DIVORCE LAW FORUM

     

MASSACHUSETTS DIVORCE LAW

Here you will find Massachusetts specific divorce information, grounds, divorce law statutes, articles on Divorce law, state laws, child custody, child support, spousal support, visitation, legal separation, dissolution and links to free divorce forms, divorce records, divorce papers, divorce lawyers, divorce attorneys and support calculators.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS:

In Massachusetts, a couple must live together in the sate as husband and wife in order to file for divorce in the state. One of the spouses must be a resident of the state if the cause for divorce occurred within the state. If the grounds for divorce occurred outside the commonwealth, the plaintiff must have lived in this commonwealth for at least one year prior to filing for divorce.

WHERE TO FILE:

Actions for divorce shall be filed in the county where one of the parties lives, unless one of the parties still resides in the county where the parties last lived together, the action shall be heard and determined in a court for that county. In the event of hardship or inconvenience to either party, the court having jurisdiction may transfer such action for hearing to a county in which such party resides.

 [See the General Laws of Massachusetts Chapter 208-6]

 

LEGAL GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE:

A divorce may be granted on the following grounds:

·                     Adultery

·                     Impotency

·                     Desertion for one year prior to the filing of the complaint.

·                     Alcohol or drug addiction.

·                     Cruel and abusive treatment.

·                     Willful neglect and refusing to provide suitable support and maintenance for the other spouse.

·                     Irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.

·                     Confinement for five years or more in a federal penal institution or in a penal or reformatory institution in this or any other state.

[See the General Laws of Massachusetts Chapter 208-1 and 208-2]

LEGAL SEPARATION:

Massachusetts recognizes legal separation, and a court may make orders relative to the support of the married person and the care, custody and maintenance of minor children. The court may also revise and alter such judgment or make a new order or judgment as the circumstances of the parents or the benefit of the children may require.

[See the General Laws of Massachusetts Chapter 209-32]

 

PROPERTY DISTRIBUTION:

Massachusetts is an equitable distribution state. In determining how property will be divided, the court shall consider the following factors:

·                     The length of the marriage.

·                     The conduct of the parties during the marriage.

·                     The age, health, station, and occupation of the spouses.

·                     The amount and sources of income, vocational skills, employability of each spouse

·                     The estate, liabilities and needs of each of the parties and the opportunity of each for future acquisition of capital assets and income.

·                     The contribution of each of the parties as a homemaker to the family unit.

·                     The contribution of each of the parties in the acquisition, preservation and appreciation in value of their respective estates.

In determining the property distribution, the court shall also consider the present and future needs of the dependent children of the marriage. After a divorce, a husband or wife shall not be entitled to courtesy or dower in the land of the other spouse. Any real and personal property owned prior to the marriage will be considered the separate property of that spouse

[See the General Laws of Massachusetts Chapter 208-27, 208-34, and 209-1]

SPOUSAL SUPPORT:

A court may order either party to pay support. When making a determination of the amount of support to be paid, a court shall consider the length of the marriage, the conduct of the parties during the marriage, the age, health, station, occupation, amount and sources of income, vocational skills, employability, estate, liabilities and needs of each of the parties and the opportunity of each for future acquisition of capital assets and income. In fixing the nature and value of the property to be so assigned, a court shall also consider the present and future needs of the dependent children of the marriage. A court may also consider the contribution of each of the parties in the acquisition, preservation or appreciation in value of their respective estates and the contribution of each of the parties as a homemaker to the family unit.

[See the General Laws of Massachusetts Chapter 208-34]

SPOUSE'S NAME:

A court may allow a woman to resume her maiden name or that of a former husband as part of the divorce proceedings.

[See the General Laws of Massachusetts Chapter 208-23]

CHILD CUSTODY:

Custody may be awarded to either parent, and there shall be no presumption either in favor of or against shared legal or physical custody. When considering the happiness and welfare of the child, the court shall consider whether or not the child’s present or past living conditions adversely affect his physical, mental, moral or emotional health. If the parents mutually reach an agreement providing for the custody of the children, a court may enter an order in accordance with such agreement, unless specific findings are made by the court indicating that such an order would not be in the best interests of the children.

[See the General Laws of Massachusetts Chapter 208-31]

CHILD SUPPORT:

When determining the amount of the child support obligation, a court shall apply the child support guidelines, with the rebuttable presumption that the amount of the order which would result from the application of the guidelines is the appropriate amount of child support to be ordered. A court may deviate from the guidelines if the amount ordered would be unjust or inappropriate under the circumstances. Such a deviation must include the specific facts of the case which justify departure from the guidelines; and that such departure is consistent with the best interests of the child.

Support may continue for a child who has attained age eighteen but who has not attained age twenty-one and who is domiciled in the home of a parent, and is principally dependent upon said parent for maintenance.

A court may make appropriate orders of maintenance, support and education for any child who has attained age twenty-one but who has not attained age twenty-three, if such child is domiciled in the home of a parent, and is principally dependent upon said parent for maintenance due to the enrollment of such child in an educational program, excluding educational costs beyond an undergraduate degree.

[See the General Laws of Massachusetts Chapter 208-28]

 

PREMARITAL AGREEMENT:

If at any time before marriage, the parties may make a written contract providing that, after the marriage is solemnized, the whole or any designated part of the real or personal property or any right of action, of which either party may be seized or possessed at the time of the marriage, shall remain or become the property of the husband or wife, according to the terms of the contract.

[See the General Laws of Massachusetts Chapter 209-25]

 

 

Disclaimer

This site is not meant to provide legal representation or to be relied on in place of an attorney. We recommend that anyone serious about going forward with a Divorce or Child Custody claim seek the advice and counsel of a qualified attorney in their respective state.

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