Historical Overview

Welcome to our Library.

Beginning in October of 2002 and continuing each month thereafter, the Library is intended to:

• Provide an inside, close-up view of the mediation process and, in particular, to illustrate how mediation can be used as a powerful tool for the confidential resolution of family and business disputes, as well as for the crafting of agreements
• Address areas of concern frequently voiced by potential clients with the objective of allaying fears and replacing assumptions with facts
• Report current developments in the legal and financial arena which impact our client population
• Provide information on substantive areas pertinent to issues affecting our clients

Additionally, our library offers readers an historical overview of the evolution in Massachusetts (and even federal) law since 2002, tracing the response by lawmakers to changing social notions about divorce, marriage, and family, and to economic developments, including a major recession, involvement in wars, and political changes in power.

Of particular interest to us are the following:

• Changes in the Massachusetts Guidelines governing child support obligations from its inception in 1988 to its present format issued on September 15, 2017 and amended June 15, 2018. Beside deletion of words such as “noncustodial,” now considered to have biased connotations, the Guidelines have evolved from a consideration of one custodial arrangement as fitting all families to the present delineation of different custodial versions and proportionate sharing of financing children’s needs.
• Changes in the alimony law evolving from a set of factors subject to different interpretations to a formulaic approach, effective March 1, 2012, which purports to introduce consistency and predictability into the application of spousal support orders.
• Anticipated modification of spousal support as a consequence of changed federal tax laws.
• Changes in the law governing same-sex relationships from the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts on May 17, 2004 to the
  June 26, 2013 Supreme Court Ruling declaring illegal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) denying federal entitlements to same sex married couples.
• Revolutionary changes in tax implications for individuals, families, and businesses as a result of the 2017 Tax Reform Law.

We invite you to browse, selecting those articles that best address your questions and allay your concerns. Articles appear in reverse chronological order.