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Let the Judge Decide! - The End of Conflict or Just the Beginning?
"Let the Judge Decide!" How often have I heard that in my career as a divorce attorney and mediator? Too many times to count. In many cases, when a spouse or their attorney feels that they are unable...
View ArticleLifetime Alimony is Back (for some)! - Chin v. Merriot
Three months ago we told you about three very important pending cases that were argued before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, all three having to do with the issue of alimony modification....
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Can I Modify my Alimony? Updated Flowchart.
The SJC reached a decision on 1/30/2015 on three cases that interpreted the modification provisions of the Alimony Reform Act. The SJC disagreed with our prior interpretation and decided that the...
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Ditching the Briefcase for a Backpack - The Tom Bihn Synapse 25
In 2012 we sent our office manager (and now recently trained mediator), Melissa Day, to the ABA Tech Show with one mission: bring back a plan for transitioning our office to a paperless office. We...
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How can Mediation help divorcing parents with Snow Days?
Snow days are one of the most exciting events when you're a child, especially if it means a reprieve from an upcoming test or homework due date. But for parents, snow days are a significant...
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How is Bonus Income included in calculating Child Support and Alimony?
The Alimony Reform Act defines income to include all income as defined by the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines which clearly includes bonuses in the list of included income. In Zaleski v....
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Things a Judge Can't Do, but You Can! - Part 1: Dispute Resolution Provisions
A number of recent appellate decisions in Massachusetts have addressed the boundaries of what Probate and Family Court trial judges have the power to do. Their powers are limited by statute, case law...
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U.S. Tax Court Alimony Decisions: Five Cases You Should Know
Massachusetts Appellate courts have been busy interpreting the recent changes in alimony law, but they’re not the only courts struggling with legal questions surrounding alimony. The U.S. Tax Court is...
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Things a Judge Can't Do, but You Can! - Part 2: Self-Executing Adjustments
A number of recent appellate decisions in Massachusetts have addressed the boundaries of what Probate and Family Court trial judges have the power to do. Agreements reached between the parties,...
View ArticleTeen Parenting Support Groups
While parenting of adolescents is challenging by itself, divorce and separated parenting can add even more complication. We often encourage parents to consider the use of trained therapists to assist...
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Things a Judge Can't Do, but You Can! - Part 3: Survived Agreements
A number of recent appellate decisions in Massachusetts have addressed the boundaries of what Probate and Family Court trial judges have the power to do. Agreements reached between the parties,...
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Things a Judge Can't Do, but You Can! - Part 4: Parent Coordinators
A number of recent appellate decisions in Massachusetts have addressed the boundaries of what Probate and Family Court trial judges have the power to do. Agreements reached between the parties,...
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The Observer Effect in Family Conflict
Duck or Rabbit?- from Wikimedia CommonsThe recent appellate decision in the Ventrice case sparked a great discussion on the MBA's My Bar Access forum, which was started by William Driscoll the...
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Should we also talk about when mediation fails?
This post is a follow up to last week's post about the Observer Effect in Family Law, and the ongoing conversation on the MBA's My Bar Access forum about the recent decision in the Ventrice case.A few...
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What is a Skylark? Other than the new name of Kelsey & Trask, P.C.
Kelsey & Trask, P.C. was formed in 2008 by Justin Kelsey and Matthew Trask, and since that time we have grown and changed in many ways. With Matt's recent opportunity to join Remington Arms, we've...
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How are Mediators similar to Robin Hood?
Robin shoots with sir Guy by Louis Rhead 1912Mediation, as a service option, has grown significantly over the last 30 years. This is one of the topics of an upcoming article in the ABA's Dispute...
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Alimony: You get what you Need!
In Reed v. Reed, a recent unpublished (Rule 1:28) decision, the Appeals Court provided a summary of the current definition of need in Massachusetts. Alimony is defined in the Alimony Reform Act as...
View ArticleSettling Conflict with the KISS Principle in 5 Simple Steps
There is a design principle in engineering that was made popular by the U.S. Navy in the sixties called "Keep It Simple, Stupid" or KISS for short. The KISS principle is about valuing simplicity in...
View ArticleThe KISS Principle and Vine: Explaining our Work in 6 Seconds
In yesterday's post we talked about the KISS principle and the value of simple explanations. In keeping with this theme, below are four Vine videos that explain how we encourage people to resolve...
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SJC Case Summary: Sperm Donor is not a Legal Parent entitled to Notice of...
Guest Post by Beth Aarons, a Mediator and Collaboratively trained attorney who is of counsel to Skylark Law & Mediation, PC and who also has her own practice in Newtonville. Beth is available for...
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