Attribution of Income
The Appeals Court affirmed a Probate Court judgment attributing income to the husband in a divorce case. The case reminds practitioners that courts may consider the earning capacity of a party in appropriate circumstances. Where a party is voluntarily earning beneath his/her capacity, such attribution is “particularly appropriate,” according to the Appeals Court. Similarly, such ...
Continue ReadingChild Support Following Death of Father
Where paternity is not disputed, a Probate Court judge has the authority to enter an initial award of child support for a non-marital child after the death of the obligor-parent, the Supreme Judicial Court decided. The Probate judge, however, must consider, by means of a credit to the obligor-parent’s estate, Social Security survivor benefits, life ...
Continue ReadingSurvived Agreement
Parties entered into a separation agreement which provided that the husband was to pay $275.00 per week in alimony. The agreement did not mention merger or survival. The judgment nisi, however, stated that the agreement survived. Years later, when the ex-husband sought a modification, the ex-wife moved to dismiss his complaint on the grounds that ...
Continue ReadingLitigation Exception to No Contact Order
The Appeals Court found that a woman violated a restraining order barring contact with her ex-lover by threatening, through his attorney, to release economically damaging information unless he agreed to certain demands related to the custody of their child. The woman had argued that her contact with the attorney was covered by the “litigation exception” ...
Continue ReadingPrenuptial Agreement
The Appeals Court reversed a Probate Court judgment upholding a prenuptial agreement, the proponent of which was the husband, a biologist, who drafted it himself. The Appeals Court focused on a variety of factors in its decision to invalidate the agreement. Neither party had counsel. There was no evidence that the wife, also a biologist, ...
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