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Will the Alimony Tax Change Pressure Couples to Finalize their Divorce in 2018?
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,...
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Bringing Home the Bacon, and Frying It: The Appeals Court Defines Economic...
Guest Post from Valerie Qian*Does it make a difference for my legal rights if my spouse and I lived together before we got married?The lawyerly answer, which I know is one most people can’t stand, is...
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What Does it Mean to Call Yourself a Collaborative Lawyer?
It's not unusual to hear a lawyer describe themselves as collaborative. I've also heard "I haven't taken the Collaborative Law training, but I certainly consider myself collaborative!"But what do they...
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Divorce Mediation Training Associates Prepares to Change Leadership
Divorce Mediation Training Associates has just announced that long-time trainers John Fiske and Diane Neumann will be stepping down and, starting in 2019, Justin Kelsey (of Skylark Law & Mediation,...
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Wanted: Diverse Divorce Practitioners. Why Diversity is Good for All of Us
Guest Post from Valerie Qian*Cultural competence and sensitivity to the needs of diverse clients are an essential part of being an effective and successful professional.My father-in-law recently...
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The Questions that Lawyers and Mediators aren't asking but should: Let's talk...
I recently had the opportunity to train with two of the most prominent mediators in Massachusetts: John Fiske and Diane Neumann. Each time they run a training, John and Diane share what they think is...
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Valerie Qian Accepts Position in the Circuit Executive's office of the US...
We are very excited to announce that on December 10, 2018, Valerie Qian will begin a position in the Circuit Executive's office at the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. While this...
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The Alimony Reform Act: Lessons Learned in the Last Six Years
by Valerie Qian & Justin L. KelseyThe Alimony Reform Act of 2011 defined what alimony is and how it should work in much greater detail than the prior law. The Alimony Reform Act, 2011 Mass. Acts...
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What is the Right Percentage in Massachusetts for Post-Trump Alimony?
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (President Trump's tax reform passed at the end of 2018) ended the alimony tax deduction for divorce agreements starting on January 1, 2019. For an explanation of this tax...
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Why is it So Hard to Trust Lawyers & Mechanics?
Today, I took my vehicle to a car dealer for an air bag recall and they “inspected” and “found” other things wrong with the vehicle. One of the supposed problems is something I recently replaced so I...
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11 More Fun Out-of-Office Emails
Four years ago we posted our Top 6 Out-Of-Office E-mail Notices, and it's time for an update! We know that everyone wants an immediate response to their e-mails when possible, but sometimes there are...
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Alimony and the Dis-Incentive to Earn More Income
While the definition and formula for alimony varies widely by jurisdiction, the payor and recipient's respective incomes are the key information in determining need and ability pay. So it's no...
View ArticleHow long is a marriage? Balistreri v. Balistreri
How long is a marriage? It’s a seemingly straightforward question, but divorce and alimony laws over the years, and the complexities created by overuse of the courts, have complicated the issue. The...
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Social Security Benefits in Divorce
In Divorce nothing is as simple as it may seem at first. This is just one of the reasons it's vitally important to obtain good financial and legal advice during the divorce process. Social Security is...
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Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines on your iPhone
In 2017 and 2018 the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines were updated twice, resulting in a new worksheet calculation that encompasses numerous changes from the prior iteration (2013). Here are...
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Should Alimony Recipients be Able to Save for Retirement?
In Massachusetts, Alimony is defined by the Alimony Reform Act of 2011 (the "Act"). We've previously explored how the Act outlines "need" and the case law that has developed around that definition:...
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Innovation in the Family Court: Real & Imagined
Some Judges have long recognized the need for what Frank Sander called the "multi-door courthouse," a place where people in a dispute can find multiple ways of resolving that dispute, not just...
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It's time for less BUTs in mediation
Use "and" instead of "but". It's a simple change that in conversation and writing can mean a world of difference. That difference is inherent in how we hear and read the word "but". "But" has a...
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When Dividing Retirement Accounts in Divorce the Division Date Matters
There are a number of questions that must be answered when dividing a retirement account in a divorce. Divorcing couples are often focused specifically on the amount or percentage of the account funds...
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Respect the Team
One of the principles of collaborative law is a team approach to joint problem solving. The team approach to joint problem solving has numerous advantages:We're smarter together: each team member...
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