Yes, Massachusetts’ Rules of Domestic Procedure, Supplemental Rule 410, requires a disclosure of financial information by both parties to a divorce action.  After the service of the complaint for divorce and summons, the court requires each party to a divorce action to produce three years of financial information to the other spouse within forty-five days.  This financial information includes, but is not limited to, tax returns with supporting documents, bank statements, retirement statements, pension statements, loan applications and stock accounts.  Additionally, each spouse must produce their four most recent pay stubs, as well as health insurance information regarding the cost and nature of the insurance which is available to them.  If a spouse fails to produce the required documentation after a request for the same, then the spouse seeking the information may request an order from the court to require the production of the required financial information.

If you have questions regarding the mandatory disclosure of financial information after service of the complaint for divorce in Massachusetts, contact us at Doherty, Ciechanowski, Dugan & Cannon, P.C.

Additional information: My ex obtained a 209A restraining order against me in Worcester district court which grants custody and prevents me from seeing my children.  Do I have to wait until the restraining order expires to see my children?

While the 209A restraining order is in effect, you must follow all of the orders or risk criminal prosecution.  However, although the Worcester district court may issue a 209A restraining order which awards custody to one parent, the probate court may issue an order providing for custody and visitation with the child.  A probate court order for custody and visitation has the effect of superseding the district court order and changing any provisions relating to child custody and visitation.

If you have questions regarding visitation rights or child custody issues, contact the Massachusetts family law attorneys at DCDC Law for a consultation.

Our child custody attorneys serve Worcester County and represent clients throughout Massachusetts.

The Worcester County child custody lawyers at our firm are located in Franklin and Medfield and serve the Greater Boston MetroWest region and the neighboring towns of Bellingham, Milford, Upton, Hopedale, Holliston, Medway, Millis, Medfield, Norwood, Walpole, Sharon, Foxborough, Wrentham, Easton, Mansfield, North Attleboro, Norton, Plainville, Raynham, Taunton, Attleboro, Seekonk, Rehoboth, Uxbridge, Whittensville, and Worcester.

Additional information:If a parent refuses to allow the other parent visitation with the child, does the law allow a parent to withhold child support?

No, if a parent is denied court-ordered visitation, he or she does not have the right to withhold child support based on the inability to visit with the child.  Similarly, if a parent refuses to pay child support, the custodial parent does not have the right to withhold court-ordered visitation.  The parent seeking to enforce his or her rights under the court order must file the appropriate action with the probate court.

If you have questions regarding visitation rights or child support terms, contact the Massachusetts family law attorneys at DCDC Law for a consultation.  [Read more...]

Child support may be awarded for a child eighteen years of age until the child’s twenty-first birthday if the child resides with the recipient parent and is principally dependent upon that parent for support.  Child support may continue through the age of twenty-three if the child continues to reside with the recipient parent and is principally dependent upon that parent for support due to the child’s enrollment in an educational program.  In setting a child support order for a child over the age of eighteen, the court must consider certain specified factors which include: the reason for the child’s continued residence with and dependence on the primary parent, the child’s academic circumstances, child’s living situation, the available resources of the parents, the costs of post-secondary education for the child and the allocation of those costs between the parents, and the availability of financial aid.

If you have questions regarding child support in Massachusetts, contact Massachusetts family law lawyer, Attorney Maria Rockwell for a consultation.

For most people going through a divorce, this is the most out-of-control they have ever felt over their lives. Part of that overwhelming sensation of being out-of-control is when the court is deciding their fate – how their children will be raised, how their money or debt will be carved up and who will live in their house. Divorcing couples who submit their contested divorce to the court are passing over the control of their lives and children to overworked judges to make these important decisions. Now with the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court system losing 20 percent of its judges in 2011 alone, the judges will have even less time to focus on each case, many times less than 20 minutes in a courtroom. Thankfully, there are alternatives – Mediation and Collaborative Law which allow divorcing spouses to retain and rebuild control over their lives and children.

If you would like to learn more about how to take control of your divorce, contact Massachusetts divorce attorney Michelle Raymond to better understand your options.

The parent who requests a change to the judgment must file a Complaint for Modification.  In order for a parent to successfully alter a judgment, he or she must demonstrate a material and substantial change of circumstances since the entry of the last judgment.  These changes of circumstances could include the loss of a job, an increased ability to pay, a child entering college, a child’s special needs, a parent’s inability to support the child’s relationship with the other parent or a parent’s inability to properly care for the child.

If you have questions regarding the modification of child custody or child support terms of your divorce, contact Massachusetts divorce lawyer, Attorney Maria Rockwell for a consultation.