Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts

Re: divorce in massachusetts

Alimony is always a possibility from one spouse to the other in any divorce. The judge has discretion to order alimony, and must consider a long list of factors found in MGL c. 208, sec. 34. Chief considerations tend to be the length of the marriage and disparity in earning capacity -- the longer the marriage, the more likely alimony will be awarded if there is an earning disparity.

You can "buy out" alimony by agreement if you give a larger portion of marital assets -- but the words are "by agreement." A judge -cannot- order after a trial that there never be alimony; he or she can only refuse to grant "current alimony." In such a case, if alimony were justified, it would be ordered.

There is no formula for alimony. Judges grapple with this, because the statute calls for the specific use of discretion after consideration of the factors. A few favor an "income equalization" approach, but many judges reject that -- correctly, in my view -- because the legislature has called for individual consideration of all cases. This does not mean that a formula would be necessarily bad, just that it's not really allowed.

I -- or any lawyer here -- would need to consult with you individually to give a "best assessment" of the probabilities in your individual case, and of approaches one might use.

Re: divorce in massachusetts

If you're both filing a joint petition for divorce, then you must agree to all the terms of the divorce before you'll be granted one. The key in this type of divorce is negotiations. The judge will allow you guys to make your own decisions on how to split property and whether or not to have alimony.

After you've decided what you two want, then you can write it down in a Separation Agreement and after that's file along with all the paperwork, it should take approximately 3 months or so to get a hearing date.

If you need help with the process or filing, please don't hesitate to contact me for help.