequently arises in a divorce is how to treat certain income producing assets. Under Massachusetts law, a Probate and Family Court Judge has the authority to equitably divide the marital estate between the parties. Additionally, the Judge can also award support to one of the spouses…

Often times, custody situations change but parties do not immediately explore the potential effect on previous child support orders. Under Massachusetts case law, it is clearly established that a child support order cannot be retroactively modified without a pending complaint for modification. See M…