The Alimony Reform Act of 2011  took effect on March 1, 2012 and significantly changed the law in Massachusetts relating to awards of alimony. Today, the Massachusetts Appeals Court released an opinion that addresses some of the questions still surrounding the Act.  Hassey v. Hassey,  No. 13-P-864 (2014,  available for download here ). In Hassey , the Appeals Court addressed four primary issues in the lower court's decision: Base Alimony of $8,500 per month - VACATED Self-Modifying Alimony of 30% of Husband's gross income in excess of $250,000 - VACATED Termination of Alimony on ""retirement as defined in the Act Reforming Alimony of 2011, as it may be amended." - REMANDED FOR AMBIGUITY Exclusion of Wife's inherited interest in vacation home from marital estate - VACATED We've summarized the take-away points from this decision: 1. The Basic Definition of Alimony and its Purpose HAS NOT CHANGED While there are numerous provisions deali...

In many divorce cases, the initial fight is over who will leave the house. In cases where the parties own the home, the first person to leave is often very concerned that the spouse remaining behind will have a financial advantage. While there are some potential financial advantages to the party that remains behind, in most cases they are minimal when compared to the quality of life improvement one experiences by leaving a stressful living situation. The potential financial advantage is primarily the use of the house during the pendency of the divorce action, which may have some financial benefit depending on how the bills of the house are split during the separation. There is also the immediate expenses for moving and replacing any furniture or other necessities, but unless one party buys the other out from the house both will eventually have this cost. There are potential problems with one party controlling the property, for instance they can make it more difficult to show to...

In Massachusetts, the standard for a no-fault divorce is whether or not you subjectively believe that your marriage is irretrievably broken down with no chance of reconciliation. If you are separated but believe that there is a chance of reconciliation, then you should not get divorced (and you do not meet the legal standard to do so anyway). However, if you are separated and you do believe that your marriage is over, then there are some compelling reasons not to wait to get divorced. This four part post will highlight the most compelling of these reasons. Reason #1 Not to Wait: Cutting Financial Ties So long as you are married, you have a financial link to your spouse. In Massachusetts any property that you hold either jointly or individually can be considered marital property subject to division by the family court. This means that if you acquire financial assets after your separation your spouse may have a claim to those, even if they didn't pay a dime to help you ob...