The most common grounds for divorce in Massachusetts are irretrievable breakdown of marriage. The fault grounds; which include adultery, impotency, utter desertion, gross and confirmed habits of intoxication, cruel and abusive treatment, prison sentence and non-support; are generally more helpful in contested litigation.
A joint petition for divorce by both spouses filed with an agreement providing for division of assets and childrens' issues would allow for a trial as early as a month after filing and the chance for remarriage after 120 days, or approximately four months of a temporary order. Anything not in agreement between spouses would have to be litigated, with the opportunity for temporary orders as early as a month after the filing but a minimum waiting period of six months to secure a trial date in order to finalize the divorce. The temporary order of divorce granted would become permanent after 90 days, or approximately three months. Any change of name, post-divorce modifications, child custody, grandparent visitation and guardianship of minors are also handled by the family court.
Any lawyer licensed in Massachusetts may enter their appearance in any Massachusetts county family court. A lawyer should disclose to their client at the first meeting the nature of their representation. Generally, lawyers would not just give advice as a work product without entering their appearance with the court. Some lawyers might prepare uncontested paperwork that spouses can file themselves. Lawyers would not be able to pursue divorce cases on a contingent share of recovery after judgment and would generally start with a retainer fee amount used at hourly billing rates including attorney expenses incurred for casework. Once a lawyer has entered their appearance with the court, another lawyer would have to “take over” their representation unless the lawyer was allowed to withdraw by the court after a hearing with notice to all parties involved, thereby leaving the client unrepresented. Parties who are unrepresented in family court have minimum advice from court lawyers of the day but otherwise are expected to comply with all requirements of Massachusetts family court law. This makes at least getting advice from an experienced lawyer vital to anyone going into family court.
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