Massachusetts Appeals Court Reaffirms that a Trial Court May Not Award Joint Custody in Divorce Without Making Detailed Findings About Allegations of Domestic Violence in Determining Children’s Best Interest On January 30, 2026, the Massachusetts Appeals Court held in...
On October 7, 2024, the Massachusetts Senate passed legislation to bring Massachusetts into conformity with all other states and adopt a form of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act (UCCJEA). The UCCJEA was drafted in 1997 by the National Conference...
What is the Standard for a Complaint for Modification for Child Custody? In Erhartic v. Erhartic (Memo and Order Rule 23.0 Decision July 26, 2024), the Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed the Probate and Family Court’s decision to maintain joint legal custody, order...
The Appeals Court decision of Howard v. Howard underscores the significance of effective co-parenting and civility during custody disputes. In this case, the parties continued to live together in the marital home with their four children following the Mother’s filing...
In Peacock v. Peacock (Memo and Order Rule 23.0 Decision April 29, 2024), the Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed the Probate and Family Court’s marital home date of valuation. In August 2019, the husband moved out of the marital home. In November 2019, the wife...
In Trethewey v. Trethewey, the Appeals Court vacated a Probate and Family Court judge’s double counting of an asset as both a divisible asset (and liability) of the marital estate and a stream of income. This decision provides guidance to both family law practitioners...
In a recent decision, Openshaw v. Openshaw, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) held that in certain circumstances it is proper when setting a spousal support order to consider the parties’ historical allocation of income to savings as an element in...
Domestic animals, such as dogs, are considered personal property under Massachusetts law. When a romantic relationship ends, what happens to the pet the couple jointly owned? This issue has become increasingly common for couples going through a break-up, particularly...
During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Probate and Family Court suspended the requirement for all parties in divorces involving children, actions to establish paternity, complaints for modification and contempt involving custody and/or parenting-time, or any...
Whether a beneficial interest in a trust is includable in the marital estate for divorce purposes is a question that has typically led to big disputes between divorcing parties. While the answer to that question still rests on the particular facts and merit of a...
