Family Law: Family law encompasses a variety of practice areas, including divorce, child custody, paternity actions, child support, alimony and prenuptial agreements. Read more

Divorce: Divorce is the dissolution of a marriage. There are two basic grounds for divorce in Massachusetts, no-fault divorce and at-fault divorce. No-fault divorces, where the specific grounds are an "irretrievable breakdown in the marriage," are by far the most common grounds for divorce in Massachusetts. Read more

Child Custody: In Massachusetts , there are two main forms of child custody: legal custody and physical custody. "Legal custody" refers to a parent's participation in making major decisions about their child with regard to their religious, medical, emotional, educational and moral well-being. "Physical custody" refers to where a child resides and which parent does the routine caretaking and decision-making for the child. Read more

Child Support: In Massachusetts it is public policy that dependent children be maintained and supported, as completely as possible, from the resources of their parents. In divorce, paternity and modification actions, there is a presumption that child support will be paid according to the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines, subject to certain income limits. Read more

Alimony: Alimony is spousal support or maintenance which one spouse pays to the other. In Massachusetts , the Court may award alimony to either party. Alimony can be granted during the pendency of the divorce litigation or upon the issuance of a judgment by the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court. Read more

Post-Divorce Modification: It is the nature of domestic relations practice that, after a judgment has been entered, the circumstances of the parties sometimes change so substantially and materially that modification of the judgment is appropriate. Read more

Contempt: Once the Probate and Family Court has issued an order or judgment, whether it is a temporary order, or a divorce, paternity or modification judgment, the Court has the power and authority to enforce such orders and judgments. A party's failure to abide by an order or judgment of the Court can result in a contempt action. Read more

Paternity: In Massachusetts, a child born to unmarried parents has the same legal rights as a child born during a marriage. Every person is responsible for the support of his or her child, even if born outside a marriage. Read more

Restraining Orders: Massachusetts law provides for domestic relations restraining orders, or abuse prevention orders, in cases where physical abuse or the threat of physical abuse is present. Read more

Prenuptial Agreements: Prenuptial agreements, or antenuptial agreements as they are often called in Massachusetts, are documents executed prior to a marriage disclosing each party's financial circumstances, and establishing the financial rights and obligations of the parties upon death or divorce. Read more

Appellate Practice: In the event a party is dissatisfied with a judgment of the Probate and Family Court, under certain circumstances an appeal can be taken to the Massachusetts Appeals Court or the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Read more