And It's All Your Fault! MA "Fault" Based Divorce #5: Refusal to Provide Suitable Support

Technically, one can seek a divorce from a spouse by pleading that their husband or wife has "grossly or wantonly and cruelly refuses or neglects to provide suitable support and maintenance." This ground for "fault" divorce has a companion action: an action for separate support. However, a complaint for separate support only deals with support payments, and does not provide for the division of assets and the dissolution of a marriage, as this rarely-used ground for divorce does.

This ground for "fault"-based divorced is rarely used for a few reasons. First, there is no advantage gained when compared to a "no fault" divorce. Second, proving that your spouse has either grossly or wantonly and cruelly not provided suitable support is a very difficult. Simply putting one spouse on a very limited allowance or refusing to allow access to bank or credit card statements doesn't meet this evidentiary burden. You also have to prove that the spouse who has allegedly refused or neglected to provide suitable support actually has "sufficient ability" to provide support. This needs to be an intentional (and I would argue complete) economic abandonment.

When dealing with alimony and the division of property, any divorce action claiming that one spouse has grossly or wantonly and cruelly refused to provide suitable support and maintenance, or one filed on "no fault" grounds but with identical facts, will likely have a motion for temporary orders filed soon after the complaint seeking temporary alimony payments.

Comments

New Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines (2021): Big Changes, Little Changes, Typos & some Unexpected Results

UPDATE: The court has released a web calculating version of the 2021 MA Child Support Guidelines Worksheet . It resolves some of the typos referred to below, but the unexpected calculations still apply. Every four years, per federal mandate, the Massachusetts Probate & Family Court revisits the Child Support Guidelines through the work of a Task Force appointed by the Chief Justice. The 2021 Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines were recently posted. They take effect on October 4, 2021. If you are interested in a training on all of these changes to the new Child Support Guidelines: DMTA Presents the 2021 MA Child Support Guidelines Update – Attend this event to learn the key updates you need to know for your mediation clients. Presented by Justin Kelsey of Divorce Mediation Training Associates and Skylark Law & Mediation, PC . For a full comparison of all the tracked changes between the 2018 and 2021 Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines you can download a pdf sho

Online Tool for Creating Parenting Plans

It is our hope that all families find a way to resolve conflict peacefully. This is especially true when children are involved. Divorced or separated parenting has many complications and the first is just deciding how to share time with a child from two separate households. Developing a schedule can result in a lot of tension, especially if parents have trouble picturing how this new schedule will interact with their work schedules and the schedules of their children. To help make this easier, we've created an online tool for creating parenting plans that is simple and easy to use: We encourage parents, regardless of the process they are using to divorce, to use this form to assist in evaluating and settling custody disputes. The form allows you to choose between the Model Parenting Plan proposals or customize your parenting plan over a four week period by clicking directly on the form. When you click on a section of the calendar it switches between Mom and Dad, an

What is the purpose of the Divorce Nisi waiting period?

In Massachusetts the statutory waiting period after a Judgment of Divorce and before the divorce becomes final (or absolute) is called the Nisi period. After a divorce case settles or goes to trial, a Judgment of Divorce Nisi will issue and it will become Absolute after a further ninety (90) days. This waiting period serves the purpose of allowing parties to change their mind before the divorce becomes final. If the Judgment of Divorce Nisi has issued but not become final yet, and you and your spouse decide you don't want to get divorced, then you can file a Motion to Dismiss and the Judgment will be undone. Although many of my clients who are getting divorced think the idea of getting back together with their ex sounds crazy, I have had cases where this happened. In addition to offering a grace period to change your mind, the Nisi period has three other legal effects: 1. The most obvious effect of the waiting period is that you cannot remarry during the Nisi period, be

Search This Blog