Child support Essex County

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…

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…