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

Hi there,

I was sorry to see that Tuesday the Maine voters rejected single sex marriage.

In Massachusetts, however,  the Appeals Court  in what is known as a "slip opinion" (a slip opinion does not have the dis-positive force of law, but can be utilized as part of a court argument or brief), has extended the time concept of the length of a single sex marriage backwards from the date of marriage to the date of the couples' commitment ceremony.  This means that gay couples may be considered to have been married longer than in fact they were.  This is not the first time Massachusetts has made this determination (again in a slip opinion).  This potentially has huge significance for divorcing single sex couples.

There is however a Supreme Judicial Court decision, and in Massachusetts, SJC decisions always trump Appeals Court decisions.  The SJC held that in a personal injury matter, the length of the marriage was ONLY that time in which the parties were indeed married.

This has the effect of muddying the already murky water of single sex divorce in Massachusetts a little bit more.

Best,

Nancy

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Hi there;

Right now one of the more interesting discussions in matrimonial law in Massachusetts is how long should alimony last.  Currently, judges lack the authority to terminate alimony with any finality, due in part to the fact that unless there is an agreement between the parties that the court won't be able to change the alimony provisions, any judgment regarding alimony is not necessarily final and often must be rather open-ended (or as we in the trade describe it alimony ends at death or the recipient's remarriage).

This has resulted in a lot of anomalous situations, the most common of which has to do with retirement.  As a result, there is a move afoot to eliminate alimony upon the retirement of the payor spouse.  There is currently a case pending before the SJC which will determine how this goes. Boston Magazine had an interesting article on this recently.  However, as with so much in family law, there can be circumstances that require a different result, as well as the application of judicial discretion.  David Cherny, another prominent divorce attorney in Boston, had an interesting comment on Fox News in this regard.

As with so much else in divorce, I think the question of alimony should be decided on a case by case basis.   Formulas tend to miss the realities and nuances of people's lives and a divorce decision should, if possible, honor that.

Best,

Nancy

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