In 2014 I wrote about a child support trap. In this article I described the trap happening when two parents agree to change child support between themselves without court approval. After years of following the out of court agreement, the parent who received less...
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Should you file for divorce because of the new tax law?
In writing this article I am not encouraging people to file for divorce. In my opinion, the decision to divorce or stay married should be based on a desire to spend the rest of your life with your spouse. It should not be based on financial factors. There are many...
The Massachusetts alimony law – a deal is a deal
In 2011 Massachusetts enacted an alimony reform law. This law changed many aspects of alimony including imposing termination of alimony when the payor reaches the maximum retirement age and when the payee cohabits. Since enactment of this law, lawyers and Judges have...
General alimony begins with a divorce judgment
In September, 2011 the Massachusetts enacted into Law the Alimony Reform Act of 2011. This law changed completely the law of alimony in the state. It created presumptive maximum lengths of time for alimony to be received, guidelines to determine the amount of alimony,...
My ex and I agree to change the terms of our divorce. Do we have to go to court?
Once a Massachusetts Court has made an order or judgment in a divorce or paternity case it is enforceable by all of the powers of the Court and State for enforcement of judgments. This means that any change must be approved by the Court. Of course minor changes in the...
Alimony and bankruptcy
Collecting alimony and child support in some cases is very difficult. So what is a person to do when the payor of alimony files bankruptcy? How do you collect the money? A recent case explains what can be done outside of bankruptcy court. Alimony and child support are...
The Alimony Reform Act of 2011
The alimony reform act of 2011 was signed into law last week. This law reforms the law of alimony with the stated purpose of eliminating life long alimony. The law changes alimony in many other ways such as creating new types of alimony, allowing new factors to be...
Alimony Reform Act Part 2 – Types of Alimony
In Massachusetts, a judge can order alimony in a divorce or not. An award of alimony will last until there is a change of circumstances. The only way alimony can terminate based on a period of time is if the parties agree. Without such an agreement, alimony lasts...
Alimony Reform Act of 2011 Part 1
In 2011 the Massachusetts legislature passed a law that changed alimony in Massachusetts. The law is called the Alimony Reform Act of 2011. I will discuss the proposed changes in this blog. I will post a number of articles as there are too many changes to discuss...
