Massachusetts Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
1. What is a divorce?
Divorce is the process whereby a husband and wife end their marriage to each other.
2. What are the grounds for divorce?
Massachusetts permits no-fault divorce based on irreconcilable breakdown of the marriage. May be contested or uncontested. There is a 120-day waiting period for an uncontested no-fault divorce. Otherwise, the entire process should take less than six months. Massachusetts also permits fault divorces.
3. Is there a residency requirement?
Although the court generally requires an individual who wishes to file for divorce to meet the one (1) year residency requirement, a divorce may nonetheless be granted to parties if a cause for divorce occurs in another jurisdiction where the parties have “lived together as husband and wife in this commonwealth” and where one party lived in the Commonwealth when the cause for divorce occurred. A divorce may be granted if the plaintiff is domiciled in the Commonwealth when the action is commenced, the cause occurred in the Commonwealth, and the plaintiff did not come to the Commonwealth for the purpose of obtaining a divorce.
4. How are marital assets divided?
Massachusetts is an “equitable distribution” state, generally meaning that all marital property acquired during the marriage is subject to division. Statutory factors include: (1) length of marriage; (2) conduct of parties during the marriage; (3) age, health, station, occupation, amount and sources of income, vocational skills, employability, estate, liabilities and need of each; (4) opportunity for future acquisition of capital assets and income; (5) present and future needs of dependent children; (6) contribution of each to acquisition, preservation or appreciation of the property.
