In Hoegen v. Hoegen, the Massachusetts Appeals Court addressed whether it was a double dip to include restricted stock unit income in a child support order when those stocks had already been considered in the asset division.  The Appeals Court determined that the income should be included in the calculation, because the child support income definition is broad.  For more on that decision visit:  Income: What's In and What's Out when Calculating Child Support? In contrast to the child support guidelines, Massachusetts law on alimony specifically excludes income from previously divided assets: "When issuing an order for alimony, the court shall exclude from its income calculation: (1) capital gains income and dividend and interest income which derive from assets equitably divided between the parties under section 34..." MGL c. 208 § 53   This means that the RSUs addressed in the Hoegen case would not be included for alimony calculations.  But what about stock ...

(Post updated to fix dead links and reference 2021 Guidelines) In Massachusetts, the Child Support Guidelines define the income that can be used when calculating child support.  The list is exhaustive and as a starting point almost all income is considered with very few exceptions (both for the payor and recipient).   We've created this handy tool for reference when trying to remember this guideline: doesallmyincomecountwhencalculatingchildsupportinmassachusetts.com What's In:  In a recent case, Hoegen v. Hoegen, the Massachusetts Appeals Court indicated that even income from Restricted Stock Units that may have been waived in a property division should be included in the child support determination.  Here is a blog post that beat us to an in depth look at that case: Lynch & Owens, PC - Are RSUs “Income” in Massachusetts Child Support Calculation? The Appeals Court in the Hoegen case noted that even though RSUs are not included in the sourc...