Guest Post Introduction: Jill Reiter LICSW and 2 other highly trained and experienced mental health professionals combined their education, years of experience and knowledge to create a well thought out educational program that addresses the complications involved in co-parenting through and after divorce. This program has been implemented in the Denver area with great success! The Co-Parenting with Respect or CPR program is now available in Concord, MA. Jill provided us with the following guest post describing the CPR Program: CPR: Co-Parenting with Respect: A program designed for parents who want to co-parent more effectively. Co-Parenting with Respect through and after divorce is a concept that has been plaguing parents, attorneys, therapists, judges and children for years. How do we assist families in high conflict to continue to interact respectfully in an effort to offer their children what they need in spite of their current personal struggles? How does the C...

When divorcing clients get upset, I find it is most often due to things they cannot control, such as the behavior or choices of their ex-spouse.  The best counsel I have found in those situations is to encourage clients to work on the items they have control over, and to find ways to make peace with the things they cannot control.  This advice is essentially stolen from the serenity prayer: The things you cannot change: In a divorce case, you do not have control over what your spouse does.  You can ask the court to make orders that limit or direct certain behavior, but those orders are still only pieces of paper.  Violations of those orders will have consequences, but that process can still be time consuming and often frustrating for clients.  When that frustration takes hold, it is important to remember that you do not control what other people do, but you do control your reaction to what they do. Courage to change the things you can: When you want t...

Standing Order 2-99 of the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court governs the proper procedures for submitting post-hearing Motions to the Probate and Family Court.  Per the Court's recent Press Release , amendments to this Standing Order, which took effect on July 2, 2012, clarify what types of motions may be submitted in these situations. It had become common under the old version of the order for parties to file a Motion for Reconsideration or a Motion for Clarification after receiving an unfavorable Judgment or Order after a hearing in the Probate and Family Court.  The old rule made specific reference to these types of Motions.    However, there is no specific Massachusetts Domestic Relations Procedure Rule  that allows for Motions for Reconsideration or Motions for Clarification specifically.  Under Massachusetts Domestics Relations Procedure Rule 60  a Motion for Relief from Judgment and Order may be brought, but only for very spe...

The current Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines  became effective on January 1, 2009 and another update may be on the way.  The Massachusetts Trial Court is currently seeking public comment and suggestions concerning potential changes to  the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines. The Child Support Guidelines Task Force which will consider potential changes will accept written comments and brief oral statements (limited to three minutes) at five public forums to be held in September, 2012.  The dates and times of the public forums are available here. Written comments can be submitted to the Child Support Guidelines Task Force at: The Administrative Office of the Trial Court; Suite 540, Two Center Plaza; Boston, MA 02108 or via email at: childsupport@jud.state.ma.us . The deadline for submission of all comments is September 30, 2012. To calculate child support under the current guidelines visit our Massachusetts Child Support Calculator here.

Until 2011, there was no formula enacted or endorsed by the Massachusetts Legislature or the Courts for the calculation of duration of alimony. However, on September 26, 2011, Governor Deval Patrick signed into law The Alimony Reform Act of 2011 , which became effective on March 1, 2012. The act provides for multiple types of alimony, and for maximum amounts and duration of alimony. The new law also limits the duration of General Term Alimony : General Term Alimony Ends Upon: Remarriage of the recipient; Death of the recipient; Death of the payor (though the court may order life insurance or reasonable security for payment of sums due to the recipient in the event of the payor's death during the alimony term); Except when the court finds that deviation is warranted, upon the expiration of the duration formula calculated below; Upon the cohabitation of the recipient spouse with another person for a continuous period of at least three months (may also result in suspension o...

Pursuant to the Alimony Reform Act of 2011 , there is a presumption that general term alimony ends upon the payor attaining Full Retirement Age, when he or she is eligible for the old-age retirement benefit under the United States Old-Age, Disability, and Survivors Insurance Act, 42 U.S.C. 416. The presumption can be rebutted but it requires clear and convincing evidence. The Social Security Full Retirement Age may be different than your actual retirement date. Kelsey & Trask, P.C. has created an online calculator to help you determine your Full Retirement Age and retirement date by simply entering your birth date. Click here to try the Calculator. The Calculator is based on the information available below which is taken directly from the Social Security website: If you were born in 1944 or earlier, you are already eligible for your full Social Security benefit. If you were born from 1943 to 1960, the age at which full retirement benefits are payable increases gr...

I once overheard an older relative ask one of my cousins if her husband was babysitting their children.  Since my cousin didn't have the children with her, the older relative was simply asking if the children were with their father.  But my cousin heard it differently.  She answered that he was their father and didn't "babysit", he "parented" their children. For those who grew up at at time when Ward Cleaver was the typical father figure, only entering the picture to discipline the children or throw a ball with them, if a father is taking care of the children while mom is out that is unusual.  But the newest generation of parents grew up with the hands-on parenting of Dr. Huxtable and Danny Tanner .  To what extent TV is just reflecting the change in societal norms or affecting them is beyond the scope of this post.  But clearly there has been a shift regarding how involved the average father is in the everyday parenting responsibilities. If the ...