Legal Blog

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.G.L. c. 119A, §13a. Recently, however, the Massachusetts Appeals Court developed a …

Continue reading “Massachusetts Child Support: Payor’s Equitable Credit”

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 crimes include aggravated assault, robbery, murder and rape. While …

Continue reading “Unwanted Visitation: A Look at How Massachusetts Handles Visitation between a Child Conceived from a Rape and the Perpetrating Parent”

From the launch of HBO’s new series Divorce to the now infamous decoupling of Brangelina, divorce is currently a topic of discussion on every news channel and magazine across the country. While there are many reasons for a couple’s divorce, infidelity is among the most publicized. Aside from garnering widespread attention, does infidelity have any …

Continue reading “Infidelity and Divorce: What Effect, If Any, Does Infidelity Have on Divorce?”

A lawyer in Ohio made national headlines a short while ago after she was held in contempt for refusing to obey a judge’s order to remove a political pin from her suit. While the term contempt is familiar to most people, few understand when and how it should be used, especially in the context of …

Continue reading “Civil Contempt and the Massachusetts Probate Court”

Effected litigants and attorneys throughout the Commonwealth breathed a sigh of relief when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) provided clarity in the matter of Pfannenstiehl v. Pfannenstiehl. The matter was remanded to the probate court for further consideration. The Court ruled