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Residency Requirements and Grounds for Divorce
Dividing the Property
Alimony
Child Custody and Visitation
Child Support
Residency Requirements and Grounds for Divorce
To file for a divorce in Massachusetts:
- You and your spouse must have lived as husband and wife in Massachusetts, and the reason you are getting a divorce must have occurred in Massachusetts, or
- You and your spouse must have lived as husband and wife in Massachusetts, and one of you must live in Massachusetts at the time the reason for the divorce occurred, regardless of where it occurred, or
- You must live in Massachusetts one year after filing divorce papers if the reason for the divorce occurred outside of Massachusetts, or
- You must live in Massachusetts at the time you file divorce papers and the reason for the divorce must have occurred in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts permits both "fault-based" and "no-fault" divorces. Fault-based divorces - in which one party is blamed for the breakdown of the marriage - may be awarded on grounds of:
- Cruel and abusive treatment
- Utter desertion continued for one year
- A prison sentence of five years or more
- Confirmed habits of intoxication by the use of liquor, opium or other drugs
- Refusal or neglect to provide suitable support and maintenance for the other spouse
- Adultery
- Impotency
No-fault divorces - in which neither spouse is blamed for the breakdown of the marriage - are awarded on grounds of the "irretrievable breakdown" of the marriage. If the parties are in agreement about property and debt division, as well as child custody and child support matters, they can file a "Joint Petition for Divorce" with the Probate and Family Court stating that the marriage is "irretrievably broken,"and the divorce can be finalized on an expedited basis without a trial.
Otherwise, the legal divorce process begins when one of the spouses files a "Complaint for Divorce" with the Probate and Family Court. The other spouse is then served with the paperwork and given time to respond. The court will then set a time for a hearing.
After the Complaint for Divorce has been filed, either party can request temporary assistance from the court in the form of temporary custody and child support orders, and orders to determine who pays community debts on a temporary basis.
Dividing the Property
In Massachusetts, assets and debts acquired during your marriage - called "marital property" - will be divided "equitably" when you divorce. In deciding how to divide the property owned by divorcing couples, judges will consider a number of factors, including:
- 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 party
- The opportunity of the parties to acquire future income and assets
- The present and future needs of the children of the marriage
- The contribution of each party to the acquisition, preservation or appreciation in value of the marital property
- The contribution of each of the parties as a homemaker
In Massachusetts, the division of marital property is final and can't be modified or changed unless both parties agree to the change.
It is important to collect all the information you can about all your property, including when you purchased it, approximately how much it is worth, and details such as account numbers, serial numbers and so forth. Collecting this information before you see a Massachusetts divorce lawyer can save you a lot of time and money.
Alimony
A court can order alimony to either party in Massachusetts. In deciding the amount of alimony to award, the court will generally consider such factors as:
- The length of the marriage
- The conduct of the parties during the marriage (if the grounds for divorce are fault-based)
- The age, health, station, occupation, amount and sources of income, vocational skills, employability, estate, liabilities and needs of the spouses
- The opportunity of each spouse for further acquisition of capital assets and income
- The present and future needs of any dependant children of the marriage
- The contribution of each spouse to the acquisition, preservation, or appreciation in value of any property, including the contribution of each spouse as homemaker
- The contribution of each spouse as a homemaker to the family unit
- Any health insurance coverage
A court can order temporary support while the divorce is pending. Most alimony is ordered for a specific length of time. Once ordered, it can be modified only upon a showing of a "change in circumstances."
Child Custody and Visitation
In Massachusetts, the court will make child custody decisions based on what is in the "best interest" of the child. In making custody determinations, the court considers the happiness and welfare of the child, taking into account whether the child's present or past living conditions have a negative impact on his physical, mental, moral or emotional health.
If both parents agree, the court may award joint custody unless the court finds that joint custody is not in the best interest of the child. If the parents want to share custody, but can't reach an agreement, they must submit a shared parenting plan to the court.
After the custody order is signed by the judge and filed with the court clerk, both parents are bound by it. If a parent is denied court-ordered access to a child, he or she may bring the issue back before the court. The judge may decide to modify the visitation order, order makeup visitation for the time missed and order counseling or mediation.
Child Support
In Massachusetts, child support is based on factors enumerated in the official "Child Support Guidelines," including:
- The gross income of the paying parent
- How many children the parent is responsible for supporting
- The ages of the children.
The court will presume that the Child Support Guidelines are correct unless it is shown that the amount would be unjust or inappropriate. A court may deviate from the Child Support Guidelines if:
- The parent paying support has other minor children, and there are insufficient financial resources available
- The parent paying support has extraordinary expenses, such as travel-related visitation expenses, uninsured medical expense, and so forth
- There are other unusual circumstances
A Massachusetts child support order can be modified if there has been a substantial change in the circumstances of the parties and the modification is necessary in the best interests of the children. An example of this would include a big increase or decrease in either parent's income.
Related Web Links:
- Massachusetts Courts
- Massachusetts Department of Revenue Child Support Enforcement
- Massachusetts Domestic Relations Scroll to Title III
- Massachusetts Child Support Calculator
- Massachusetts Child Support Enforcement
- Massachusetts State Profile
- Family Law: Selecting a Good Lawyer
- Divorce - General message board for more help
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