The Law Office of Judith R. Kaplan

01/15/2026

https://time.com/7344525/why-women-divorce/?fbclid=Iwc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQKNjYyODU2ODM3OQABHuTdgwSFzAWa9yPFOtd-4Mh6NMdLZkQr36sud3m-AdU1okJm0Rt53wkVQmyj&brid=zqDHkKzSSG8ft7qGZaZNwQ

Divorce isn't a personal failure. It's a structural one.

12/19/2025

https://www.mass.gov/orgs/court-service-centers

COURT SERVICE CENTERS

Free. Online. By Phone. In Person. In Courthouses. In Communities.

Court Service Centers are committed to providing court users equal access to the Courts by helping navigate the Court System. Court Service Centers can answer basic questions, help with court forms, give information about court rules, procedures, and practices, and connect you with community resources. All Court Service Centers are free to court users, but there may be other fees associated with your case, such as filing fees.

Court Service Centers provide legal information on limited types of cases. Learn more through the provided link.

Free. Online. By Phone. In Person. In Courthouses. In Communities.

12/19/2025

Our Ask the Therapist columnist, Lori Gottlieb, advises a reader who tries to balance the needs of her divorced parents — but often ends up in tears.

Our Ask the Therapist columnist, Lori Gottlieb, advises a reader who tries to balance the needs of her divorced parents — but often ends up in tears.

12/19/2025

The Commonwealth released new child support guidelines. They are effective December 1, 2025.

These Child Support Guidelines are effective December 1, 2025, as amended October 30, 2025.

10/30/2025

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/well/family/gray-divorce-callout.html?unlocked_article_code=1.xU8.S2k0.psMCZxunf17e&smid=url-share

“Gray divorce” is becoming more common. We want to hear about yours.

12/10/2024

The Massachusetts Parentage Act (MPA) is new legislation, signed by Governor Healey on August 9, 2024, that updates our state law on establishing and recognizing legal parent-child relationships to include and protect more families, including LGBTQ families, families formed through assisted reproduction, and families which include a de facto parent.

The new law updates the “paternity” statute, Chapter 209C, so that its existing provisions are gender inclusive and to add new, comprehensive parentage provisions, including protections for children born through assisted reproduction and through surrogacy, and children of de facto parents. Chapter 209C is now titled “Non-marital children and parentage of children.” The law aims to ensure each child has a clear path to secure their legal parentage.

The Massachusetts Parentage Act becomes effective on January 1, 2025.

Parentage | Massachusetts Home » Your Rights » Parentage | Massachusetts The Massachusetts Parentage Act goes into effect on January 1, 2025. The new law will protect LGBTQ+ families and families formed through assisted reproduction in the Commonwealth. Find out how it will impact your family with...

12/04/2024

You gave your significant other an engagement ring and now plans to marry are called off. Who keeps the engagement ring?

The issue of who is at fault when plans to marry do not come to pass is now irrelevant in Massachusetts. The engagement ring must be returned to the donor - regardless of fault.

A woman must return a $70,000 engagement ring to her former fiance after a ruling Friday from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

04/26/2024

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/25/opinions/golden-bachelor-divorce-lessons-gerry-turner-theresa-nist-carr/index.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0qW9l2ED6lx8Mf4SyJkOfCN-5AdL1CY6dzjPSfFwtsgDSdw49tn2NvvN4_aem_AdYTxcPxQv9SK60soLO5TrVjvzRhschESP53TGLg9bIMgEZFQb7RlgM-pfZ17lWNNqRxt-PC0NmxsPk0-tLKN6iG

Now that we know the fairy tale didn’t happen, what can we learn from ‘The Golden Bachelor’ divorce? Deborah Carr shares three important lessons about love in later life.

04/26/2024

"The most expensive divorce in U.S. history was the end of the marriage of Bill and Melinda Gates, which involved an estimated $76 billion in property. Jeff Bezos and Mackenzie Scott had the second most expensive settlement at a more modest $38.3 billion." Investopedia. The Most Expensive Divorces in History

04/26/2024

"The Average Age of People Who Divorced in 2022 Is 46 for Men and 44 for Women." Census American Community Survey

04/26/2024

https://nypost.com/2024/01/30/lifestyle/more-americans-are-getting-divorced-later-in-life-heres-why/

“I think more and more couples have some appreciation for this idea that it’s better for the kids’ sake to remain married, that your kids are more likely to flourish in school and…

02/02/2024

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/legal/divorce/divorce-statistics/

Most people have heard that half of all marriages end in divorce, but is there more to the story? These divorce statistics shed more light on when and how marriages come to an end in the United States. Read on to find out the truth about who is dissolving their marriages.