Wentworth Divorce Mediation and Planning

Massachusetts is an Equitable Distribution State

Massachusetts is an “equitable distribution” state meaning all of the assets acquired during the marriage are subject to split between the parties in a way that is “fair and equitable” regardless of who purchased them. In general, assets owned before the marriage and inheritances are not included, but there are exceptions.

What is considered fair and equitable is based on specific factors in the Massachusetts statutes. The most important thing to know is that there is no formula or hard rule on how assets are divided, as long as in the end, it is fair. In a mediated settlement the judge will not make an exhaustive assessment of each factor but they can still object to aspects of your agreement that do not appear fair to either party and stray from established guidelines and practice.

The factors judges follow are:

• Length of the marriage and the conduct of the parties during the marriage

• The age, health, station of the parties

• Occupation of the parties

• Amount and sources of income

• Vocational skills and employability of the parties

• Estate, liabilities and needs of each of the parties

• The opportunity of each for future acquisition of capital assets and income, and

• The present and future needs of the dependent children of the marriage.

No-Fault Divorce vs Fault Divorce

The vast majority of couples in Massachusetts file for a no-fault divorce although there is still the option to file based on fault.

No-Fault Divorce

A no-fault divorce does not require parties to prove that one spouse is responsible for the end of the marriage. The grounds for divorce is simply stated as “irretrievable breakdown”. That is not to say that should your case end up being decided by a judge that they will not consider behavior as a factor in determining property division. They can.

You can proceed with a no-fault divorce in either a non-contested or contested fashion. The vast majority of cases are non-contested where the court is simply approving your settlement. They call this a 1A divorce.

If there are disagreements on the terms of a settlement (e.g. custody, property division, support payments) you can have the court decide for you what is appropriate. It can be costly and contentious as you will each have attorneys advocating for you. This is called a 1B divorce.

Fault Divorce

The fault divorce is a lesser used option due to cost and the lack of significant benefits. But the categories for fault are adultery, desertion, alcoholism, cruel and abusive treatment, non-support, impotency, and incarceration more than 5 years.

Alimony in Massachusetts

In 2012 Massachusetts created the Alimony Reform Act. It put in place a set of rules and formulas to help guide judges and couples in determining the amount and duration of spousal support to be paid as part of divorce agreement.

While these guidelines are a good starting point, the actual amount of alimony paid is based on a number of factors including lifestyle, the income need of the person receiving support, and the ability of the payor to pay it. To see all the factors, click here. The court has latitude to decide what is fair given the unique circumstances in a divorce.

Here are some basic elements of The Alimony Reform Act.

The maximum time alimony payments will last depends on the length of the marriage.

It can be no greater than:

• 50% of the length of the marriage if it was 5 years or less

• 60% if 10 years or less, but more than 5 years

• 70% if 15 years or less, but more than 10 years

• 80% if 20 years or less but more than 15 years

Often alimony will be designed to allow the receiving spouse to simply gain financial independence and will last no more than 5 years.

Other facts to know

• Child support takes priority. If a dollar of income is used to calculate child support it is no used to calculate spousal support.

• Often alimony will be designed to allow the receiving spouse to simply gain financial independence and will last no more than 5 years.

• The amount paid is based on the difference in the incomes of each spouse, with a guideline amount of no more than 30 - 35% of the difference.

• Spousal support is not taxable or deductible. So the 30% - 35% guideline above is in practice reduced to a lesser amount to reflect the lack of taxation.

• Alimony generally ends when the person paying reaches the social security full retirement age, although there can be exceptions.

For more information on these topics download our guide on

“How to Get Divorced in Massachusetts”