Guest Post Introduction: Jill Reiter LICSW and 2 other highly trained and experienced mental health professionals combined their education, years of experience and knowledge to create a well thought out educational program that addresses the complications involved in co-parenting through and after divorce. This program has been implemented in the Denver area with great success! The Co-Parenting with Respect or CPR program is now available in Concord, MA. Jill provided us with the following guest post describing the CPR Program: CPR: Co-Parenting with Respect: A program designed for parents who want to co-parent more effectively. Co-Parenting with Respect through and after divorce is a concept that has been plaguing parents, attorneys, therapists, judges and children for years. How do we assist families in high conflict to continue to interact respectfully in an effort to offer their children what they need in spite of their current personal struggles? How does the C

When divorcing clients get upset, I find it is most often due to things they cannot control, such as the behavior or choices of their ex-spouse.  The best counsel I have found in those situations is to encourage clients to work on the items they have control over, and to find ways to make peace with the things they cannot control.  This advice is essentially stolen from the serenity prayer: The things you cannot change: In a divorce case, you do not have control over what your spouse does.  You can ask the court to make orders that limit or direct certain behavior, but those orders are still only pieces of paper.  Violations of those orders will have consequences, but that process can still be time consuming and often frustrating for clients.  When that frustration takes hold, it is important to remember that you do not control what other people do, but you do control your reaction to what they do. Courage to change the things you can: When you want to react to the problems

Standing Order 2-99 of the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court governs the proper procedures for submitting post-hearing Motions to the Probate and Family Court.  Per the Court's recent Press Release , amendments to this Standing Order, which took effect on July 2, 2012, clarify what types of motions may be submitted in these situations. It had become common under the old version of the order for parties to file a Motion for Reconsideration or a Motion for Clarification after receiving an unfavorable Judgment or Order after a hearing in the Probate and Family Court.  The old rule made specific reference to these types of Motions.    However, there is no specific Massachusetts Domestic Relations Procedure Rule  that allows for Motions for Reconsideration or Motions for Clarification specifically.  Under Massachusetts Domestics Relations Procedure Rule 60  a Motion for Relief from Judgment and Order may be brought, but only for very specific reasons. The amendments to the S

The current Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines  became effective on January 1, 2009 and another update may be on the way.  The Massachusetts Trial Court is currently seeking public comment and suggestions concerning potential changes to  the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines. The Child Support Guidelines Task Force which will consider potential changes will accept written comments and brief oral statements (limited to three minutes) at five public forums to be held in September, 2012.  The dates and times of the public forums are available here. Written comments can be submitted to the Child Support Guidelines Task Force at: The Administrative Office of the Trial Court; Suite 540, Two Center Plaza; Boston, MA 02108 or via email at: childsupport@jud.state.ma.us . The deadline for submission of all comments is September 30, 2012. To calculate child support under the current guidelines visit our Massachusetts Child Support Calculator here.