Springfield Divorce & Family Law Lawyer, Massachusetts, page 2

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Michelle Begley

Family Law, Divorce, Child Custody, Divorce & Family Law

Alison Faye Silber

Family Law, Divorce & Family Law
Status:  In Good Standing *Status is reviewed annually. For latest information visit here           Licensed:  15 Years

Leonard S. Michelman

Real Estate, Divorce & Family Law, Collection, Bankruptcy, Personal Injury
Status:  In Good Standing *Status is reviewed annually. For latest information visit here           Licensed:  76 Years

Nancy Ramos

Real Estate, Family Law, Divorce & Family Law, Personal Injury
Status:  In Good Standing *Status is reviewed annually. For latest information visit here           Licensed:  22 Years

Carla W. Newton

Commercial Real Estate, Family Law, Divorce & Family Law, Corporate
Status:  In Good Standing *Status is reviewed annually. For latest information visit here           Licensed:  45 Years

Priscilla Fifield Chesky

Landlord-Tenant, Litigation, Estate Planning, Family Law
Status:  In Good Standing *Status is reviewed annually. For latest information visit here           

Carolyn E. Scott-Howe

Litigation, Federal Appellate Practice, Family Law, Personal Injury
Status:  In Good Standing *Status is reviewed annually. For latest information visit here           Licensed:  31 Years

Paul Bloom

Family Law, Domestic Violence & Neglect, Litigation, Industry Specialties, Business
Status:  Inactive *Status is reviewed annually. For latest information visit here           Licensed:  87 Years

Free Help: Use This Form or Call 800-814-6700

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Free Help: Use This Form or Call 800-814-6700

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LEGAL TERMS

ADOPT

(1) To assume the legal relationship of parent to another person's child. See also adoption. (2) To approve or accept something -- for example, a legislative bo... (more...)
(1) To assume the legal relationship of parent to another person's child. See also adoption. (2) To approve or accept something -- for example, a legislative body may adopt a law or an amendment, a government agency may adopt a regulation or a party to a lawsuit may adopt a particular argument.

SEPARATE PROPERTY

In community property states, property owned and controlled entirely by one spouse in a marriage. At divorce, separate property is not divided under the state's... (more...)
In community property states, property owned and controlled entirely by one spouse in a marriage. At divorce, separate property is not divided under the state's property division laws, but is kept by the spouse who owns it. Separate property includes all property that a spouse obtained before marriage, through inheritance or as a gift. It also includes any property that is traceable to separate property -- for example, cash from the sale of a vintage car owned by one spouse before marriage-and any property that the spouses agree is separate property. Compare community property and equitable distribution.

FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (FMLA)

A federal law that requires employers to provide an employee with 12 weeks of unpaid leave during a year's time for the birth or adoption of a child, family hea... (more...)
A federal law that requires employers to provide an employee with 12 weeks of unpaid leave during a year's time for the birth or adoption of a child, family health needs or personal illness. The employer must allow the employee to return to the same position or a position similar to that held before taking the leave. There are exceptions to the FMLA: the most notable is that only employers with 50 or more employees are covered--about half the workforce.

EMANCIPATION

The act of freeing someone from restraint or bondage. For example, on January 1, 1863, slaves in the confederate states were declared free by an executive order... (more...)
The act of freeing someone from restraint or bondage. For example, on January 1, 1863, slaves in the confederate states were declared free by an executive order of President Lincoln, known as the 'Emancipation Proclamation.' After the Civil War, this emancipation was extended to the entire country and made law by the ratification of the thirteenth amendment to the Constitution. Nowadays, emancipation refers to the point at which a child is free from parental control. It occurs when the child's parents no longer perform their parental duties and surrender their rights to the care, custody and earnings of their minor child. Emancipation may be the result of a voluntary agreement between the parents and child, or it may be implied from their acts and ongoing conduct. For example, a child who leaves her parents' home and becomes entirely self-supporting without their objection is considered emancipated, while a child who goes to stay with a friend or relative and gets a part-time job is not. Emancipation may also occur when a minor child marries or enters the military.

MARITAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT

See divorce agreement.

CHILD

(1) A son or daughter of any age, sometimes including biological offspring, unborn children, adopted children, stepchildren, foster children and children born o... (more...)
(1) A son or daughter of any age, sometimes including biological offspring, unborn children, adopted children, stepchildren, foster children and children born outside of marriage. (2) A person under an age specified by law, often 14 or 16. For example, state law may require a person to be over the age of 14 to make a valid will, or may define the crime of statutory rape as sex with a person under the age of 16. In this sense, a child can be distinguished from a minor, who is a person under the age of 18 in most states. A person below the specified legal age who is married is often considered an adult rather than a child. See also emancipation.

DIVORCE

The legal termination of marriage. All states require a spouse to identify a legal reason for requesting a divorce when that spouse files the divorce papers wit... (more...)
The legal termination of marriage. All states require a spouse to identify a legal reason for requesting a divorce when that spouse files the divorce papers with the court. These reasons are referred to as grounds for a divorce.

JOINT CUSTODY

An arrangement by which parents who do not live together share the upbringing of a child. Joint custody can be joint legal custody (in which both parents have a... (more...)
An arrangement by which parents who do not live together share the upbringing of a child. Joint custody can be joint legal custody (in which both parents have a say in decisions affecting the child) joint physical custody (in which the child spends a significant amount of time with both parents) or, very rarely, both.

COMPLAINT

Papers filed with a court clerk by the plaintiff to initiate a lawsuit by setting out facts and legal claims (usually called causes of action). In some states a... (more...)
Papers filed with a court clerk by the plaintiff to initiate a lawsuit by setting out facts and legal claims (usually called causes of action). In some states and in some types of legal actions, such as divorce, complaints are called petitions and the person filing is called the petitioner. To complete the initial stage of a lawsuit, the plaintiff's complaint must be served on the defendant, who then has the opportunity to respond by filing an answer. In practice, few lawyers prepare complaints from scratch. Instead they use -- and sometimes modify -- pre-drafted complaints widely available in form books.

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