Adultery

Can We Divorce Even if My Partner Is Pregnant?


What do Bridget Moynahan, Tiki Barbar, and Denise Richards have in common?  They (or their spouse) were all pregnant while going through a divorce.

Divorce is never easy.  Divorcing while pregnant adds another complication.  In some states it is not even possible to finalize the divorce while a party is pregnant.  However, in Massachusetts, although expecting parents are permitted to finalize a divorce, there are certain obstacles about which a divorcing, expecting parent should be aware.

1. There is a legal presumption that a child born to a woman during a marriage is the child of her spouse.

Pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 209(C), section 6, a man is presumed to be the father of a child if he is married to the mother at the time of birth of the child or if the child is born within 300 days after the marriage is terminated by death, annulment or divorce. (While the terms man and woman are contained in the statute, this law applies to same-sex couples, as well.) The husband’s name will automatically be placed on the birth certificate of the child, even if the husband is not the biological parent.  It then becomes the burden … Keep reading


First of all, to our past, present, and future readers, we want to thank you for reading and wish you all a very Happy New Year!  We hope that our articles provide you with some new insight and perspective, as well as the occasional levity to the often challenging (but always interesting) divorce process.  In this “fake news” era, I thought it would be helpful to start the year by dispelling some “myths” and “misconceptions” of the divorce process, specifically, as they apply to the ubiquitous issue of dividing assets in a divorce.  I hope you enjoy.

Divorce practitioners are very familiar with our clients’ “friend” who was awarded all of the assets in the divorce because [insert divorce myth here].  The topic of these unscathed friends comes up frequently in the context of the initial intake meeting in which we discuss goals and expectations in the divorce process with our prospective clients.  Truth is, everyone going through the divorce process (for the first time) will inevitably have certain expectations about how the marital assets will be divided at the end of the divorce.  Often times, the expectations are rooted in someone else’s prior experience with the process.  As … Keep reading


First of all, to our past, present, and future readers, we want to thank you for reading and wish you all a very Happy New Year!  We hope that our articles provide you with some new insight and perspective, as well as the occasional levity to the often challenging (but always interesting) divorce process.  In this “fake news” era, I thought it would be helpful to start the year by dispelling some “myths” and “misconceptions” of the divorce process, specifically, as they apply to the ubiquitous issue of dividing assets in a divorce.  I hope you enjoy.

Divorce practitioners are very familiar with our clients’ “friend” who was awarded all of the assets in the divorce because [insert divorce myth here].  The topic of these unscathed friends comes up frequently in the context of the initial intake meeting in which we discuss goals and expectations in the divorce process with our prospective clients.  Truth is, everyone going through the divorce process (for the first time) will inevitably have certain expectations about how the marital assets will be divided at the end of the divorce.  Often times, the expectations are rooted in someone else’s prior experience with the process.  As … Keep reading


Hi there,

On a gorgeous day like today, you just want to sit outside and sip on a tall glass of lemonade. Recently though, the taste of lemonade has been made a little sharp by the fabulous Beyoncé. Infidelity became a hot topic with her recent release of Lemonade, a scathing, seemingly confessional visual album. As strident a response to infidelity as it was, she has also shone a light on the number of marriages that do survive unfaithfulness.… Keep reading

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Hi there,

Photograph: Tom Merton/Photodisc/Getty ImagesThe last couple of times that I have been asked to be interviewed on television and on the Internet, the interviewer has been interested in stories of cheating spouses.  The recent interview on the Internet was about how Facebook relationships have affected divorce.  That made me go a step further and think about how the Internet has really changed the availability of pornography and how that very commonality has changed how the viewing of online pornography is considered in the divorce process.

When I first started practicing (when dinosaurs roamed the earth), catching a spouse viewing or reading pornography was almost as severe a shock as discovering a spouse cheating.  It was brought up often as a reason for the divorce, in hushed tones and with a request to not let anyone know, because there was a LOT of shame associated with even mentioning it.

But, boy, has that changed as porn has become so much more easily available.  In fact, we all spend a lot of money screening our computers to keep it from showing up unwanted, like say mice?

As a result, it has become much less of a hot button issue in divorce; … Keep reading


Hi there,

Things have been crazy busy lately and I just had a chance to catch up on the news from a favorite site of mine, The Daily Beast.  Here are a few that I found most interesting.

I was at first astonished, and then not so surprised to learn that your credit card company can predict your coming marital woes.  When they said the husband (or wife) is the last to know, I don’t think they had Visa in mind.

I am always interested in changing public (and not so public) attitudes about marriage and extramarital sex, so I was amused to read about the newest Broadway offering in this regard.  Somehow the wife doesn’t seem to have been considered, nor I might add, the unnerving possibility of a divorce lawyer in their future.

And finally, another celebrity kamikaze divorce.  The McCourt’s got their start in Boston and are ending on the west coast.

Enjoy!

Best,

Nancy… Keep reading