Unlike a Final Judgment, Temporary Orders are exactly what they sound like:  orders of the court that are meant to temporarily outline each person’s rights and obligations until your case has been resolved.  From the time you initially file a complaint until the court finally enters a final judgment, Temporary Orders may be put in place.  These orders may also be modified or replaced over the course of the case, based on changes that occur during this time.

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In the past I’ve discussed how to modify Child Support Orders.  In that post, I pointed out that to modify the order, the court will need to see that a significant change in material circumstances has occurred.  Becoming eligible for SSDI is exactly the type of change I was referring to.  In fact, the benefit your child receives might even completely cancel out your weekly child support payments!

Consider what a Child Support Order is really for:  to ensure that your child is financially supported.  That the support is coming in is what counts.  If the Dependency Benefit your child receives is as much or more* than the amount you should be paying under the support guidelines, there’s little reason for you to be paying additional money above and beyond that.  By bringing your SSDI benefit (and your child’s corresponding Dependency Benefit) to the attention of the court, you may be able to substantially decrease, if not eliminate entirely, your weekly obligation.

*Note that where the Dependency Benefit is greater than the amount owed under the guidelines, your child will continue to receive the full benefit, and you will not be entitled to the difference between these amounts.

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For the most part, the answer is no.  A property division is final and cannot be modified except if there was mistake, inadvertence, excusable neglect, newly discovered evidence or fraud.  This is all pursuant to Massachusetts Domestic Relations Procedure Rule 60.  In order to win a modification on a Rule 60 motion, you need to show that there was one of those things listed in the rule.  Most of the time it will be newly discovered evidence such as that the stock options were actually worth more than what was listed originally or fraud.  Fraud would be that you discover and can prove that your spouse hid money or he lied about his financials.

Rule 60 motions are very hard to win and so for the most part, a Complaint for Modification will not work on a property division in Massachusetts.

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The standard used to modify child support is that there must be a significant change in circumstances.  Something significant must have happened between the last order of child support and the new order you’re trying to obtain by a Complaint for Modification.  A significant change can be a dramatic raise in the other parent’s income or them winning the lottery, a big decrease in your income, or a big increase in the child’s needs (such as an accident or injury).

A request for modification will not be approved if there isn’t a significant change.  As you are asking the court to change the child support order, you must prove to the court that there is a significant change for the court to approve an increase (or decrease) in child support.

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Here are 10 traps to avoid (or 10 things to look out for) in a Separation Agreement:

1. Make sure you understand the “Incorporation and Merger” clause of the Separation Agreement.  If the Separation Agreement does not merge into the judgment of divorce, then it survives as in independent contract which makes it harder to modify.  You can merge some provisions and not others in a Separation Agreement.  Your attorney can advise you on which portions to merge and which portions to let survive.
2. Make sure you include an “Emancipation” clause in your Agreement if there are children involved.  You want to specifically lay out when child support ends and under what circumstances so there is no ambiguity and disagreements  between the parties.
3. Make sure to lay out how visitation works on special holidays such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, Mother’s and Father’s Day, child’s birthday, etc.  Most Separation Agreements will have a normal visitation schedule but neglect to mention how, if any, the visitation schedule will differ on special events.
4. Make sure you know the difference between physical and legal custody.  Custody has two parts, physical and legal.
5. Make sure you spell out what expenses of the children fall outside of the normal child support payments, such as, extracurricular activities, camp, medical expenses, etc.
6. Consider if one parent is more well off than another, requiring the wealthy parent to maintain life insurance where the beneficiary is either yourself or held in trust for the children.  Also require proof that the policy is maintained every year.
7. If any retirement accounts are divided during the divorce, it must be through the use of a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) or else there will be interest and penalty charges levied by the IRS and Department of Revenue.
8. If you need health insurance coverage by your spouse, make sure to spell out who is responsible for that coverage, what type of coverage and how long the coverage will last.
9. Make sure to spell out who gets the benefit of claiming the child(ren) as dependents on taxes
10. Last but not least, make sure to have an experienced divorce lawyer, if not draft, at least look over the Separation Agreement before you sign it.  Some parts of a Separation Agreement might be impossible to change once it is approved so you don’t want to count on an action for Modification if you notice later on, that a particular provision was not to your liking or advantage.

Of course there are more than 10 things you need to consider before signing a Separation Agreement.  Make sure you know what your rights are being signing any legal document.  You want to do it right the first time because it will cost less time, money and heartache in the future.

For a free consultation with a Boston Divorce Attorney call (617) 273-5110 and ask for Gabriel Cheong.

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• Joint Petition for Divorce
• Affidavit of Irretrievable Breakdown
• R408
• Financial Statement of both parties
• Separation Agreement *
• Request for Trial
• If there are children involved, then you will also need:
  • Child Support Guidelines
  • Affidavit of Care & Custody
  • Parental Education Certificate

* The Separation Agreement is the most important part of the filing packet because it is a contract that governs the divorce.  Forms are easy to fill out and an attorney’s role is not simply to fill out forms.  The purpose of a divorce attorney in an uncontested divorce case is to counsel his client on all the different issues that might come up in a divorce and after and to make sure they are all addressed in the Separation Agreement.  A Separation Agreement, just like any other contract, should be drafted and reviewed by an attorney who is familiar with the subject.

For a free consultation with a Boston Divorce Lawyer call (617) 273-5110 and ask for Gabriel Cheong.

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In a contested divorce (Complaint for Divorce or 1B), after the judge hears all the evidence and testimony at trial, the court will issue a Findings and Order along with a Judgment a few months later.  90 days after the Judgment of Divorce, your divorce will be finalized and you can obtain a Certificate of Divorce.

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Gay people are allowed to foster children but not adopt them in some states.

“Every child deserves a mother and father.  It would be nice wouldn’t it if it did work out that way. But it’s not gonna work out that way.”

“Why are they in foster care? Because their gay parent abandoned, neglected and abused them? No. Because their straight parents abandoned, neglected and abused them.”

“Gay people don’t have children by accident…Every child that’s been adopted by a gay and lesbian couple is a wanted child.”

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* courtesy of the New York Times

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