Q: Visiting parent who hasn’t kept up with custody, what happens? Does he or she lose rights? Normally and then in today’s COVID days? A parent who is awarded parenting time has the choice to exercise his/her time. If he or she does not exercise awarded time, she is...
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The questions on this page came in from visitors to our website or social media. Some of these involved questions pertaining to law in jurisdictions outside of Christine’s practice area (NH & MA). In those instances, you will note that we answered as if the person was in MA or NH for the benefit of our MA/NH readers. However, it should be noted that readers who need counsel outside of Massachusetts or New Hampshire can visit Avvo.com to search for an attorney in the appropriate area.
We hope you will find this information helpful. We also have many articles that we have written, often detailing legal aspects of family law, divorce, custody, child support guidelines and criminal matters on our blog pages which you can find here at Our Articles.
Is It Contempt?
Is it contempt if one parent does not pick up children on assigned day It is not necessarily a “contempt” if a parent does not exercise parenting time. However, if the parent does not present for parenting time and it costs the other parent financially (ie time off...
Can Child Support Get Money from A Second Job?
If I Get a Second Job or Have Additional Income, Will Child Support Be Changed to Include It? In Massachusetts, the court determines whether to consider income from a second job after examining the history of the income (for how long it has been received, whether it...
COVID has made seeing my child nearly impossible due to my new wife’s high risk pregnancy but..
Q. COVID has made seeing my child nearly impossible due to my new wife’s high risk pregnancy. My ex wife is holding this against me. Now that NH has relaxed the restrictions I want to see my child but my ex is saying that I have forfeited my rights. How can I...
In MA Is child support based on 2nd income?
Q. In MA Is child support based on 2nd income? In MA, child support is based upon the income of the parties. “Income is defined as gross income from whatever source, regardless of whether that income is recognized by the Internal Revenue Code or reported to the...
Is parent required to pay child support before being ordered by court to do so?
Q. Is parent required to pay child support before being ordered by court to do so? If so, how do we determined the amount? Every parent should provide financially for his or her child. Therefore, yes, a parent should support a child even if not ordered to do so by...
Parent doesn’t arrive at pickup location on time
Q: Parent doesn’t arrive at pickup location on time. Do I have to give child to her? This is very fact dependent. But my advice is always to take a reasonable approach. If a parent is scheduled to begin parenting time at 3PM and shows up at 3:30PM, you should...
Court Closure Questions
We finally agreed on terms for modification of our parenting plan. Where the court is now closed, does this mean that we can’t sign an agreement and submit it for approval? Answer: If you are working toward a resolution of a case, always keep trying! If you can...
How long will it take to get divorced in NH?
As with many aspects of parenting cases, the answer is in the facts. The amount of time varies drastically from case to case. I’ve seen divorces that take exactly one month to complete and others that have taken as much as several years. If you can...
Is Mediation a Waste of Time for Us?
In NH, the court suggested mediation in our case. My husband is so inflexible and I’m worried we will never agree on anything. Isn’t this just a waste of time? In my opinion, mediation is rarely a waste of time. Mediation brings parties to agreement on many issues...