Parties who bring a petition for partition in Massachusetts have the choice under G.L. c. 241 of filing the action in either the Land Court or in the Probate and Family Court. As to the Probate court, venue is proper in the Probate Court of any county where any part...
Year: 2012
Make Sure Your Partnership/Shareholder Agreement Has Escape Hatches
Quite often, I find myself litigating partnership and close corporation disputes that could have easily been avoided had the partners just taken a little more care in drafting their agreements. The most common, avoidable problems are: No clear formula for evaluating a...
Promoting Efficient Discovery in Arbitration: the ICDR Guidelines Concerning Exchanges of Information
Countries with different legal traditions have vastly dissimilar approaches to discovery and the exchange of information. Whereas common law countries (and the U.S. in particular) favor broad discovery and the production of vast amounts of documents, European and...
Problems with Service of Summons and Complaint for Divorce
In practice, upon the filing of a Complaint for Divorce, Modification, etc., and our receipt from the court of the original Summons, we often effectuate service of Summons and Complaint on the opposing party by mailing the original Summons, with a copy of the...
Registering a Foreign Child Support Order in Massachusetts
Registering a child support order that was obtained in another state or even in another country is accomplished in Massachusetts by following the procedure outlined in M.G.L. c. 209D. Otherwise known as the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act ("UIFSA"), this...
Orders to Vacate the Marital Home
In many divorce cases, when one party tells the other that the marriage has irretrievably broken down and there is no chance of reconciliation, the other party will voluntarily vacate the marital home. Often the primary caretaker of the minor children remains in the...
Australia As An Emerging Arbitration Venue
Australia may be the seat for many an arbitration in the next few years, thanks to a concerted effort by both the Australian government and the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA) to promote their country as the next up-and-coming venue...
Pets Now A Consideration In Connection With Abuse/Harassment Prevention Orders
Signed into law on August 2, 2012 and effective October 31, 2012, Massachusetts now has new legislation applicable to the care and custody of domesticated animals (i.e., the family pet) in connection with abuse prevention/harassment orders, a/k/a restraining orders,...
Demystifying the Massachusetts Appellate Process
Often attorneys and clients think of the appeals process as an abyss - a long, uncertain process where they wait many months (or years) for a final resolution of their legal case. Although a typical trip to the Massachusetts Appeals Court is by no means quick, the...
Registering a Child Support Order from Another State in Massachusetts
Registering a child support order that was obtained in another state or even in another country is accomplished in Massachusetts by following the procedure outlined in M.G.L. c. 209D. Otherwise known as the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act ("UIFSA"), this...
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