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Alimony & Property Division: 7 Lessons from the Appeals Court
The Alimony Reform Act of 2011 took effect on March 1, 2012 and significantly changed the law in Massachusetts relating to awards of alimony. Today, the Massachusetts Appeals Court released an opinion...
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New Divorce Calculator Apps for Massachusetts
Kelsey & Trask, P.C. was the first to have an iPhone App for calculating Child Support in Massachusetts and we've recently updated it with a new look. In addition we are now introducing two new...
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Middlesex Pilot Program: Fast-Lane Informal Estate Petitions
from WikipediaThe Middlesex Probate & Family Court already has a very successful and convenient "Fast Lane" program for so-called uncontested divorce petitions (Section 1A Joint Petitions for...
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Can the Court order less than the 30-35% formula for Alimony in Massachusetts?
The Alimony Reform Act of 2011 added a formula to Massachusetts Alimony determinations:"Except for reimbursement alimony or circumstances warranting deviation for other forms of alimony, the amount of...
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Can Alimony continue past Retirement in Massachusetts under the new law?
Part of the significant ground-swell of support for a change to Massachusetts alimony laws came after the Pierce decision, which ordered alimony to continue past retirement. While a quick reading of...
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Rehabilitative Alimony: 7 More Lessons from the SJC
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has released another opinion that addresses some of the questions still surrounding the Alimony Reform Act of 2011. Zaleski v. Zaleski - SJC 11391 (2014).In...
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A Lecture in Myanmar
For 9 days this past July, Valerie Kua, an associate at Kelsey & Trask, P.C., had the opportunity to visit the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (formerly Burma) through the Seed of Hope...
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Collaborative Law Intro Training 2014
Kelsey & Trask's Justin Kelsey will be one of the presenters at the upcoming 2014 Collaborative Law Training:presents an Introduction to Collaborative Law Practice 2014:An Interdisciplinary,...
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MA SJC Rules on Parent Coordinator Orders: Asks Probate Court to make a Rule
In the case of Bower v. Bournay-Bower, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that Judges in the Probate and Family Court cannot grant a Parent Coordinator binding authority over the...
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Why Aren't You Getting Collaborative Cases?
There are many reasons that there are currently fewer Collaborative cases than there are mediation and litigation cases. Just to name a few of the challenges: the process is newer and less well known...
View ArticleDivorce Support Groups in Massachusetts
Going through a divorce is the second most stressful life event next to the passing of a loved one. When a loved one dies, we have numerous traditions and rituals that ensure that we have support to...
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Collaborative Law is Growing!
If you follow our posts at all you're probably aware that attorney Justin Kelsey is a Collaboratively trained Divorce attorney and Mediator. But did you also know that three other attorneys at Kelsey...
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3 Things that Mediation is NOT
Mediation has become a popular alternative to court proceedings, with mediators resolving disputes of all kinds ranging from private family matters to the very public NFL lockout. But there is still a...
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Appellate Questions on Alimony Termination – You Decide!
There are three appeals pending before the Massachusetts SJC which will significantly impact how the Alimony Reform Act of 2011 is interpreted by the courts. All three cases have to do with whether...
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Court Awards Custody to Abusive Father. Still Think Court is Safer than...
The Massachusetts Appeals Court published a decision today in a particularly saddening and difficult divorce case in which the lower court awarded custody to a father despite a finding that the father...
View ArticleWhat is Conciliation? How is it different than Mediation?
In a Conciliation a neutral private attorney, sometimes appointed by the court, assists parties in assessing the strengths and weaknesses of their case and exploring options for resolving the matter...
View ArticleA Chance to Share your Divorce Experience: “…AND I JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW”
A colleague shared with us her idea for writing a book on divorce comprised of actual letters written by ex-spouses to their former partners. Recently one such letter went viral and another colleague...
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6 Lessons on Alimony Modification from the Appeals Court
The Massachusetts Appeals Court released a decision on December 30, 2014, Vedensky v. Vedensky (13-P-1392), deciding numerous issues related to the determination of alimony on a modification. The...
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How does a second job affect child support or alimony?
In Massachusetts, both the child support guidelines and the alimony statute address second job income. One key question for both child support and alimony is determining when the additional income...
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Appeals Court confirms Survived Agreements are not Modifiable, even under the...
This post written in collaboration with Jason V. Owens, Esq. of Stevenson & Lynch, P.C.The Appeals Court recently decided another alimony modification case, Lalchandani v. Roddy (AC 13-P-1988), but...
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