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The BEST Legal Advice You’ll Ever Get (and it’s free)!

We pride ourselves on generally being pretty positive people. We try to smile more than growl and use honey rather than daggers. Sometimes, it is our own clients who bring us to the edge of sanity. Inspired by a friend who suggested this, some ideas on how to not to upset your attorney*:

1. Know the facts of your case. If you do not know the facts, we won’t and cannot make strong representations on your behalf.
2. Be consistent in overall goals. Don’t keep changing your mind on what you want to achieve, because your case will definately take longer to resolve.
3. Flexibility leads to resolution. Understand that your perception is your reality, but the same is also true for the other side. The truth and the solution are often somewhere in the middle.
4. Always tell us the full story without omissions or lies. We are likely going to find out the rest of the story at some point, so better that we can be properly prepared ahead of time.
5. Understand that we have other clients and personal lives, so it might take a hot minute to return your call or email. As the kids say, don’t
“spam call” us. We will get back to you when we are able and within a reasonable amount of time (usually 24 hours unless it’s a holiday or weekend).
6.  Ghosting is fun on Halloween but not when we’re trying to move your case forward. Respond and let us know that you’re gathering information or cannot provide an answer at that moment.
7. Keep your private life private. Do not vent or brag about your life on social media. We cannot tell you how many times we have discovered that a party, who is six (6) months behind on child support took a luxurious trip or bought a new, expensive car. The attorneys will eventually uncover the information and, at minimial, will probably need to spend some time discussing it.
8 Maintain authentic documents. Altering, removing or deleting portions of an email or text can compromise your credibility, but also compromises our ability to properly argue your case.
9. This is not our first rodeo so trust our advice. Over the years, we have noticed that our clients with the largest legal bills are often the ones who keep asking the same questions over and over or ignore our advice. We have had similar cases in the past and know how the case will likely be resolved.
10. Pay your bill. We understand that legal expenses can be high, but you’re paying for our expertise and our time. Similarly, understand that it does take time to review documents, especially if it includes thousands of pages (and, yes, we will read all of them).
11. Prepare for court by providing requested documentation, dressing appropriately and being on time.
12. Understand what differentiates between an actual “emergency” and what is important to you. We do prioritze our cases and that order changes sometimes by the minute. In the event that there is a real emergency, the first call should usually be to the police, not us. One of us has a blackbelt and the other is 5’2″ but neither of us are coming to home to kick your ex’s butt if they are breaking into your home.
13. Remember that we are not your therapist or best friend. It’s not to say that we don’t love a good story or joke (and we DO), but our role is legal guidance.

In the words of Miranda Priestly, “that’s all.” We’re pretty easy and are always happy to work with you to help you achieve your goals. As always, please let us know how we can best help you!

Warm regards,
John & Faye

* Shoutout to our friends @Fun Enterprises for the (positive) inspiration for this newsletter!

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Ozzy.


We recently asked on our Facebook page for suggestions of songs that might inspire a newsletter and someone suggested Mama I’m Coming Home by Ozzy Osbourne. What a great song and excellent suggestion!

Our minds immediately started going in different directions. Rather than focus on just one of the topics, we’re going to share the variety of thoughts that we had when we started pondering what to write.

Our first thought was directly related to the person who offered the suggestion and who happens to be an adoptive parent. We are fully aware that the song is not about adoption; however, when we read the comment, we could “hear” little voices, excited to find their forever home with their Mama.
We believe that the intended meaning of the song is related to being welcomed “home” after significant personal struggle, including addiction and infidelity. So often, we see couples struggle to figure out how to rebuild a relationship and regain some level of trust. Some couples can work through it, but not always. It’s a personal decision, but one that we see clients struggle with all the time.
There is a very fine line between “how was your visit” and “tell me everything that you did” when a child returns home from parenting time. While the linguistic difference may be slight, there is a different, understated tone that can create stress for a child or the imply intrusiveness by a co-parent. Believe it or not, this is one of the most frequently discussed reasons for frustration amongst co-parents and the primary reason that parenting classes exist.*
Of course, there is the reality of Ozzy’s health; clearly, Ozzy is not well and his quality of life is quite poor. We suspect that the song took on a deeper meaning last week, whether religious or spiritual, as he returned home after his last performance ever and looked towards his final days.

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New year, new law.



Effective as of January 1, 2025, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts had implemented the Massachusetts Parentage Act (“MPA”). The MPA has expanded parenting relationships by:
* Replacing the terms “mother” and “father” with “parent” and “person who gave birth;”
* Creating a process for children establish parentage; and
*Clarifying ways in which parentage can be defined (ie. giving birth, adoption, voluntary acknowledgement, court order, presumption, genetic connection, de facto, or intended parentage).

It will be really interesting to see how these new laws will be further defined in future years. We expect that there will be a tremendous amount of litigation surrounding presumption, genetic connections and intended parentage.

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Civility.

Rhianna & Eminem;
President Regan & Tip O’Neil;
Oscar & Felix;
Snoop and Martha;
Balboa and Creed; and
RBG & Scalia.

We love unexpected friendships and ones that do not necessarily “make sense.”  We have two (2) theories on why these friendships exist:

1. The individuals involved overlook their differences and focus on their similarities; and
2. They appreciate their differences and are open to learning from one another.

One day in 2016, just as the extreme division in our country was becoming more even more evident, someone extended an invitation to engage in an open, candid conversation regarding politics and the overall state of the world.  Although perspectives and beliefs were fairly different, we spoke for hours, exchanging facts, experiences, feelings and perspectives. It is impossible to not recognize how rare these conversations are in the modern world and that is potentially one of the greatest differences between us and our forefathers.

Fast forward to July 17, 2024, just days after a former President of the United States survived an attempted assassination.  It is questionable whether calls for civility have been heard as key board warriors are still active and vicious personal attacks are still in effect.

How many of us can say that we have not lost friends over politics in the last 10-15 years? It is often not the actual difference in opinion, but moreso the inability to engage with an open mind, combined with a general lack of respect or common civility. 

One of the most beautiful, legendary friendships of all times is RBG and Scalia. We happen to post this newsletter a few years back about their friendship:
https://wjslegal.com/category/news/page/2/

If you have read to the end of this newsletter, THANK YOU.  We challenge you to think jump out of your own box, listen to commentators who you typically disagree with and to watch both “On the Basis of Sex” and  “Hillbilly Elegy.”*  

As always, we would love to hear from you regarding this or other matters. 

Warm regards,
Faye & John

** We are in our (Siskel and) Ebert era… both films are currently streaming on a major service and are EXCELLENT.

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Extinct Like a Dinosaur.

Every four years, the Massachusetts Probate and Family Courts task force re-evaluates the child support guidelines to determine their effectiveness and what changes need to be made. Last fall, the court launched new guidelines which made the 2018 version extinct. Some of the notable changes can lead to a significant change for both the payor and the payee:1. The minimum order has decreased from $25 per week to between $12-20 per week. While the change may not seem significant, the relatively small difference can be profound for a parent who is already receiving such a minimal amount and trying to feed and clothe a child.2. By contrast, the maximum threshold for combined gross income to be used for calculations has increased from $250,000 to $400,000 per year. Depending on income level, the child support order can actually go up or down under the new guidelines even if the income used hasn’t changed.3. Guidelines now allow for an order up to 40% of payors income under circumstances. In cases where the guidelines suggest an order in excess of 40%, then there is an opportunity for court approved deviation from those guidelines.4. Orders which cover more than one child are generally higher than they would have been under the previous guidelines.5. Child care expenses are now more proportional based on the parents’ ability to pay for the first $355 per week per child.6. Social security benefits are now more defined. Under the 2021 guidelines, social security benefits and SSDI are now considered, especially if one of the parents are receiving benefits for one or more of the children.7. Additional income can now be used in calculation of child support. Generally speaking, the parties can now include any stock benefit, incentives and overtime when determining a party’s income. We expect that the courts will continue to look at three (3) years of history to determine if that income is an expectation or a one time event.As always, please feel free to reach out to us with any family law or other issues if we can be of help to you. Regards,John & Faye

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