What County do I File my Divorce in?

In Massachusetts, the county that you file your Joint Petition for Divorce or your Complaint for Divorce in is controlled by M.G.L. c. 208 s 6.

Assuming that Massachusetts has jurisdiction to hear your case (which we explain in this previous post), you should file in the probate court in the county where either you or your spouse lives, unless one of you still resides in the county where you last lived together, in which case you should file in that county.

To figure out how that standard applies in your case, answer these questions to figure out where you should file:

Question 1: Do you or your spouse still live in the county where you last lived together? If Yes, then file in that county. If no, then continue to Question 2.

Question 2: Do you both live in Massachusetts? If Yes, then you can file in either the county where you live, or the county where your spouse lives. If no, then continue to Question 3.

Question 3: Does one of you live in Massachusetts? If Yes, then you can file in the county in Massachusetts where one of you lives. If No, then you should file in the county that you last lived together in Massachusetts.

If you never lived together in Massachusetts and neither of you lives in Massachusetts now, then review our previous post on jurisdiction because there is a good chance, you cannot file in Massachusetts.

There are Two Exceptions to the above described rules:

Exception 1: In the event of hardship or inconvenience to either party, the court having jurisdiction may transfer such action for hearing to a court in a county in which such party resides.

Exception 2: In cases where this is a potential conflict of interest, the court having jurisdiction may transfer the action to another county. For example, if a court employee is getting divorced it would not be fair to them or their spouse to have the case heard in the court where the employee works.

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