Family Law in Massachusetts
At the Law Offices of Erica M. Foster, we believe that the family unit is the primary building block of our society. We understand the importance of family, and as part of our continuing commitment to the community as a whole, we are committed to helping maintain the integrity of family during times of transition.
Family law issues in Massachusetts include things like alimony, child custody, visitation rights, paternity and divorce. Hiring an experienced family law attorney is crucial to making what is a difficult process go as smoothly as possible.
Alimony
In Massachusetts, alimony is also sometimes called spousal support. It is designed to provide the spouse with less income with money for living expenses beyond the money provided by child support. In Massachusetts, alimony is different from child support. Where child support is a straightforward mathematical calculation following Massachusetts guidelines, alimony is much more at the discretion of the judge.
There are a number of factors a Massachusetts judge considers when deciding about alimony, usually involving factors like the parties' relative earning ability, their age and health, the length of the marriage and the type of property involved. In Massachusetts, alimony is generally awarded when and where one spouse has been economically dependent on the other spouse for most of a lengthy marriage.
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Child Custody and Visitation Issues
In the case of divorce in Massachusetts, the court having jurisdiction of the divorce proceedings also decides who will have custody of children after the dissolution the marriage. Under the common statutory provision, the parents of a child born within a marriage are joint guardians of that child and the rights of both parents are equal. Each parent in Massachusetts has an equal right to the custody of the child when they separate.
In Massachusetts, custody and visitation rights are considered at the same time since the factors and circumstances taken into consideration by the court in making these determinations are for the most part the same. The term "child visitation" refers to the time when the non-custodial parent has the right to be present with the child. It is important to note that the rights of the custodial parent are often subject to the non-custodial parent's right to visit with the child.
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Divorce
There are two types of divorce in Massachusetts: absolute divorce and limited divorce. An absolute divorce is a judicial termination of a marriage based on either marital misconduct or some other statutory cause that may have arisen after the marriage ceremony. An absolute divorce means that the legal status of both parties' returns to being single.
A limited divorce in Massachusetts is generally referred to as a separation decree. The right to cohabitation is terminated while the marriage is undissolved and the status of the parties is not altered.
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Paternity
Paternity in Massachusetts is the legal acknowledgment of the parental relationship between a father and his child. In common law, a child born to the wife during the marriage is presumed to be the husband's child. This is a well-settled precedent, assigning to the husband complete rights, duties and obligations as to the child, regardless of whether or not he is the biological parent.
In Massachusetts, in the case where an unwed mother and man come forward and accept the paternity of the child, the mother may petition the court for a determination if she can identify the likely candidate or paternity can be determined by over time
