It is not uncommon that as children get older, the custody and parenting schedule for the children change over time. This can include children moving in with the other parent. When these changes happen, it is also not uncommon for child support to be updated at the same time. The law requires that any changes…
Child Support
The New 2017 Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines: What’s New? What’s the Same?
The Trial Court of Massachusetts issued new Child Support Guidelines, which took effect last week on September 15th. There are many changes to the new Guidelines, but also a lot of things stayed the same. This article will explain the changes to the new Guidelines, but what also stayed the same compared to the 2013…
Child Support, Alimony & Taxes
When going through a divorce, there are many financial issues that spouses must address. Some of these financial issues have tax consequences, and other financial issues do not. One area where taxes come into play is support. Under Massachusetts Law, there are two categories of support. The first category is alimony, which is the periodic…
Establishing Paternity in Massachusetts
In Massachusetts, the custody of a child born to unwed parents is presumed to be solely with the mother of the child, unless and until paternity of the child is established, and there is a court order regarding custody. It is important for both a mother and father to have paternity established, because without establishing…
Dependency Tax Exemptions and Divorce
During the course of a divorce, there are many issues that spouses have to resolve: property division, alimony, child custody, child support, medical insurance, and taxes. One after thought of these many issues is the child dependency tax exemption. In a divorce, spouses can agree how to allocate the dependency tax exemption. For example, if…
Paying for Children’s College Costs After a Divorce
In a divorce, it is not uncommon for child-related issues to be disputed. Issues such as child custody, parenting time, and child support, can become very heated and contentious issues. However, there are other important issues related to children that can sometimes be overlooked or forgotten in a divorce. One example of this is paying…
Calculating Child Support When One Parent is Unemployed or Underemployed
In Massachusetts, child support is calculated based upon the Child Support Guidelines. The Child Support Guidelines use a mathematical calculation to determine a child support obligation based upon each parent’s gross weekly income, as well as the number of children for the child support order. When these numbers are entered into the formula, a number…
How to Calculate Your Child Support
Under Massachusetts law, parents who are divorced or separated must continue to support their children. In Massachusetts, a parent’s child support obligation is calculated based upon the Child Support Guidelines. The Child Support Guidelines are a set of rules that dictate how to calculate a parent’s child support obligation, and what income must be included…
Streamlining the Child Support Modification Process in Massachusetts
In May 2013, the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court expanded Standing Order 3-11, which streamlines the child support modification process in Massachusetts. Through this Standing Order, parents can now complete more user-friendly forms to file for a child support modification with the Probate and Family Court, and also obtain a faster court date to obtain…
Paternity Issues in Massachusetts
In Massachusetts, if a child is born out of wedlock, the child’s biological father is not deemed to be the child’s legal father, unless paternity is established. Establishing paternity is important for many reasons, and can be done in multiple ways. The easiest way to establish paternity is when the child is born, the child’s…
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