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.

Distributing Marital Assets in a Massachusetts Divorce

The division of marital assets in Massachusetts divorce cases is controlled by M.G.L. c. 208 s. 34. Often the division of the assets in a marriage is at the forefront of a client's mind, and they want to know what the Court takes into consideration when making such a division. The following information are the criteria to be taken into account by the Probate and Family Courts of the Commonwealth in determining what is a fair and equitable distribution of the marital estate.

1.  Length of marriage
2.  Conduct of the respective parties during the marriage.
3.  Ages of the respective parties.
4.  Health of the respective parties.
5.  Station of the respective parties.
6.  Occupations of the respective parties.
7.  Amount and sources of income of the respective parties.
8.  Vocational skills of the respective parties.
9.  Employability of the respective parties.
10.  Estates of the respective parties.
11.  Liabilities of the respective parties.
12.  Needs of the respective parties.
13.  Current needs of the minor children of the marriage.
14.  Future needs of the minor children of the marriage.
15.  Opportunities available to the respective parties for future acquisition of capital.
16.  Opportunities available to the respective parties for future acquisition of income.
17.  Contributions of the respective parties in the acquisition, preservation or appreciation in value of their    estates.
18.  Contributions of Husband and Wife as homemaker.
19.  Present and future needs of the dependent children.

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.

No Double Dip: Beware Alimony and Child Support Payments in Massachusetts

When the Commonwealth of Massachusetts passed the Alimony Reform Act in the first half of 2012 one of the main talking points of act was the duration limitation on alimony awards. However, from my prospective the more influential portion of the Alimony Reform can be found in § 53 of G.L. c. 208. This section, and more specifically subsection (c) prohibits the Court from including "gross income which the court has already considered for setting a child support order" in the calculation of alimony.

What does this mean in practical terms to the Massachusetts divorce client? It means that if you're paying child support, most likely you also won't be paying alimony.  I say "most likely" because the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines specifically do not apply where the combined gross annual income of the parties exceeds $250,000.00.

For those parties who this exception does not apply to G.L. c. 208 § 53 creates a situation where if you're paying child support, you won't also be obligated to pay alimony. Of course this makes sense. This was not always the way of things though, and there are many people in the Commonwealth who are writing two separate checks to their former spouse for alimony and child support.

In fact, even in cases where it may be appropriate for child support and alimony to be awarded concurrently, the Alimony Reform Act provides limitations. G.L. c. 208 § 53(g) specifies that  "if a court orders alimony concurrent with or subsequent to a child support order, the combined duration of alimony and child support shall not exceed the longer of: (i) the alimony or child support duration available at the time of divorce; or (ii) rehabilitative alimony beginning upon the termination of child support." Once again the intent of the Legislature was obviously to provide limitations to alimony to prevent situations where individuals are paying alimony for a significant period of time after their children have all grown and moved on with their lives.

If this is the case in your situation, you may be entitled to a modification of your alimony obligation. It would be wise to consult a Family Law attorney in the Worcester county area to advise you of your rights and discuss with you the possibility of modifying your existing alimony obligation.