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Alimony Reform Update: Committee Hearing on Wednesday 5/18

The Alimony Reform Act of 2011 has had a lot of buzz in the past few months. Since it's filing, over 130 legislators have signed on as Petitioners and many family law practitioners have expressed their support for the bill.

Despite some reservations we at Kelsey & Trask, P.C. have about the bill, we believe that it is a significant improvement over the current alimony law in Massachusetts. In addition, we recognize that some of the provisions that we think could be improved (such as the child support integration) were the result of significant compromise from all of the interested parties (lawyers, judges, citizens and advocates).

Therefore, we at Kelsey & Trask, P.C. support the efforts of Bill Sponsor Gale Candaras and the numerous petitioners to have this bill entered into law as soon as possible.

If you agree, voice your opinion to your state legislators. The Joint Committee on the Judiciary is holding a hearing this Wednesday, May 18, 2011 at 1:00 P.M. in the Gardner Auditorium.

If you're interested in seeing a summary of the bill's changes and viewing a calculator for the proposed formulas visit MassAlimonyFormula.com.

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