The Massachusetts statute on the enforcement of child support judgments is very clear that child support judgments are not "subject to retroactive modification except with respect to any period during which there is pending a complaint for modification." M.G.L. c. 119A §13(a) .  A recent Massachusetts Appeals Court decision recognized some exceptions to this rule "in certain very limited circumstances." Rosen v. Rosen (2016) The Rosen case involved a couple who were married fourteen years and divorced by agreement in 2003.  The mother had primary physical custody of three children and the father paid monthly child support of $4,500.  Upon the oldest child moving in with the father, he unilaterally reduced his support by 1/3 without court approval.  The parties later reached an agreement (2009) memorializing a change in support to $3,400.  The agreement was filed but not approved by the court due to procedural issues. In 2011, a second child moved in...

Even after a divorce the conflict between couples sometimes continues due to an ongoing support order or co-parenting relationship.  If spouses don't settle on an agreed upon process for addressing future changes, these disagreements can often lead to additional court cases. In the case of Fehrm-Cappucino v. Cappucino , a 2016 Massachusetts Appeals Court case, the parties took a modification and contempt action to trial and appeal, resulting in a remand of both cases back to the trial court for new findings.  In  Fehrm-Cappucino , the father sought a reduction in his child support in a modification, and the mother sought a finding of contempt against the father for non-payment of a lump sum owed under their agreement. Here is what we can learn from the Fehrm-Cappucino decision: 1.  Rental Income Is Includible for Child Support Calculations The trial Judge excluded rental income each parent had from properties they had an interest in.  The tri...

Divorcing spouses that choose outside-of-court dispute resolution, like mediation or collaborative law , often list privacy as one of their primary reasons for choosing to avoid court.  This may seem obvious when thinking about the publicity around celebrity divorces  but anyone having their dirty laundry aired publicly can be damaged both emotionally and financially.  Below are some precautions that practitioners and clients can take to protect private information in divorces, even if they're not a celebrity. 1.  Protect Personal Identifying Data:  The court process in many states is public (in Massachusetts this includes hearings, most court documents, and trials), however there are some limitations on what information is public.  Certain documents, such as the Financial Statements, are typically impounded, meaning the public does not have access to those documents and they are only available to court personnel, parties and their counsel. ...

There are two different levels of protection you might have when meeting with a professional and they are both important: Confidentiality and Privilege. Confidentiality is a duty for the professional to keep information you share with them private, and different professions have different sources of authority for such a requirement.  In other words, confidentiality is rooted in the obligations of the professional, not necessarily in a right of the client. Privilege , however, is a right that is granted only in particular situations.  In this context when we are discussing privilege we are referring to a right, conferred by the government, to exclude certain information from being admitted in a court proceeding.  This could mean, for example, that if a privilege applied you could prevent the professional from testifying in court.  Privilege is a right rooted in the relationship between the professional and the client, and is typically owned by the client. Is ...

Post by Valerie Qian . We’ve all been feeling a lot of anxiety and uncertainty during this election season. Amidst this uncertainty, the Probate and Family Court has issued two new forms to make the beginning of a Massachusetts divorce case, at least, a little bit less uncertain. Effective immediately, parties who are served with or accept summons on a Complaint for Divorce can respond on the court’s new Answer and Counterclaim forms. The Divorce Process Options in Massachusetts: In Massachusetts parties can file a Joint Petition for Divorce or a Complaint for Divorce.  We encourage couples to first consider Mediation and Collaborative options, which typically lead to a Joint Petition filing.  However, sometimes there are emergency issues or protective issues that require the filing of a Complaint for Divorce to get a court process started.  Or, as we see too often, someone who wasn't informed about their other options files a Complaint because they believe th...

Donald Trump and I have something in common.  We both currently hold the title President-Elect.  Last night, Donald Trump was elected as the next President of the United States and will take office in January, 2017.  I am the president-elect of the Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council (and will take office in March, 2017).  Admittedly his election is a bigger deal, and also much more contentious than mine.  That tension needs to be discussed, and I believe Collaborative Law can be instructive in how we make that conversation constructive instead of destructive. While all the votes are not counted yet (as of the time I am writing this - 9:10 AM EST on November 9, 2016), Donald Trump has won enough electoral votes to win the Presidential election.  He will likely lose the popular vote, though practically speaking the difference is nominal (0.1286%).  That means that our country is divided almost exactly in half when it comes to electing our Preside...

Retirement Benefits are often one of the largest assets in a marriage.  That makes them particularly important to consider in a divorce. We've previously covered the  5 Things you Should Include in a Divorce Agreement when Dividing Retirement Accounts , but we barely scratched the surface when it comes to the different options you might see in more complicated retirement plans.  It is always essential to review the Summary Plan of any retirement account to ensure that you (or your attorney) understand all the benefits and limitations that surround that plan, before trying to divide it.  When the plan is a defined benefit plan, one of the most important and often misunderstood details is how to divide the survivor benefit. A defined benefit plan, also typically referred to as a pension, is a plan that has a defined amount that will pay out (usually monthly) for the participant's lifetime (instead of a total amount that could run out, like an IRA).  This cre...