In Massachusetts, both the child support guidelines and the alimony statute address second job income.  One key question for both child support and alimony is determining when the additional income started. The definition of income for both child support and alimony starts the same.   M.G.L. Chapter 208 Section 53b  states (with some limitation) that income for determining alimony shall be defined as set forth in the Massachusetts child support guidelines.  The child support guidelines define income as "gross income from whatever source regardless of whether that income is recognized by the Internal Revenue Code or reported to the Internal Revenue Service or state Department of Revenue or other taxing authority."  The guidelines then go on to list numerous types of income that would be included. In the child support guidelines, second job and overtime income are addressed immediately after the definition of income and start with the presumption that the ...

The Massachusetts Appeals Court released a decision on December 30, 2014,   Vedensky v. Vedensky  (13-P-1392), deciding numerous issues related to the determination of alimony on a modification.  The Appeals Court upheld most of the lower court's decision except on one issue, including the payor's second job income, which caused the award to be remanded to the lower court.  This continues a trend in recent alimony cases for the Appeals Court and SJC to look very closely at awards of alimony under the still relatively new Alimony Reform Act . In Vedensky, the wife and husband entered into a Separation Agreement in 2007 that included the husband paying child support to the wife and no present alimony, but the issue of future alimony was left modifiable.  After suffering from psychological disabilities that affected his ability to work, the husband sought a reduction of his child support in 2009 on a Complaint for Modification, which obligation was terminated i...