Legal Blog - Legislation

President Donald Trump’s busy first weeks in office included the signing of an executive order on immigration that, among other things, serves to ban citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States for the next one hundred and twenty days. This order sparked much disc…

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…

In the fall of this year, the FBI released its annual compilation of reported crimes from across the country. According to the FBI’s report, there were approximately 1,197,704 violent crimes committed in the United States in 2015, representing a 3.9% increase from the previous year.[1] Violent cri…

Following Part I in this three-part series on the Pfannenstiehl v. Pfannenstiehl case, this post discusses how the majority opinion as well as the dissenting opinion handled a spendthrift trust interest in relation to the marital estate and its subsequent division.…

2011 Alimony Reform Act  – Modification of current alimony obligations Read part II to learn the standard for modifying a current alimony judgment. Section 48(7) of the 2011 Alimony Reform Act states that current alimony judgments may be modified. If the current alimony obligation survives th…

In 1996, the federal government passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). DOMA bars the Federal Government’s recognition of same-sex marriages. Barack Obama has made it clear that he supports homosexuals right to fight openly in the military and their right to have civil-unions. He has even state…

Representative John W. Scibak of South Hadley, Massachusetts filed Bill No. 2684 relative to supporting children and Joint Custody ; Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities. The purpose of the bill is to change the language of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 208 Section 31 to create a pr…

In Massachusetts, the Department of Children and Families (hereinafter “DCF”) is responsible for protecting children across the state from abuse and neglect. Often times, parents find themselves as the recipients of an unfavorable DCF decision, in which DCF supported an accusation of abuse or ne…

The State of Illinois made headlines in January when it completely revamped its custody laws. Gone are the words “custody” and “visitation” and in their place are the terms “parenting plans” and “parental responsibilities”. Lawmakers cited the evolution of the family structure as the…

Divorcing during your golden years can be difficult, but a Massachusetts Divorce Attorney can help you maximize your Social Security earnings. If you were married for at least 10 years and you aren’t currently remarried, then you can collect Social Security based on your ex-spouse’s earnings. If…