Skip to main content

Announcement: New Parent Education Attendance Rules in Massachusetts for Divorcing Parents

By
Taking the course is a prerequisite
for getting divorced in MA.
As of May 1st, 2016 Massachusetts has announced and ordered new changes to the Parenting Education programs for all divorce cases that involve minor children (Standing Order 2-16). The court  has ordered that all parties in a divorce action must register with an approved program within thirty days of service of a Complaint for Divorce and prior to the hearing on a Joint Petition for Divorce. (a list of the approved programs can be found here)

Once registered parties must file the "Affidavit Confirming Registration at Parent Education Program."  This is a new form and timeline, but the programs themselves are not new.

This is not a program that teaches people how to parent their children, but rather a program designed to help divorcing parents understand what the challenges their children will face because of the divorce.  It is ideal that the program be taken as soon after the parties decide to divorce, because it will help them prepare for questions and concerns their children may have about the divorce.  The court has enacted new rules around this program, presumably to ensure that parents register and attend this program as early as possible in the process.

If the parties seek to waive attendance to the Parent Education Program, they must file a “Motion to Waive Attendance at a Parent Education Program”. Waivers may be only granted for very specific reasons and the court may elect to deny the Motion.  The court may also permit a use of five-hour DVD or an online program upon filing of a “Motion to Permit Completion of Parent Education Programs via DVD."  To use the DVD the party must have a reason they are unable to attend the program.

The parties each pay $80.00 to the provider in advance of the program to offset cost of material, facilitators, and program administration. The same fee applies to the DVD program as well. If the parties are unable to afford the program then they have the option to file an “Affidavit of Indigence and Request for Waiver, Substitution or State Payment of Fees and Costs”.  If the waiver is allowed it would reduce the rate of the program to $5.00.

An uncontested divorce hearing on a Joint Petition or a Complaint may be scheduled if the parties file an affidavit confirming their registration for the program. A Pre-trial conference may be scheduled in a contested hearing as well so long as the parties complete the program prior to the Pre-trial Conference. No Pre-Trial or Trial will be held without the court receiving a Certification of Attendance from an approved program from each party unless the Court has waived the requirement.


Labels:

Comments

  1. Julia RueschemeyerMay 17, 2016 at 12:23 PM

    For those filing an uncontested divorce, note that the parenting classes still have to be completed prior to the hearing date unless the requirement is waived.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is the purpose of the Divorce Nisi waiting period?

By
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...
76 comments
Read more

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

By
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...
Post a Comment
Read more

Online Tool for Creating Parenting Plans

By
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 ...
Post a Comment
Read more