As we have previously covered here,  The Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017 Includes a Divorce “Penalty”  for divorces that take place after December 31, 2018 if they involve alimony.  Prior to this act, and up until December 31, 2018, alimony was tax deductible to the payor and taxable income to the recipient, which allowed for a shifting of taxable income to a lower tax bracket.  If an agreement is entered prior to the end of 2018, and this benefit is preserved, then it continues into future years, even if the amount is later modified.  This has led many couples, already in the divorce process, to consider whether they want to work on finalizing their case prior to the end of 2018 to preserve this option. Because some states, like Massachusetts, have waiting periods for finalizing a divorce, this law change raised a question: Does the deadline of December 31, 2018 apply to the divorce being finalized, or just having a written agreement completed? The answ...

A new Massachusetts Homestead law was signed in December, 2010 (taking effect in March, 2011) and there are some provisions that relate to how a homestead is or is not affected by divorce: Effect of Homestead on Child Support or Alimony: M.G.L. c. 188 Section 3(b)(4) - The Homestead Exemption does NOT protect you from collection of child support or spousal support (a/k/a alimony). Effect of Marriage on Homestead for Spouse: M.G.L. c. 188 Section 5(d) - "The estate of homestead of an individual who records a declaration of homestead under section 3 and who subsequently marries shall automatically be deemed to benefit that individual’s spouse." Effect of Divorce Orders on Homestead for Spouse and Children: M.G.L. c. 188 Section 6 - "In a case where a complaint for divorce, separate support, guardianship or conservatorship has been filed in the probate court by or against a person entitled to the benefit of an estate of homestead, the spouse and minor children of...

UPDATE: There is pending legislation for major changes to the alimony statute in Massachusetts. The Alimony Reform Act of 2011 was filed on January 18, 2011 and you can learn more about the Act at MassAlimonyFormula.com or in our recent blog post highlighting the differences between the bill and the current law . In March of 2010 Attorney Justin Kelsey of Kelsey & Trask, P.C. was contacted by the NYS Law Revision Commission because of his involvement in co-authoring the Divorce Spousal Support Calculator . The NYS Law Revision Commission was asked by a member of the New York State Assembly to investigate how other states were addressing the issue of alimony formulas. Attorney Kelsey discussed the issues at length during a telephone conversation with the executive director of the Commission and expressed his opinion (as described in a past blog post ) that a formula at least has the advantage of treating everyone the same and offering consistency to the treatment of alimony by...

There are two ways to ask this question: Can I start dating while my divorce case is pending? and Should I start dating while my divorce case is pending? If you ask five different attorneys whether you should start dating during a divorce, you will probably get five different answers but here is ours: From a technical legal standpoint, adultery in Massachusetts is still a crime. Although it is almost never prosecuted it is important to note that if you engage in an intimate relationship while still married you are technically violating Massachusetts law and this could be brought up in your divorce case. From a more practical standpoint, as many of my clients have heard, I have a saying that goes "Don't live your life for your divorce case." By that I mean that you have to still live your life and make choices that are good for you, and not just good for your divorce case. But you also have to recognize that choices have consequences. In this instance if you hav...

UPDATE: There is pending legislation for major changes to the alimony statute in Massachusetts. The Alimony Reform Act of 2011 was filed on January 18, 2011 and you can learn more about the Act at MassAlimonyFormula.com or in our recent blog post highlighting the differences between the bill and the current law . The Stevenson-Kelsey Spousal Support Calculator has been renamed. It will now be known as the Divorce Spousal Support Calculator: An Alimony Formula Resource. We are hoping that this name change will reflect our intention that the calculator be used by everyone to evaluate the reasonableness of alimony proposals in divorce cases. In keeping with that goal, we have also updated the latest calculator worksheet and article to include statutes from both Texas and Maine relating to alimony. In addition, the article contains reference to the latest debate in Massachusetts surrounding a House and Senate bill both proposing changes to the current Massachusetts statute relating ...

UPDATE: There is pending legislation for major changes to the alimony statute in Massachusetts. The Alimony Reform Act of 2011 was filed on January 18, 2011 and you can learn more about the Act at MassAlimonyFormula.com or in our recent blog post highlighting the differences between the bill and the current law . Attorney Scott R. Stevenson of Hingham, Massachusetts and Attorney Justin L. Kelsey, Esq. (one of the authors of this blog) created the Stevenson-Kelsey Spousal Support Calculator as a tool to enable family law practitioners to better advise their clients regarding the settlement of divorce cases where a primary issue is the proposed alimony payment from one spouse to the other. There is not currently any “formula” for the calculation of the spousal support obligation (also referred to as “alimony”) that is endorsed by either the Massachusetts Legislature, a consensus of Massachusetts Probate and Family Court Justices, or even a consensus of Massachusetts family law practiti...

UPDATE: There is pending legislation for major changes to the alimony statute in Massachusetts. The Alimony Reform Act of 2011 was filed on January 18, 2011 and you can learn more about the Act at MassAlimonyFormula.com or in our recent blog post highlighting the differences between the bill and the current law . Alimony, also called spousal support, is paid by the wage-earning spouse (the spouse who has traditionally earned the majority of the income during the marriage) to the non-wage-earning spouse to allow the non-wage-earning spouse to continue to live in the lifestyle to which he or she has become accustomed during the marriage assuming their is enough income to do so. There is not currently any formula enacted or endorsed by the Massachusetts Legislature or the Courts for the calculation of alimony. The amount of alimony is dependent on the consideration of all of the factors described in M.G.L. c. 208 Section 34. You should consult an attorney to d...