Handy Tool for Massachusetts Parenting Time Records

I am often asked by clients what type of record keeping they should be doing when going through difficult child custody or visitation matters. Many people keep no records, which can create difficulties when you're trying to discuss the extent of parenting time and involvement in a child's life. Some client's keep less detailed calendar's which denote dates of visitation and (sometimes) length, but rarely include the true meat and potatoes of the visit or more specifically, what did you do?

What I have included after the break if a handy form for you to use to keep track completely of your parenting time with your child or children. The sample that I have placed below the break contains a watermark with my contact information. If this is a form that you are interested in utilizing please feel free to contact me.

Child Support Modification After Morales

On March 12, 2013 the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts issued a decision in Morales v. Morales which clarified the nature of child support modification in the Commonwealth. In Morales, the lower court (in this case the Worcester Probate & Family Court) denied a Complaint for Modification, finding that there was no "material and substantial change in circumstance and no modification was warranted."

The SJC, in overturning the lower court decision found that the "no material change in circumstance" finding was not warranted as G.L. c. 208 § 28 merely sets out that "if there is an inconsistency between the amount of the existing order and the amount that would result from application of the child support guidelines" a modification is warranted. This standard, typically referred to as the inconsistency standard, stands in place of the material change in circumstance standard and permits a modification, if and when, there is an inconsistency in the amount of support to be paid -- regardless of the amount of time that has passed since the entry of the order.

The timeliness argument and finding is interesting. Under the Child Support Guidelines as they are promulgated in the Commonwealth "any child support order less than three years old may be modified only if there has been either (1) a change in health insurance coverage, or (2) a material change in circumstances." In Morales, the lower court found no change in health insurance, and no material change in circumstances in a child support order that was less than three years old --- and yet the SJC overturned the decision because of the inconsistency.

So, how did the SJC rectify the seeming incongruous Child Support Guidelines and G.L. c. 208 § 28? Judge Botsford, writing for the Court specified that the Child Support Guidelines were promulgated pursuant to Federal law, specifically the Family Support Act of 1988. Following the passage of the Family Support Act of 1988, the Commonwealth passed G.L. c. 208 § 28 "to provide that child support modifications would thereafter be governed by the inconsistency standard." The Court found that though "there have been subsequent amendments to Title IV-D that reflect yet additional changes to the Federal legal standard applicable to support order modifications, the inconsistency standard in § 28 has not been amended to take these Federal statutory amendments into account. Accordingly, we are bound to apply the provisions of § 28 as written."

What does this mean for you?

Well, if you are currently paying or receiving child support and you believe that there is a difference between the amount you are paying or receiving and the amount that you should be paying or receiving then you should be prepared to file a Complaint for Modification, even if every other fact applicable to your case is precisely the same as it was when the previous order was put into place. 

Modification is often difficult and is almost always highly contentious, as a Family Law attorney I would always recommend hiring a Family law attorney to help you address your Modification concerns and presenting your case. If you would like to speak to me about possibly filing a Modification my contact information is included in the bar at the righthand side of this page, please feel free to contact me at any time.

How Parental Alienation Syndrome Brainwashes the Child

This is a video that was created by Les Linet, M.D. from Princeton, NJ and I thought it did a good job of describing things that I see when dealing with cases in parental alienation. I would only preface this video by saying that in my experience the alienating parent can be either the Mother or Father. This video uses examples that rely on the Mother being the alienating parent, and by posting this video I do not wish to suggest that only Mother's alienate their children. I have been involved in cases where Father's have attempted to alienate their children from the children's Mother as well.

Checklist of Financial Documents for Divorce

One thing that remains true for (almost) all of my Massachusetts divorce clients is that they prefer when I give them the option to retrieve documents as I prepare their case file. When you, as the client, obtain documents to assist your divorce attorney in preparing your file it saves time and money. By avoiding the need of having your divorce attorney send out deposition subpoena's and other discovery requests for items that you, as the client and subject individual could more easily obtain, you will save yourself some billable hours in the long run. Of course there will be times when the documents you provide to your divorce attorney are not sufficient should your case proceed to trial, but evidentiary issues aside, most of my clients ask "what can I get for you?" at one time or another.

After the break I have included a lengthy checklist of documents that I frequently ask for as financial disclosures. If you're preparing, or going through, a divorce in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts these are typically the documents that your divorce attorney is going to be most interested in. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and for the most part I use this list internally only, which means that much of it won't apply. However, in an effort to get as much information "out there" as possible, after the jump you will find my checklist for financial disclosures.

Massachusetts Parental Alienation

Parental alienation is a relatively new concept in the area of Family Law, and as any relatively new concept it is often misunderstood in general practice. One of the main causes of confusion as it relates to the concept of parental alienation is that the definition is scarcely defined in the literature. Parental alienation is, for all intents and purposes, any constellation of behaviors, whether conscious or unconscious, that could evoke a disturbance in the relationship between a child and the targeted parent." See Darnall, Douglas "Parental Alienation: Not in the Best Interest of the Children," 75 N. Dak. L. Rev. 323 (1999).

The risk with parental alienation is that if not addressed, it may rise to the level of parental alienation syndrome, as defined by Dr. Richard Gardner's work "The Parental Alienation Syndrome and the Differentiation Between Fabricated and Genuine Child Sex Abuse." Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) focuses on a child's behavior, and is often visible when a child refuses visits, expresses unjustifiable hatred towards the targeted parent, displays no fear of the court, harbors irrational beliefs shared by the alienating parent, and cannot see any good in the targeted parent.

The Courts, especially in Massachusetts, have yet to deal specifically with the issue of parental alienation or parental alienation syndrome. However, some Courts have dealt with the issue and the action that the Court's take as it relates to parental alienation and PAS is severe. The Supreme Court of New Hampshire has dealt with the issue of parental alienation in, In The Matter of James J. Miller and Janet S. Todd, cited a Vermont case "Across the country, the great weight of authority holds that conduct by one parent that tends to alienate the child's affections from the other is so inimical to the child's welfare as to be grounds for a denial of custody to, or a change of custody from, the parent guilty of such conduct."

The Supreme Court of New Hampshire also cited a decision in a prior New Hampshire case that set forth that "the obstruction by a custodial parent of visitation between a child and the noncustodial parent may, if continuous, constitute behavior so inconsistent with the best interests of the child as to raise a strong possibility that the child will be harmed."

You may believe that there is a potential parental alienation situation occurring in your own divorce/child custody arrangement. The Court's outside of the Commonwealth have provided numerous examples of signs of potential parental alienation, and PAS including "child's grooming and appearance during transfer for parenting time...calculated to provoke contact," repeatedly being denied visitation, not being allowed contact, limiting telephone contact, children are falling behind in schooling and many other examples.

The lack of guidelines provided by the Courts of the Commonwealth relative to parental alienation and/or parental alienation syndrome may be discouraging, but if you feel that you are the victim of parental alienation it is important to take immediate action. The issues of parental alienation can be addressed and rectified, however if not addressed the problem may rise to the level of parental alienation syndrome and then the damage done to your relationship with your children may be beyond repair. If you feel that you may be suffering in a parental alienation situation you should contact a family law attorney immediately.

Note: This article originally appeared at the following: http://www.armyandarmylaw.com/Family-Law/Parental-Alienation.shtml