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

Hi there,

It appears that the divorce rate is declining.  That can only be considered good news, but anecdotally I think it means that the percentage of tougher cases has increased for practitioners. I have noticed our group seems to have a never ending stream of custody cases.  I am in the middle of a custody trial right now, so I decided to pass on some things that may help the kids.

First of all, Massachusetts has a mandated parenting course.  Divorcing parents of kids 18 and younger are required to take this course within 45 days of filing.  I try to get my clients to take it as soon as possible, as it can help with some very simple things.

Then from a child's perspective, how your parents tell you about the divorce is critical.   While there always should be a united, supportive front, many divorcing couples are unable to get past the immediate anger to present a united front.

Books help (In my world books always help, but that's another post).  Almost every library has an excellent selection.  A list of books reviewed by Benjamin Garber, MD and members of the staff of the Barr-Harris Children's Grief Center may be accessed here.

And remember, kids are resilient and they know when they are loved.

Best,

Nancy

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Hi there,

Boy do the weeks go by fast!  It feels like I just did one of these yesterday.

I had a post here last week on how not to divorce using the Gosselin's embarrassing public saga as an example.  Apparently, I was not the only one who thought they were over the top. 

I am frequently asked what books on divorce I can recommend and embarrassingly, I really have no suggestions.  Some time ago a colleague sent me this post about suggested reads courtesy of Atty. Stephen McDonough's "The Divorce Collaborative" blog.  I have checked out the list of suggested books and they are indeed worth reading.

Simply because it really falls into the category of child neglect (abuse?), I have a link to a good story about last Friday's idiocy, aka the Balloon Boy saga, which now appears to have been a hoax.

And finally, yet another hoax.  This type is more common unfortunately.

Have a good week!

Best,
Nancy

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Hi there,

It is exciting to see the New England states recognizing the fairness of allowing gay folks to marry. It is a huge step and where people can marry they also inevitably will pay taxes and some of them will later divorce.  In these areas much inequity still remains.

The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) impacts the income tax and divorce tax status of gay couples regardless of whether or not they are legally married.

They cannot file federal income taxes as married filing jointly; when, and if, they divorce any transfers of property between them are taxable events, as they are not for heterosexual couples, and there is no deduction for alimony.

All of these are costly, but still it is terrific to have another state recognize gay marriage.

Best,

Nancy

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Hi there,

For most divorcing couples the legal process begins with filing what is called the complaint. This is a form (PDF) which sets out the basic information the Court and the other side need. In addition to the obvious, it asks where you last lived together as this tells the court whether or not you have filed in the right county and whether Massachusetts has jurisdiction.

It lists the children, asks if anyone has filed previously and also asks what are the grounds for divorce. Massachusetts is a "no fault" state, we call it "irretrievable breakdown." In practical terms this means that either a person can get a divorce without the assent of the other party and without having to prove the other party at fault. Which brings me to the fault grounds. We have a lot of choices; irretrievable breakdown (two kinds, with an agreement and without one) and fault grounds:
• Adultery
• Cruel and abusive treatment
• Utter desertion continued for one year
• Sentence of confinement in a penal institution
• Gross and confirmed habits of intoxication caused by voluntary and excessive use of intoxicating liquor, opium or other drugs
• Gross or wanton and cruel refusal or neglect to provide suitable support and maintenance
• Impotency

I've been practicing 30 years and I've seen a lot of cases where adultery has occurred, this obviously has hurt the non cheating spouse BUT I've only used adultery as the grounds a few times, generally when the client had to declare those grounds in order to comply with certain religious requirements. The reason for this restraint is that Judges tend to frown on using the more dramatic grounds because the complaint is a public document, easily accessible and potentially in the future could be viewed by children, employers etc. As more and more counties get the dockets online this reason has become even more compelling. This doesn't mean that you ignore bad behavior, conduct is one of the areas a Judge must consider if he or she is trying the case, it just means that you cover all types of bad behavior by filing for cruel and abusive treatment. Everyone knows that cheating on your spouse is cruel. Right?

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