Legal Blog

No more alimony deduction? How can that be.

Just finished reading the morning paper about all the lobbying to change the new tax proposal. There was no talk about saving the deductibility of alimony. I was unaware until the draft bill came out that eliminating the alimony deduction was being proposed. This will be catastrophic for families dependent on receiving alimony or unallocated support. The elimination of the

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Thinking outside the box about mediation

Clients and family law attorneys are by now very familiar with using mediation as a technique to settle divorce cases. What is less well understood is that there are a myriad of ways to use mediators to make litigation of divorce cases more efficient and streamlined without giving up the right to have their trial or their “day in court”

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Award Winning Book on Collaborative Practice

Proud to announce my participation as one of the co-authors of this award winning book on Collaborative Practice published by Massachusetts Continuing Education (MCLE NEW ENGLAND). Thanks to all of the co-authors who participated and to MCLE for their help. The International Association for Continuing Legal Education (ACLEA) has announced that Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE New England) received three

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Merger vs. Survival of divorce agreements in Massachusetts

Separation Agreements either “merge” or “survive” a Judgment of Divorce. When a separation agreement is merged into a Judgment of Divorce, its terms are incorporated into the judgment and are modifiable by the court, because the court always has the power, in the proper situation to revise or modify its own Judgment. A ‘merged separation agreement’ has no independent legal

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Definition of income under the Massachusetts child support guidelines

The latest version of the Massachusetts child support guidelines contains a long list of items that are to be considered income for purposes of the guidelines. Most people, including lawyers are surprised when they see what is included. It makes no difference if the IRS thinks its taxable income.  There is a catch-all category for anything not itemized in the

Read More ➔

Your first meeting with your divorce lawyer

For most people the first step they take in getting divorced is contacting a divorce lawyer. A lot has been written on how to choose a lawyer. This article assumes that you already have chosen a lawyer who you think you will be satisfied with. There is a fair amount of anxiety surrounding that first meeting with a new client

Read More ➔

Filling out your financial statement

One of the more annoying tasks for someone going through a Massachusetts divorce is to have to deal with the financial statement required by the Court. It is typical that in any divorce this form will be redone more than once, because it is required to be current each time there is an important event in Court. As annoying as

Read More ➔

No more alimony deduction? How can that be.

Just finished reading the morning paper about all the lobbying to change the new tax proposal. There was no talk about saving the deductibility of alimony. I was unaware until the draft bill came out that eliminating the alimony deduction was being proposed. This will be catastrophic for families dependent on receiving alimony or unallocated support. The elimination of the

Read More ➔

Thinking outside the box about mediation

Clients and family law attorneys are by now very familiar with using mediation as a technique to settle divorce cases. What is less well understood is that there are a myriad of ways to use mediators to make litigation of divorce cases more efficient and streamlined without giving up the right to have their trial or their “day in court”

Read More ➔

Award Winning Book on Collaborative Practice

Proud to announce my participation as one of the co-authors of this award winning book on Collaborative Practice published by Massachusetts Continuing Education (MCLE NEW ENGLAND). Thanks to all of the co-authors who participated and to MCLE for their help. The International Association for Continuing Legal Education (ACLEA) has announced that Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE New England) received three

Read More ➔

Merger vs. Survival of divorce agreements in Massachusetts

Separation Agreements either “merge” or “survive” a Judgment of Divorce. When a separation agreement is merged into a Judgment of Divorce, its terms are incorporated into the judgment and are modifiable by the court, because the court always has the power, in the proper situation to revise or modify its own Judgment. A ‘merged separation agreement’ has no independent legal

Read More ➔

Definition of income under the Massachusetts child support guidelines

The latest version of the Massachusetts child support guidelines contains a long list of items that are to be considered income for purposes of the guidelines. Most people, including lawyers are surprised when they see what is included. It makes no difference if the IRS thinks its taxable income.  There is a catch-all category for anything not itemized in the

Read More ➔

Your first meeting with your divorce lawyer

For most people the first step they take in getting divorced is contacting a divorce lawyer. A lot has been written on how to choose a lawyer. This article assumes that you already have chosen a lawyer who you think you will be satisfied with. There is a fair amount of anxiety surrounding that first meeting with a new client

Read More ➔

Filling out your financial statement

One of the more annoying tasks for someone going through a Massachusetts divorce is to have to deal with the financial statement required by the Court. It is typical that in any divorce this form will be redone more than once, because it is required to be current each time there is an important event in Court. As annoying as

Read More ➔

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