Skip to main content

Can Property be Divided by the Court in a Paternity Action?

Our last post addressed a recent decision by the Massachusetts Appeals Court to extend attorney's fees liability to opposing counsel on a frivolous appeal.  In this post we discuss why was the appeal was considered so frivolous?

In Callahan v. Bedard, Case No. 13-P-914, decided on April 23, 2014 (available here), the Appeals Court was asked by a father to overturn a lower court's refusal to set aside a Judgment in a paternity case.  The father had signed an agreement for settlement that was incorporated into a Judgment by the Probate and Family Court judge, and about six months later changed his mind and asked the Probate & Family Court to undo the Judgment pursuant to Mass.R.Dom.Rel.P. 60(b).

While not explicitly stated by the Appeals Court, the fact that the father was trying to back out of a deal he
had willingly made certainly weighed against him.  In addition to the father's bad faith, though, the Appeals Court directly addressed the issue the father wanted to undo:  the assignment of certain property (a condo) into a trust for the benefit of the child.

The father argued that the Probate & Family Court did not have jurisdiction on a paternity action to include property division issues.  The Appeals Court could have relied heavily on the father's own submission to the court's jurisdiction by signing the Agreement, or the fact that the Agreement itself is likely also a contract.  Instead, the Appeals Court addressed the jurisdiction issue, and determined that "the inclusion and enforcement of the agreement lay well within the jurisdiction of the probate court."

The Appeals Court pointed to three grounds for the court's subject matter jurisdiction over the property division issues: equity jurisdiction, precedent, and Chapter 209C (the statute relating to actions between parents of children born out of wedlock).   The Appeals Court's found that the mother won on all three of these evaluations:
"First, the decision to incorporate the parties' agreement into the judgment falls squarely within the probate court's general statutory authority to impose equitable remedies. Furthermore, as precedent such as Sutton v. Valois, supra, has established, the unmarried status of the father and mother does not diminish the court's equitable powers.  Finally, the enforcement of paragraph 9 rests within its specific statutory jurisdiction to care for the welfare of a child born out of wedlock, as contemplated by c. 209C, §§ 3 & 9."
It is unclear from this decision how far the Appeals Court would extend jurisdiction for these issues.  Would the Appeals Court have upheld this property transfer if ordered by the Judge, rather than by Agreement?  Probably not, but this decision might open the door to argue property division issues in paternity cases.

In addition, this decision certainly opens the door for mediators and other alternative dispute resolution processes to include these issues in agreements between unmarried parents.

For more information on unmarried parents visit our website.

(Note: although “unpublished” opinions of Appeals Court panels do not create the same binding precedent as decisions of the full Appeals Court, these so-called “rule 1:28 decisions” are available online, and are frequently cited by attorneys and judges in Massachusetts for their persuasive value.)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...

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 Ch...

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 ...