Get free answers to your Child Support legal questions from lawyers in your area.
I live w/ my son in MA and my husband lives in PR, in our property. Can I get a divorce in MA, which doesn't include the property in Puerto Rico. How long can the divorce process take?

answered on May 4, 2022
Has husband lived in Massachusetts at all? If he never had any contacts with Massachusetts it would probably be better to contact a domestic relations practitioner there.
My daughter has lived with me full time for 4 years. My ex had sole custody of her legally. He hardly gave me any financial support. Since she has turned 18 he refused to help with her. She is still in high school and has a severe mental illness. I have tried taking him to court about a year ago... View More

answered on Apr 25, 2022
So the child has not graduated from high school and may have special needs also. There should be child support in accordance with the child support guidelines and you may need to once the child has completed high school seek contribution for the child's continued care via equity petition... View More
have full custody of 2 of my children, they have been staying with their father for last 60 day, does he pay me still
Per judge on 3/18 and DCF I still have 100% custody nothing ever changed

answered on Apr 20, 2022
Until the order or Judgment is modified by the Court it is still in effect.
We got an order back in January. I had no idea that I had to apply for services through the DOR, I thought they just kind of did their thing. Now I finally have the DOR involved, but they said they’re only responsible from now on. Does he still owe from the 14 weeks since the order was made? Or... View More

answered on Apr 19, 2022
Yes, he owes the 14 weeks during which he neither paid MDOR nor you. You may use the MDOR to proceed with a Contempt to enforce the back child support order/calculate the arrears. You will need to complete their application for same.
My male relative (D) is having a child with a woman (S) who is separated from her husband (K) but still legally married. Can D legally put his last name on the child's birth certificate even though S and K have not finalized their divorce?

answered on Mar 3, 2022
The presumption is that the child is born of the marriage, but the parties can agree that the child is not of the parties along with the biological father. The prospect of paying for a child not his own is usually an inducement to cooperation by husband, but what is bio father's willingness...
He said he’s going to stop paying for 21 year old who is going in to her 5th year of full time college. She still resides with us and we pay a 99% of her expenses. He said he’s going to cut child support in half because the have two children. He said he went to lawyer and because he has two new... View More

answered on Mar 2, 2022
The ex-husband can't unilaterally make changes to child support, no matter the reason. It can only be done via a court order. That court order could be the result of a written agreement by the parties to make changes or from a judge after a hearing, but the ex would be in contempt if he just... View More
Seeking retroactive child support back to the date the kids and I moved out. (4-5 years ago). We were never married and he is the father- on the birth certificate of both children.
This is a new child support request. We previously had a verbal agreement for weekly payments that he has not... View More

answered on Jan 11, 2022
Usually, a retroactive order can only go back as far as the date the opposing party was served with the complaint for child support. If there has never been an order previously, you may have the ability to argue for retroactive support back to the child's date of birth, but it would depend if... View More
My child’s father has not been in their life for over 6years. During that time I have had them full time with no help from him in any way. He does not pay any child support. He does call about once a month. Recently he has been asking for their information everything from school/medical records... View More

answered on Dec 31, 2021
There sounds like a lack of relationship over a lengthy period of time and the Court is sensitive to the effect of father's suddenly attempting to regain contact where there had been no regularity. Asking for contact information about other people is indeed odd and really not your information... View More
We had five. When third turned 18 he stopped support because he had one and I had one. Now I am only one with dependent child. Can I get support?

answered on Sep 24, 2021
Massachusetts child support laws allow for child support and educational expenses payments even after your child turns 18 and up to 23 years of age. The court looks at whether your child is “principally dependent” upon one parent which is usually understood to mean that the adult child lives... View More
My child support was modified to increase and I never received a court hearing notice nor has my income changed.

answered on Sep 3, 2021
You should first contact the Department of Revenue Child Support Enforcement Division and have them review your account. Sometimes if there is an arrears balance the amount changes. If you have no arrears, it is possible that the timing of the payments got off track somewhere and they needed to... View More

answered on Sep 3, 2021
If you have a visitation order or a Judgment that states the terms of visitation and are being denied visitation , then there appear to be grounds for a Contempt action unless there is something happening which is inimical to the child's best interests in which case the custodial parent... View More
We have been a couple for 20 years, married 14 years. We lived together for 5 years prior to buying a house 5 months before our wedding. The house was initially in his name because he had better credit at the time. We refinanced recently and I am secondary on the mortgage. Am I entitled to half?

answered on Aug 26, 2021
Maybe, it depends on all of the factors surrounding your divorce and living together prior to marriage. The Judge must consider about 15 factors then decide what an equitable division of all the assets would be.
You want to consult with an experience divorce attorney who will review the... View More
Massachusetts. Children. No Physical custody, No relationship exists. Joint Legal custody. Mother has alienated and isolated father from children's lives. Children are reaching age of college. Father is not in a financial position to support college and also does not desire to support college... View More

answered on Jul 20, 2021
The Court will be aware of he Contempt filings and you should pursue them if you have not obtained Summonses with hearing dates , make contact with the Court. The Court would determine child support and college contributions of the parties and can consider the overall circumstances. However, be... View More
He has never met his child and we have had zero contact. I am just curious as to what some of my options might be going forward.

answered on Jun 21, 2021
You can commence a Paternity action and seek support orders; both parties have the duty to support their child and if there are public benefits involved, the government has the ability to go forward to seek paternity adjudication regardless of whether you are interested in pursuing the matter.
How to protect my parenting rights agreed on if in different jurisdiction?
We are relocating to US, different states!
Thanks

answered on Jun 4, 2021
If the children were not living in Massachusetts for the last 6 months or more, Massachusetts would not have jurisdiction of the children unless the parties agree or agreed that Massachusetts would have jurisdiction .
If there is a uniform support order, and divorce was mediated and both parents waived having one pay child support, with notations by the Judge in the order, can another person modify the order stating that the parent didn't ever pay child support? The parent who supported is deceased.

answered on Jun 2, 2021
This is a very confusing question , particularly if a Modification is being sought against an estate? If there is not an order of child support, is there an order relative to life insurance?
He filed bankruptcy so he won't have to pay arrears ($15k+) for like 7yrs. A condition of that is he is required to make each weekly payment($100 -ordered when child was 3 and he's 12 with not one cost of living increase), without fail. Several weeks back, I received an amount over the... View More

answered on May 7, 2021
You should contact MA DOR - Child Support Enforcement Division to confirm, but your ongoing payments should not be impacted by any overpayments if there is an arrears balance. Any overpayment should be applied to the oldest outstanding payment. It is possible he received a tax return that was... View More
My daughter is four. Her dad hasn’t paid anything since she was maybe one. Barely sees her. Maybe once a month; some months, never. I’ve never done this before so I don’t know what to do next other than wait. He received something in the mail & did nothing. I still haven’t heard... View More

answered on May 3, 2021
If there was a prior order for child support that the dad isn't following, you could file a Complaint for Contempt. If there was no prior order, you would need to file a Complaint to Establish Paternity or a Complaint for Custody Support and Parenting Time.
You can contact the... View More
He never wanted the baby, then i got married and my husband recognized my son as his own, so legally my husband is my son's dad.

answered on Apr 2, 2021
If by legally you mean that your husband adopted your son and your husband's name is on the birth certificate, I don't think the biological father can do anything because he would have been notified about the adoption. If your husband isn't on the birth certificate then the... View More
My son is 19 and will be finishing school soon. Child support was started in Florida in 2012 but due there being a paternity file that was started in Massachusetts on 12/2002 the amount of support i pay is based on Massachusetts calculations. So I am not sure if I will need to be going to... View More

answered on Apr 1, 2021
That is a tough one without looking at the actual order. I would recommend talking to an attorney in Florida if there is an order out of Florida that your child support is based on. It could be that it is enforcing a Massachusetts order, but I think Florida is the right place to start.
Justia Ask A Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get free answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask A Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between Justia and you, or between any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions and you, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask A Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.