Divorce The Parties in this case were married in 2000 and had two children during their marriage. Throughout the marriage, Husband was the primary financial contributor while Wife stopped working from 2005 to 2016, after the birth of their second child. Prior to that time,...
Love Without the License: Why Cohabitation Agreements Matter in Massachusetts Enforceability of Cohabitation Agreements in Massachusetts Marriage has many financial benefits for couples, including some legal protection when it comes to finances in the event of divorce. But what about unmarried couples? In the past,...
Issues of Custody, Parenting Time, and One Bad Haircut In a hair-raising decision this week, the Massachusetts Appeals Court upheld the Probate and Family Court’s judgment in James Vander Salm v. Kara Fontenot (2025), addressing issues of custody, parenting time, appellate attorney’s fees – and...
What are Second-Parent Adoptions? While Massachusetts has recognized second-parent adoptions since 1993, which allow for a non-biological parent to adopt the child of a sole legal parent, such adoptions have become even more accessible with the passage of the Massachusetts Parentage Act. Second-parent adoptions protect...
What is the Massachusetts Parentage Act ? On August 9, 2024, Governor Maura Healey signed the Massachusetts Parentage Act into law, aiming to ensure equal rights for all parents, regardless of marital status, the circumstances of the child’s birth – such as surrogacy or reproductive...
