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Meet Our Summer Intern - Patricia Cordischi
Along with our projected move (more on that soon!) and fresh start to the summer, we have taken on a new member of the Skylark team. Patricia Cordischi, a rising senior at Brandeis University,...
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Can a person reporting a Restraining Order violation be sued if they're wrong?
Though our work is primarily focused on family mediation, a recent Anti-SLAPP case caught our attention. The Anti-SLAPP statute protects those “petitioning” a government entity from retaliatory civil...
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8 Changes in the 2017 Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines
Update: Use our 2017 Guidelines Calculator here.Every four years the Child Support Guidelines in Massachusetts are updated by a Task Force appointed by the Chief Justice of the Trial Court. In 2013...
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Finding Clients? It's Complicated! (sort of)
I recently told a room of potential referral sources an easy way to remember me as a resource for their clients. I didn't tell them that they should remember me for being a mediator. I didn't tell them...
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Can Child Support Modifications be Retroactive by Agreement? Calabria v....
With the release of the updated 2017 Child Support Guidelines, everyone is talking about how the new guidelines will change current child support orders. Right at the cusp of the child support...
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This Is Your Court Day: Nov 8
For many people the judicial system is the most mysterious of the three branches of our government. Especially in states like Massachusetts where judges are appointed instead of elected, the...
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Skylark welcomes Jennifer Hawthorne, Collaborative Attorney & Mediator
Skylark Law & Mediation, PC is excited to welcome Jennifer Hawthorne to our family of collaborative practitioners. Jennifer is a trained mediator and collaborative family and probate attorney with...
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Future Changes to Alimony are Limited by Marital Lifestyle: How the Young v....
post by Jennifer HawthorneIn most families, when spouses decide that getting a divorce may be the best road forward for their family, one of the first questions that almost universally causes concern...
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Meet our Intern - Kristyn Stoia
We have a new member of the Skylark Team:Kristyn Stoia is currently a Freshman at Boston College majoring in English and is also pursuing the Pre-Law track. Outside of academics, she can usually be...
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E-Filing has Arrived in the Massachusetts Probate & Family Court (Sort of)
The Probate & Family Court is moving to electronic filing (through http://www.efilema.com/). As with any changes in the courts, this is a process and, as of the time of this posting, only certain...
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The Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017 Includes a Divorce “Penalty”
Guest Post from Julie Tolek*Divorces are difficult, over all, but add to them the stress of trying to understand tax law, and the road ahead looks even darker. One bright spot in the tax laws (pre...
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What is a "Reasonable Period of Time" for Alimony to Continue, when the Law...
Alimony cases come with their complications, and the Alimony Reform Act raised may questions for people who already had alimony orders prior to 2012. As with any other element of domestic law, it truly...
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Avoid Delays in Retirement Division with this QDRO & DRO Checklist
This is a guest post from Justin L. Kelsey's consulting business, Gray Jay Endeavors LLC. Gray Jay provides QDRO and DRO preparation, and education and consulting services relating to retirement...
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Improving Negotiations using Collaborative Values: A Checklist of Tools
Improving Negotiations using Collaborative Values: A Checklist of Toolsby Beth Aarons, JD, MSW, Jody Comins, MSW, and Justin Kelsey, JDOn April 27, 2018, we presented to the Massachusetts Collaborative...
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Child Support Guidelines Update: Fixing the Table B Problem
Today, May 18, 2018, the court announced at the MCLE Family Law Conference that a new child support guidelines worksheet will be effective as of June 15, 2018. The new worksheet is available here....
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Child Support Guidelines Update: Fixing the Double Counting of Health Care...
Today, May 18, 2018, the court announced at the MCLE Family Law Conference that a new child support guidelines worksheet will be effective as of June 15, 2018. The new worksheet is available here....
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How to be Divorced by the End of the Year
How long it takes to get divorced can be divided into three stages: Stage 1: How long does it take you to start your divorce process? This is completely up to you and your spouse.Stage 2: How long...
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Reducing the Barriers to Legal and Mediation Services: Making our Website...
Guest post by Kristyn Stoia:Unless you’ve ever faced barriers while using a website, Web Accessibility is probably something that you’ve likely never heard of. However, there are numerous hurdles those...
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Accessibility with an Injury: The Problem with Sounding like your Mother
We recently published a post regarding the importance of making websites more accessible to all potential users where we provided some tips on improving accessibility. Accessibility is not just an...
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Appeals Court Confirms Again, Verbal Agreements are not Good Enough to Modify...
Guest Post from Julie Tolek*In the recent case of Smith v. Smith (17-P-765), the Appeals court upheld a finding of not guilty of contempt of disobeying a court order to pay alimony, but vacated and...
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