Asking why Section 3 is on the new child support guidelines worksheet is like asking why bad things happen to good people.  Everyone has a different theory and none of them are really satisfying. The 2009 Child Support Guidelines Worksheet had two sections which broke the worksheet down into an Income Section and a Calculation Section, with a resulting recommended child support amount.  The new 2013 Child Support Guidelines worksheet changes these two sections and the calculations, which he have discussed previously . In addition, the 2013 guidelines added a new section, Section 3 titled: AVAILABLE INCOME ABOVE $4,808 (If applicable.) In cases where the combined household income is less than $4,808 per week ($250,000 per year), Section 3 will show all zeros.  However, if the family income exceeds this figure, Section 3 displays the proportional amount that each party has left-over in gross income after using the first $4808 per week in combined income to calcu...

This past summer we posted a full blog series on issues facing Unmarried Parents in Massachusetts .  While many issues that unmarried parents face may be different than those faced by married parents, most of the issues will be the same.  Parenting a child still comes with may of the same worries, financial obligations, affections, and lessons, regardless of the parents' relationship with each other.  However, when legal realities collide with economic or practical realities, there may be significant differences in how unmarried parents are treated. Removal cases are one example of this disparity in Massachusetts.  Removal is a legal term of art for the simple concept of when one parent wants to move their residence out of state and take their child with them.  In Massachusetts, M.G.L. c. 208 Section 30 covers the removal of minor children in a divorce case, and prohibits removal without consent of both parents or order of the court.  We explore in what ...

One of the downsides of Collaborative Law, as with any alternative dispute resolution process, is that if you do not settle your case outside of court, there is still the risk that you will end up in court litigating your dispute.  Many people still choose to give amicable settlement a fair chance, but a common question when trying to make this choice is "how often do these cases succeed in settling outside of court?"  While every case is different and will present unique issues, there is now some available data to answer this question. The International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP) has collected data on Collaborative cases from the professionals involved in those cases through the use of an IACP Professional Practice Survey and reported some of their findings in The Collaborative Review  Spring 2012 issue. Based on a a total of nine hundred and thirty–three cases, which were reported from October 16, 2006 through July 6, 2010, they found that: ...

A Complaint for Contempt is the action by which you can request that the Court make a finding and issue sanctions for failure of one party to meet the obligations and requirements of a Court Order or Judgment.  Sanctions can include civil fines, payment of attorney's fees and costs, modification to existing orders or judgments, or in some cases incarceration. To succeed on a Complaint for Contempt you must prove two things: first, you must prove that there has been a "clear and unambiguous" order or judgment and second, you must prove that the other party "knowingly violated" the order. If the Contempt involves a financial order, depending on the remedy you are seeking, the US Supreme Court case of Turner v. Rogers  may also now require that you prove an "ability to pay."  Traditionally in Massachusetts the Court's have allowed "inability to pay" an order as a defense to certain enforcement attempts (such as incarceration).  This w...

On August 1, 2013, the new Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines took effect.  The new guidelines contain numerous language changes which affect the interplay of child support and other issues in a divorce or paternity case; touching on everything from shared parenting to college education costs. In addition, the child support formula and the worksheet for the 2013 guidelines is significantly different than then 2009 guidelines.  The court has issued a new worksheet which is required if you are filing any matter in the Probate & Family Court that involves support of children.  To assist you in completing this form  Kelsey & Trask. P.C. and Finn & Eaton, P.C.  have created the following user-friendly apps: Massachusetts Child Support Calculator for the iPhone by Kelsey & Trask, P.C. MA Child Support Calculator for Android by Finn & Eaton, P.C. Massachusetts Divorce Information for Windows Phone by Kelse...

A disturbing item of recent news is the proliferation of positive pregnancy tests for sale on craigslist and similar sites.  Aside from the grossness factor of buying a stick someone urinated on, this practice raises some obvious and some not-so-obvious concerning scenarios.  Are the potential purchasers of these positive tests looking to commit a prank, or actually trying to convince someone that they are pregnant? If such a test was used to obtain a marriage proposal are their legal ramifications to that fraud?  Fraud can carry criminal sanctions if the intent was to extort money or sex from someone, and can also result in actionable civil damages.  Taken one step further, if the fraud resulted in a marriage, would that marriage be legal? While there are ways in which a marriage can be void, fraud does not automatically void a marriage.  However, since marriage is a contract it can be voidable.  In other words a marriage can be annulled if the cont...

Summer is finally here.  The air is humid, the sunblock is out, and it's finally time for vacations and school break.  But enjoying summer too much has its consequences.  Our  Summer Lovin'  series is about those consequences for Unmarried Parents in Massachusetts: Summer Lovin' Series #10: How do I get a paternity test? If the presumed father denies that he is the father of a child born to an unmarried mother, then DOR can perform a DNA parentage test if the mother requests DOR services.  If the mother or DOR has filed a complaint seeking child support from the father, and the father disputes paternity, then the father can file a Motion requesting that the court order a DNA test. This usually takes 6-8 weeks, and can be required by the court if the presumed father or the mother refuses to participate. You can also obtain a private test which is usually faster but will likely cost approximately $600. For more information visit our webpage d...