I get the question every so often: “Do I really need an attorney for my divorce?”. The short answer is no, no you don’t. You can do it yourself. However, it is a risk; and if you take that risk, what could potentially happen, is you could be one of the clients that come back to me later saying, “I really messed up,” or “I didn’t get the outcome that I was looking for, and now I need you to go back and refight it.” Read More

Breaking up a relationship undeniably brings about many changes. One change that almost everyone has to deal with and oftentimes spend a lot of time arguing about, but not a lot of people talk about how it actually works out, is your first Christmas where you don’t get to spend it with your kids. I remember it clearly, and it absolutely sucked. Christmas is a time of joy and excitement; of family and Read More

Welcome to our first Q&A!  This week’s blog is going to answer some very basic questions about the different avenues a person can take in the state of Massachusetts when moving through the divorce process.   Let’s dive right in! Q: What is mediation and what does it mean for me? A:  Mediation is a process by which two parties hire a neutral third party to help facilitate a productive discussion with the end Read More

By its very nature, divorce means going through every part of the life that you built with your spouse and figuring out the best way to separate your life from theirs.  What happens with the house?  Will I be able to find an apartment that will accept our dog?  What will our parenting schedule look like for the kids?  Who gets the vacation home?  Sometimes you’ll find out that you’re willing to give up one part of Read More

Congratulations!  You’ve done it!  You spent hours reading reviews, asking friends, searching your area, explaining the personal details of your situation over and over again to a handful of strangers, thought about it, and maybe even gone in for a face to face consult or two but you did it – you’ve hired an attorney to represent you in your divorce.  If you’ve read our last post about how hiring an attorney is kind Read More

Dating is a process.  You have to find someone you might be interested in, meet with them to determine whether you remain interested, and then move forward in life toward a relationship or a break up.  Finding an attorney is a very similar process, as most people do not just hire the first attorney they speak to when they are heading into a divorce or custody case, at least they shouldn’t most of the time.  Because, Read More

The best way to ensure you have a parenting plan that will work for both you and the other parent is to be able to agree upon a parenting schedule between the two of you rather than having a judge (who doesn’t know you and will only hear about your case for a very brief amount of time) throw something together that may or may not work out for either of you.  It can be difficult trying to come up with a plan both you Read More

Protective orders obtained from the Court that does not allow your abuser to contact you or abuse you can be instrumental in getting you out of an unsafe situation and protecting you and your kids from future harm. Unfortunately, and all too often, the seriousness of what protective orders are meant to do are minimized by people who go out and get them, sometimes by lying outright and sometimes by blowing a Read More

If you and your ex were able to agree upon the terms of your Separation Agreement (or Divorce Agreement) without having to spend a great deal of time or effort fighting each other, that’s wonderful!  If it took a bit of negotiation and give and take (sometimes feeling like you give more than you take in order to reach a settlement), that still means that, when push came to shove, you and your ex were able to work Read More

There are two ways you can file a divorce in Massachusetts: Uncontested or Contested. Let me explain the difference: UNCONTESTED: Filing for an uncontested divorce means that both you and your spouse are in agreement with the divorce and have been able to work out ALL of the issues that need to be determined within a divorce judgment (custody, parenting time, child support, property division, alimony, etc.) Read More