Welcome to MCLE's Alimony Reform Resource Center. As of Monday, September 26, 2011, the Alimony Reform Act is now law in Massachusetts.
We invite you to use this resource center to stay up-to-date on the latest developments pertaining to this major issue. If and when the bill is enacted into law, MCLE will be ready with seminars in which our expert faculty will bring you up-to-speed on the new law and how it impacts your practice.
Click the links below to access the latest information on the Alimony Reform Act of 2011. More links will be added in the coming weeks.
STEP 1: Get Started with the Law
The Bill
Bar Association Perspective
News and Commentary
STEP 2: Hear from the Experts
*NEWAdvocating & Drafting Under the New Alimony Return Legislation Plymouth (Wednesday, January 11, 2012)
*NEWDivorce Finance Summit (Tuesday, February 14, 2012)
*NEWDivorce in a Time of Economic Upheaval Springfield (Wednesday, February 29, 2012)
*NEWAlimony Summit 2011
September 26, 2011
MCLE Insider
Governor Patrick Signs Alimony Reform Into Law!
The Governor is expected to sign Alimony Reform into law today at 4 p.m. The new law is effective March 1, 2012 and significantly alters family law practice throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. A copy of the Act is available by clicking on this link:
The Signed Bill (pdf)
The Alimony Reform Legislation allows for more predictability and definable alimony awards going forward, while giving the courts discretion to consider factors for deviation, such as retirement of the payor spouse and cohabitation. The courts will now decide the amount and duration of alimony before addressing the division of marital assets. In addition, the new legislation allows for three additional forms of awards in addition to general term alimony: rehabilitative, reimbursement and transitional, all of which have specific eligibility criteria.
At MCLE’s Alimony Summit today, Chief Justice Carey praised the hard work of task force members and legislators who have worked so hard to ensure that the divorce laws of the Commonwealth are no longer based on 1950’s values and traditional post-marital economic structures. She urged practitioners to familiarize themselves with the new law so that they can effectively advise clients, argue deviation factors to the court, and redraft boilerplate agreements.
To help practitioners get up to date on the sweeping changes that the Act will trigger in family law practice, MCLE plans to offer the following options:
Alimony Summit Webcast Rebroadcast October 20, 2011
Alimony Reform in Massachusetts: An Overview-
Taunton, October 21, 2011 1p.m.-5p.m.
Worcester, October 21, 2011 1p.m.-5p.m.
Springfield, TBA
An Alimony Practicum: Advocacy and Drafting under the New Reform Legislation
Plymouth, January 11, 2012, 2 p.m.-5 p.m.
Peabody, January 18, 2012, 2 p.m.-5p.m.
Framingham, January 24, 2012 2 p.m.-5 p.m.
For additional information, please contact Customer Service at customerservice@mcle.org
September 20, 2011
MCLE Insider
The Massachusetts House ratified the Senate version of the Alimony Reform Bill this past Friday during informal session. The Bill now goes to the Governor’s desk and it is expected that he will sign it into law shortly. For the latest information on its impact on your practice, be sure to join Chief Justice Carey, Judge Kaplan, alimony task force members and leading practitioners at the Alimony Summit on September 26th here at MCLE or by webcast!
July 29, 2011
MCLE Insider
Senate passes alimony reform.
http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/House/H03617
July 28, 2011
MCLE Insider
Senate meets today to debate alimony reform in first formal session since the bill passed the House last week. For text of Senate bill follow the link below.
http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00665
July 19, 2011
MCLE Insider
House debate, and a proposed amendment
The House is expected to debate the Alimony Reform Act on Wednesday, July 20.
In the meantime, The State House News Service reports the proposing of an amendment to the bill:
AMENDMENT WOULD GIVE JUDGES MORE POWER OVER SETTLED ALIMONY CASES
By Colleen Quinn
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, JULY 18, 2011…..Two Republican House lawmakers plan to file an amendment to the alimony reform bill that would allow judges to stop or reduce payments in cases considered settled under current law.
The bill House lawmakers will debate Wednesday affects only cases where the courts retain jurisdiction over cases indefinitely, known as merged cases. In a merged case, judges have the authority to revise alimony years after a divorce is finalized. In other cases the parties agree to the terms of their divorce as being final, referred to as “survives with independent legal significance” and it does not allow judges to modify decisions in the future. The amendment, to be filed by Rep. Sheila Harrington (R-Groton) and Rep. Daniel Winslow (R-Norfolk), would allow the courts to adjust or stop alimony in all cases.
Under the bill, alimony would be dramatically revamped, with specific guidelines laid out for the first time on the levels and duration of payments to former spouses.
Critics of the current system say it is inconsistent and arbitrary and leaves many without redress even if their financial situation changes. The proposed law would also curb "lifetime" alimony, something reform advocates say Massachusetts judges award too often.
The bill would also allow judges to end payments to a former spouse who is living with someone else, sharing living expenses. Nothing in the current alimony statutes allows judges to reduce or terminate alimony when a former spouse lives with someone else, lawmakers said.
Harrington, a practicing divorce attorney, said everyone should be able to modify alimony payments if circumstances change, even if the courts no longer retain jurisdiction over the case. If the new law allows changes in divorces that are “merged” in the courts, it should be the same for “survived” cases, she said.
During the May hearing on the bill before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, dozens of people testified they were stuck paying alimony despite the fact their former spouse was living with someone else, sometimes for decades, Harrington said.
“People are living together to prevent losing their alimony,” she said.
Sen. James Eldridge (D-Acton), another co-sponsor of the bill, said the section of the bill that stops payments for an ex-spouse living with someone could draw opposition. The bill would allow judges to cut off alimony for anyone living with someone for more than three months.
“I have heard that is too short a trigger,” Eldridge said.
Eldridge said he “expects there will be a fair amount of debate” on alimony reforms because it has been so contentious in the past.
If the bill passes in the House, the Senate is expected to debate it before the end of July, according to Sen. Karen Spilka, another co-sponsor of the legislation. Spilka (D-Ashland) said there were several similar bills filed over the years that failed because there was no consensus.
But this bill has a good chance of passing because it came out of a year-long effort from a task force compromised of groups and attorneys on all sides of the issues. Spilka said she heard for years from constituents about the need to change alimony laws. She described the proposed law as fair, saying it supports spouses that may have given up careers to help raise children, while taking into consideration the length of the marriage.
“The bottom-line is it establishes clarity over what alimony will be with some discretion,” Spilka said.
Proponents of the bill say it has gained support from many sides, including divorce attorneys.
Stephen McDonough, a divorce attorney with the Divorce Collaborative in Bedford and Franklin, said he follows the bill closely like many in his field, and likes the changes.
“The vast majority of practicing divorce attorneys realize it is a little bit of a strained system that has evolved, and often times you get some results that just don’t seem fair,” McDonough said.
McDonough said the law would “be a big improvement but still be supportive of people who do need alimony.”
July 8, 2011
MCLE Insider
House advances bill overhauling alimony laws.
The State House News Service reports that the House gave initial approval to a sweeping reform bill and Rep. Paul Donato, (D-Medford), a member of Speaker Robert DeLeo’s leadership team who presided over Thursday’s session, said the House would likely hold a formal session next week to debate the changes. If the bill passes, it would lay out guidelines for the duration and amount of alimony, depending on the length of the marriage.
The bill would establish a timeline for payments, granting payments based on the years of marriage. If someone is married five years or less then the person receiving alimony would get payment for half of the number of months of the marriage. For a 10 to 15-year marriage, judges would award payment for between 60 to 70 percent the number of months the couple was married. The spouse of a 15-year marriage would be entitled to payments for 80 percent of the number of months. It would still be up to a judge's discretion on how many months of payments to award for any marriage longer than 20 years.
If the bill is passed, as is anticipated, MCLE will plan a series of programs to assist practitioners in understanding the overhaul of the alimony system.
June 8, 2011
MCLE Insider
The Legislature’s Joint Committee on the Judiciary has issued a favorable report on the alimony reform bill. The bill is now before the House Committee on Steering, Policy and Scheduling.
May 19, 2011
MCLE Insider
Public Hearing on Alimony Reform-May 18, 2011
The long awaited and much anticipated public hearing on the Alimony Reform Act of 2011 (S0665) took place yesterday afternoon in a packed Gardner Auditorium at the State House. Attending the hearing to offer testimony before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary were Chief Justice Carey, members of the task force that drafted the bill, and practitioners and mediators from around the Commonwealth. Following the initial presentation by Chief Justice Carey, representatives of the Boston Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Women's Bar Association, the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and Alimony Reform Advocates offered their statements in support of the bill as it stands. The auditorium was filled with members of the public who shared their personal experiences under the current state of alimony with the joint committee.
The Chief started the public hearing by outlining the significant elements of the current proposed legislation. The Bill would preserve judicial discretion and allow the judges some deviation in certain conditions, such as when there is a finding that the award would present an unusual tax burden, the age of the parties is a consideration or where one of the parties may suffer from chronic illness. She also recommended the bill for allowing the phasing in of the law so that the court would have time to conduct trainings of staff and practitioners. She anticipated that there would be an increase in traffic in the court, since many would seek modifications of their existing agreements. The most significant change is that the Bill provides for an end date for alimony based on the duration of the marriage.
The Bar Association representatives also indicated their endorsement of the proposed reform. They recommended the legislation since it would eliminate confusion, allow the public to plan for the future, and its clear provisions would allow many cases to settle. They felt that the bill also sets up a model for retirement in that it allows for termination of alimony upon retirement of the payor. The flexible term limits of alimony would be based on the duration of the marriage, with parties to a marriage of under five years receiving short term assistance.
MCLE will continue to closely track this bill as it makes its way through the legislative process during the current session.