People often ask me if there is any way to prevent a divorce if their spouse files against them. The answer is no. The basis of divorce in Mass is irretrievable breakdown. If one party believes that the marriage is irretrievably broken and wants to get a divorce, it will happen. Once a divorce is filed in Massachusetts, the Court will set a Pre trial date for six months away because contested divorces in MA
I was talking with a lawyer friend the other day who also happens to be the guardian of two little boys. She raised an interesting question that neither of us knew the answer to as it relates to income numbers used for college. A guardianship ends at age 18 and that’s when a child typically goes off to College. The financial aid form (FAFSA) and the income reported on it become an important part of
I just read an online news story about a NH woman who goes to apply for a job with the police and ends up arrested because of an outstanding warrant from Maine. That must have been a shocker for her! More and more lately, we get calls for people who find out that they have a warrant for their arrest and need to turn themselves in. Or, even worse, they get pulled over for a
You may have heard the song, “Parking Lot Party”? Well getting in a car accident in a parking lot is no party. It is one of the most common locations for a car accident and one of the most difficult to obtain a recovery from. The insurance companies have all but thrown their hands up in the air and generally make the dertmination that both parties are equally at fault unless you can convince your
Harry Hands sees Sally Shoulder. Harry likes Sally. He calls to her and she does not answer. Perhaps she is ignoring him. Perturbed, he walks up to her and taps her on the shoulder. Did Harry break the law? The answer is probably yes. Under Massachusetts law, an assault is when you place someone in fear that they are about to be touched. The battery is when they are actually and intentionally touched and that
A recent Supreme Judicial Court decision has limited the scope of what constitutes a permissable search of a vehicle when consented to by the Operator of that vehicle. In a 4-3 decision in the Hampden County case Commonwealth v. Anthony C. Ortiz, Chief Justice Ralph Gants wrote: “In this case we must decide whether a driver’s consent to allow the police to search for narcotics or firearms ‘in the vehicle’ authorizes a police officer to
Over and over again, I come face to face with a huge inadequacy of our Probate Court system and I want/need to vent about it today. I have several clients whose soon to be ex spouses have either been convicted of domestic abuse or are in the process of facing criminal charges for it. All of my clients happen to be women but there are many cases where the abuser is a woman and the
Did you know that the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) can pull anyone’s license on the basis of the fact that they pose an immediate threat to the public. Let’s say that you get pulled over by the police and the police call the RMV and tell them that you were driving erratically, the registry can immediately suspend your license. Indefinitely. Your only recourse at this point would be a registry hearing. Let’s say the
Believe it or not there is an upside to divorce when it relates to matters of college financial aid. The FAFSA (free application for federal student aid) is the dreaded form that every parent with college aged children must fill out every year. In conventional families, the income of both parents is taken into consideration. In divorced families, the custodial parent fills out the FAFSA and it’s only their income that’s considered. In many cases,
Having done personal injury work for the last 23 years, people often tease me about being an ambulance chaser. When I was describing a case to a friend (without revealing any confidential information), she was blown away with what the attorney has to deal with in these types of situations. Far too many times in my career, I have gotten a call at some odd hour from a distraught family member or friend that their
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Please complete the form below and we will contact you.