Massachusetts Family Law

Jonathan E. Fields elected president of the MCFM

On May 1, Jonathan Fields was elected President of the Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation for a two-year term.  He is honored to have been chosen by his peers in an organization in which he has served as an Executive Board member since 2005.  The MCFM is a non-profit organization established over twenty-five years go ...

Continue Reading

The Vineyard, Valuation, and Present Divisions

After a trial, a Probate and Family Law Court entered a divorce judgment (1) valuing the husband’s 25% interest in a Martha’s Vineyard property at 25% of the market value of the property and (2) awarding a present interest in that property to the wife.  The Appeals Court reversed. On the issue of valuation, the appellate ...

Continue Reading

Counting Parenting Time (Even When the Kids are Sleeping)

In trying to equalize a parenting schedule, do you count “sleep time” and “school time” or only “awake time”?  In a modification action, a Probate and Family Court judge changed the parenting schedule without finding a change in circumstances on the theory that the percentage of “awake time” (time that the “children were not at school, ...

Continue Reading

Massachusetts Divorce

What if one party wants a divorce and the other does not? Contact us: If you are considering divorce or your spouse has filed for divorce in Massachusetts, please contact the Boston metro divorce lawyers at Fields and Dennis for a confidential consultation. The Boston divorce lawyers and family law attorneys at the law firm ...

Continue Reading

Automatic Restraining Order

During the pendency of a divorce action, the Barnstable Probate and Family Court found that the wife’s restatement of her revocable living trust so as to longer provide the husband with a life estate in the marital home was not a violation of the automatic restraining order, Rule 411.  Central to the holding was that ...

Continue Reading