Massachusetts Divorce Law Monitor : Boston, MA Divorce & Family Law Lawyer & Attorney : Nancy Van Tine : Burns & Levinson Law Firm

Hi there,

Lawyers like to use arcane language, or at least language that only we use.  GAL is shorthand for a guardian ad litem, which is Latin for a guardian for the litigation, which is an arcane term for a person appointed by the judge in a divorce case generally to perform certain investigatory services in a custody or parenting matter.

The GAL is usually someone with a mental health background, although they can be a lawyer. Often the Family Service officers are appointed to do a similar investigation, usually in cases where money is a real issue. Some of the best investigations I have seen have been done by FSO's. Like anything else it depends on the individual doing the work.

When two parents cannot decide on who should have custody, when there are allegations by one parent or both parents of abuse or neglect, when one parent has been accused of having mental health issues or drinking issues, or when there are removal issues (when one party wants to take the kids and move out of state) then a GAL may be an appropriate choice. It is an expensive and time consuming choice as well. Often if there are any kind of mental health or behavioral allegations psychological testing will be performed. It should always be done on both sides. The GAL will interview the parents, the kids, the parents with the kids (generally mom and kids and dad and kids not both together, often more than once, they will interview the professionals involved in the parent's and kids lives, doctors, teachers, nannys and mental health professionals. The last will require the appointment of another GAL (more money) this one to determine if the circumstances warrant waiving the patient psychotherapist privilege between the kid's therapist and the GAL so the therapist can be interviewed.

This is not only very expensive but very intrusive, but often enormously helpful.

Most people will never need a GAL, be grateful!

Best,

Nancy

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Hi there,

I keep getting sidetracked from the 10 Steps In The Divorce Process by breaking news stories and I have to admit this one (Mel Gibson's divorce) is a bit tacky!

Admittedly when Mel Gibson married he could have had no idea as to how phenomenally successful he was going to be. He also, given his very public religious convictions, probably did not anticipate a divorce, but still...

Most states, including Massachusetts, recognize the validity of prenuptial agreements.  Mr Gibson hails from Australia, so perhaps at the time he married it was not an option; but here and now if there are, or may be, considerable assets, a prenup is a good thing. Prenups are important to consider if you or your spouse is marrying for the second time and there are children of the first marriage; if there is an inheritance expected in the future; if one party or the other has an interest in a family business. Prenups cannot decide anything regarding children but pretty much everything else can be dealt with.  

I do have a warning, or perhaps caution is a better word, prenups do require partners to talk about finances but the process can be extremely fraught. Here you are planning a wedding AND deciding who gets the wedding presents when you divorce.  I am not personally in favor of prenups for ordinary people, like me, for that reason.

However, if you are planning to be Mel Gibson; or you have wealthy parents, children from a prior marriage, or considerable wealth already and you are thinking of getting married...consider a prenup. In Massachusetts, with both sides having separate, competent counsel, absent fraud and with full disclosure, they are pretty much bullet proof.

Best,

Nancy

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Hi there,

Since last week I have been thinking about the legal implications of the gay marriage decision in Vermont and found that it raises more questions than I had initially considered.  These relate specifically to the impact of marriage on a state which allowed civil unions.  This raises the issue of will the civil union be deemed a marriage thus increasing the length of the marriage and having impact upon divorce on all sorts of issues from custody thru finances?  There also may be issues because if the state now treats civil unions as marriages then if one party to the civil union marries someone else without dissolving the civil union, is that bigamy?

Clearly this will be very complex and interesting as it unfolds.

Best,

Nancy

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (3)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Hi there,

Absent a trial (and at least 95% of all divorce cases settle without one) a deposition is often the only time the parties to a divorce testify under oath.  It is one of the most effective tools the lawyers have, both to find out what has really gone on and to discover what kind of a witness their client and the other side will be.  Any good attorney will spend time with the client preparing him for the deposition. A while ago I came across a really good description in the Missouri Divorce & Family Law Blog.

Then yesterday a buddy of mine sent me the following insane video as to what not to do at a deposition. It rates as the most incredible piece of bad lawyering I've ever seen.

Best,

Nancy

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Hi there,

Discovery is the point in the process where the attorneys, using various legal tools, are able to quantify just what is going on financially, as well as with other concerns, such as custody or parenting issues.

The first financial discovery tools are the Rule 410 production and the financial statement, both of which are described in a prior post. Once those have been exchanged, the attorneys usually move on to Requests for Production of Documents (RPD) which are expansions on the Rule 410 production. If yours is a case where there are business valuation issues or a need for a forensic accountant (more on those in later posts) then those experts will chime in here with a request for the documents they will need.

At the same time as the RPD is sent out, the attorneys often will exchange Interrogatories, which are a limited series of questions to be answered under oath. Generally the lawyers also ask what are called Expert Interrogatories, where we request information from the experts and their reports so that both sides know what all of the valuations are. These experts can range from real estate appraisers, business valuators and forensic accountants, all the way to doctors and psychologists etc. if there is a custody issue or a medical issue involved.

Once the documents have been exchanged and the Interrogatories answered, (the rules provide time frames for these - which generally are expanded) the next steps are depositions, which are sessions in which you and your spouse, separately, are brought into the opposing attorney’s office to answer questions under oath. In addition to each spouse, depositions of other folks occur as well. Depositions are so complex I will do a separate post on them later.

The rules also allow for requests for medical examinations, examinations of real estate and art antiques, etc. as well as a nifty document known as Requests for Admissions. This permits one side to really pin down the other by requiring them to admit to or deny facts. If they deny a fact that you later prove, they have to pay the cost of the proving. This is an effective procedure that is used a lot in civil practice but not frequently enough in divorce cases.

Discovery can be lengthy and extremely expensive but also is a very necessary tool in many cases.

Take care,
Nancy

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Hi there,

Great News from Vermont - gay marriage is now legal! I know this can be a political hot button, but ever since I read the Goodridge decision (PDF) which made Massachusetts the first state in the nation to legalize gay marriage, I have been proud to hail from Massachusetts. Vermonters can now feel the same pride.

Tell me what you think.

Best,
Nancy

 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link