Articles & Insights
Plain-English guidance on family law, estate planning, guardianships, and more, written for North Shore families making important decisions.
Hidden Assets & High-Asset Divorce
How to Find Hidden Assets in a Divorce, and What Massachusetts Courts Can Do About It
The definitive guide to financial concealment in divorce: common hiding methods, discovery tools, and the consequences spouses face when courts uncover the truth.
Red Flags Your Spouse May Be Hiding Money Before a Divorce
Financial concealment often begins months before divorce papers are filed. These behavioral and financial warning signs can tell you what's happening, and what to do about it.
Business Valuation in Massachusetts Divorce: What You Need to Know
For many couples, a closely held business is the most valuable marital asset, and the most frequently manipulated. Here's how valuation works and how to protect yourself.
Tracing and Dividing Crypto and Digital Assets in a Massachusetts Divorce
What the court actually requires you to disclose, how a concealed holding is traced back from the ordinary paper trail, and how a volatile asset gets valued and split once it is found.
Double Dipping: When Investment Income Counts for Child Support but Not Alimony
Once an investment account is divided as part of the marital estate, the income it produces cannot be counted again for alimony. It can still count for child support. Why the rule splits, and who has to prove what.
Offshore Accounts, Crypto, and Shell Companies: Hidden Assets in the Digital Age
The tools for hiding wealth have expanded considerably. What once required offshore banking relationships can now be done with a smartphone app. Here's how it works, and how it's found.
What is a QDRO? Dividing Retirement Accounts in a Massachusetts Divorce
Retirement accounts are among the most valuable assets couples accumulate, and the most frequently mishandled in divorce. A QDRO is the instrument that makes division possible without triggering taxes or penalties.
Divorce in Massachusetts: What Families Need to Know
How Long Does Divorce Take in Massachusetts?
From 3 months to 3 years, the timeline depends almost entirely on the process you choose. Here is a realistic breakdown for every scenario.
What to Expect at Essex Probate & Family Court: The Salem and Lawrence Sessions
A practical first-timer's guide: which courthouse handles your case, what to bring, where to park, and what actually happens at a first hearing.
What Happens to the Family Home in a Massachusetts Divorce?
Sell it, keep it, or defer the decision, three outcomes, each with different financial and practical implications. What you need to know before deciding.
Massachusetts Property Division: What “Equitable” Actually Means
Equitable does not mean equal. The nine statutory factors Massachusetts courts must consider, and the common misconceptions that cost people money.
Gray Divorce in Massachusetts: What Couples Over 50 Need to Know
Divorce after 50 raises different financial and practical questions. Retirement assets, long-term alimony, health insurance, and Social Security, what makes gray divorce distinctive.
Divorcing a High-Conflict Spouse in Massachusetts: Strategies That Work
When one spouse uses litigation as a weapon, the standard playbook fails. Seven proven strategies for protecting yourself legally and financially when your spouse escalates at every turn.
Coercive Control Is Now Abuse Under Massachusetts 209A
Since September 18, 2024, a pattern of control counts as abuse under Chapter 209A even without physical violence. The nine statutory examples, the separate single-act route, and what it means for a protective order.
Leaving a Marriage When Domestic Violence Is Involved: Legal Protections in Massachusetts
Massachusetts 209A protective orders, emergency custody, address confidentiality, and safe planning, what survivors need to know about their legal options before, during, and after leaving.
DIY Divorce vs. Hiring an Attorney in Massachusetts: An Honest Comparison
When can you safely handle a Massachusetts divorce without an attorney, and when does DIY become a costly mistake? The five conditions DIY requires and the risks when they're not met.
Divorce and Your Business in Massachusetts: What Business Owners Need to Know
A closely held business is often the most valuable and most disputed asset in a high-asset divorce. Business valuation, personal vs. enterprise goodwill, buy-out options, and protecting what you built.
Family Law Attorney in Newburyport, Massachusetts
Brigantine Law serves Newburyport and the upper North Shore from our 458 Boston Street (Route 1), Topsfield office, divorce, custody, alimony, protective orders, and collaborative divorce for Essex and Middlesex County families.
A Better Way to Divorce: The Collaborative Process
What is Collaborative Divorce and Is It Right for You?
A structured, non-adversarial path that keeps families out of the courtroom. Learn how the process works and how to evaluate whether it fits your situation.
Collaborative Divorce vs. Litigation: Cost, Timeline, and Stress Compared
How you get divorced shapes everything that follows. A side-by-side comparison of the two approaches on every dimension that matters to families.
Collaborative Divorce on the North Shore of Massachusetts
Why collaborative divorce fits many North Shore families: privacy, community continuity, full legal representation, and outcomes shaped by your values rather than a courtroom dynamic.
Trusts, Probate & Protecting What You've Built
Irrevocable Trusts in Massachusetts: When and Why to Use One
From Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts to ILITs, irrevocable trusts offer powerful benefits, but require giving up control. Learn when the trade-off makes sense.
Special Needs Trusts in Massachusetts: Protecting Benefits for a Loved One
A direct inheritance can disqualify a family member with a disability from SSI and MassHealth. A special needs trust preserves benefits while providing for their future.
Healthcare Proxies and Advance Directives in Massachusetts
Who will make medical decisions for you if you can't? Understanding healthcare proxies, living wills, MOLST forms, and HIPAA authorizations, and why you need them all.
Durable Power of Attorney in Massachusetts: What You Need to Know
Without a durable power of attorney, a family member may have no legal authority to manage your finances during incapacity. Here's what it covers and how to do it right.
Probate in Massachusetts: What It Is and How to Avoid It
Probate is public, time-consuming, and costly. Learn what assets go through probate, what avoids it, and the planning strategies that keep your estate out of court.
Duties of a Trustee in Massachusetts: What You're Taking On
Agreeing to serve as a trustee is an honor, and a serious legal responsibility. This guide covers the fiduciary duties every trustee must understand before accepting the role.
When to Update Your Estate Plan: Life Events That Demand a Review
Marriage, divorce, a new child, a death in the family, nine life events that should trigger an immediate estate plan review, and why forgotten beneficiary designations are the most dangerous oversight.
5 Reasons North Shore Families Keep Putting Off Their Will, and Why Each One Is Wrong
The most common objections to estate planning, examined honestly. None of them hold up, and the cost of delay is far higher than most families realize.
What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Massachusetts?
When there's no will, Massachusetts intestacy law decides who gets your assets, and who raises your children. The default rules rarely match what families would have chosen.
Will vs. Trust: Which Do You Need?
Almost everyone needs a will. Some families also benefit from a trust. A clear explanation of how the two instruments differ, and how to decide which approach is right for your situation.
How to Choose an Executor for Your Estate
The executor administers your estate, manages assets, handles creditors, and distributes to beneficiaries. The choice matters, and the most common defaults are often the wrong ones.
Revocable Living Trusts in Massachusetts: Are They Worth It?
Revocable trusts are widely recommended, but not always necessary. An honest look at what they do, what they don't do, and when the added cost and complexity is genuinely justified.
Estate Planning After Divorce: What to Update and When
Divorce changes almost every document in your estate plan, but not automatically. What Massachusetts law fixes on its own, and what you must update yourself before your ex-spouse inadvertently inherits.
Estate Planning for Blended Families in Massachusetts
A simple “everything to my spouse” will can leave your biological children with nothing. How QTIP trusts, careful beneficiary planning, and honest conversation protect everyone in a blended family.
Naming a Guardian for Your Children in Your Will: What Massachusetts Parents Need to Know
Naming a guardian is the single most important reason to have a will when you have young children. What the designation does, who can serve, and why you should separate the guardian and trustee roles.
Digital Assets and Your Estate Plan in Massachusetts
Cryptocurrency, online accounts, and digital businesses require specific planning. A guide to RUFADAA, the private key problem, and how to ensure your fiduciary can actually access what you leave behind.
Estate Planning for Small Business Owners in Essex and Middlesex Counties
For most Essex and Middlesex County business owners, the business is their most valuable asset, and the most overlooked in estate planning. Buy-sell agreements, succession pathways, and business powers of attorney.
Charitable Giving in Your Massachusetts Estate Plan
Charitable bequests, QTIP trusts, CRTs, donor-advised funds, and QCDs: how to incorporate meaningful giving into your estate plan in ways that are tax-efficient, legally sound, and lasting.
Estate Planning for North Shore Massachusetts Families
From Topsfield and Newburyport to Ipswich and Beverly, why local estate planning expertise matters for Essex and Middlesex County families, and what a complete North Shore estate plan should include.
Alimony, Marital Agreements & Financial Planning
Alimony in Massachusetts: Types, Duration, and How Courts Decide
Massachusetts recognises four types of alimony with durational caps tied to the length of the marriage. A plain-English guide to the framework, the factors courts weigh, and how amounts are calculated.
The Massachusetts Alimony Reform Act Explained
The 2012 Alimony Reform Act fundamentally changed Massachusetts alimony law, imposing durational caps, automatic termination triggers, and four distinct categories. What changed and why it matters.
When Can Alimony Be Modified or Terminated in Massachusetts?
Some termination triggers are automatic. Others require a court proceeding. What qualifies as a material change in circumstances, and what courts won't accept as grounds for modification.
Savings, Marital Lifestyle and Massachusetts Alimony After Openshaw
The SJC held in 2024 that a couple's regular saving during the marriage can count toward the marital lifestyle when a judge sets alimony. What the decision does, the two conditions attached to it, and where it does not reach.
Alimony and Child Support Together: The Three-Step Cavanagh Calculation
When both are at issue a judge must calculate them in both orders and compare the results. Why the sequence changes the numbers, what the tax step is actually worth today, and the income threshold that does not exist.
Prenuptial Agreements in Massachusetts: What They Can and Cannot Do
Prenups are not just for the wealthy, and they are not inherently unromantic. What a well-drafted prenuptial agreement can and cannot accomplish, and what makes one enforceable in Massachusetts.
Postnuptial Agreements in Massachusetts: Protecting Yourself After Marriage
Missed the prenup? Financial circumstances changed during the marriage? A postnuptial agreement can still define the rules, but courts apply a more demanding standard. Here's what to know.
Custody, Support & Parenting After Divorce
The Massachusetts Parentage Act: What Changed on January 1, 2025
The state replaced its old paternity framework with a gender-neutral parentage statute and eight defined routes to legal parenthood. What it means for unmarried, LGBTQ+, donor and surrogacy families.
Legal vs. Physical Custody in Massachusetts: What the Terms Actually Mean
Legal custody and physical custody are two separate questions, and the answers don't have to match. A clear explanation of what each term means and how Massachusetts courts apply them.
How Child Support is Calculated in Massachusetts
Massachusetts uses a statewide formula, the Child Support Guidelines, to calculate support. Here is how the formula works, what counts as income, and how the parenting schedule affects the number.
What Should a Parenting Plan Include?
The parenting plan is the document your family will actually live by. A vague plan creates recurring conflict. A detailed one prevents it. Everything a comprehensive plan should address.
When Can You Modify a Custody Order in Massachusetts?
Custody orders can be changed, but only when a material change in circumstances justifies it. The legal standard, what qualifies, and what doesn't.
Moving Out of State with Children After Divorce in Massachusetts
You cannot simply move out of Massachusetts with your children after a divorce. The law requires either the other parent's consent or a court order. What the standard is, and how courts decide.
Protecting Vulnerable Family Members Through the Courts
Guardianship vs. Conservatorship in Massachusetts: What's the Difference?
Guardians make personal decisions. Conservators manage money. A clear explanation of how the two roles differ, and when you need one, the other, or both.
How to Petition for Guardianship of an Elderly Parent in Massachusetts: Step-by-Step
The complete process from physician's certificate to Letters of Guardianship, what to file, who gets notice, what the court hearing involves, and what happens after.
Planning Ahead: Alternatives to Guardianship in Massachusetts
Guardianship is the most restrictive option. Durable powers of attorney, healthcare proxies, representative payees, and supported decision-making may accomplish the same goals without court involvement.
Guardianship for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: A Parent's Guide
When a child with an intellectual disability turns 18, parents lose automatic legal authority. What changes, what your options are, and why acting before the birthday matters.
Emergency Guardianship in Massachusetts: When There's No Time to Wait
A standard guardianship takes weeks. When a family member faces an immediate safety risk, Massachusetts allows emergency temporary guardianship, sometimes granted within days.
Rogers Guardianship in Massachusetts: Psychiatric Treatment Decisions Explained
Massachusetts law gives patients the right to refuse psychiatric medication, even under guardianship. Rogers guardianship is the specific court process needed to authorize treatment over that objection.
When a Guardian Needs to Be Replaced: How the Court Process Works
Guardianship appointments can be modified, suspended, or terminated. A look at the grounds for removal, who can petition, and how the Probate and Family Court handles succession.
Guardianship and MassHealth: How the Two Intersect
How guardianship and conservatorship interact with MassHealth applications, authorized representative designations, asset management, and the five-year lookback, practical guidance for families navigating both systems.
Guardianship Attorneys in Essex and Middlesex Counties, Massachusetts
Brigantine Law handles guardianship and conservatorship proceedings in the Essex and Middlesex County Probate and Family Courts, for elderly parents, adults with disabilities, and young adults approaching age 18.
Mediation: A Private Path to Resolution
Divorce Mediation in Massachusetts: How It Works
A structured, private alternative to courtroom litigation. A plain-English guide to what mediation covers, how sessions work, financial disclosure, and how a mediated agreement becomes a final divorce.
Do You Need an Attorney During Divorce Mediation?
Mediation doesn't require an attorney, but having one can make a significant difference. Three ways to involve an attorney, and the situations where it matters most.
Mediating With a High-Conflict Ex in Massachusetts: What You Need to Know
Can you mediate with a difficult or high-conflict spouse? When it can still work, when caucus mediation is the answer, and when litigation is the better path.
What to Expect at Your First Divorce Mediation Session in Massachusetts
What actually happens in a first session, what to bring, how to prepare your priorities, and why you should never commit to anything in the session itself. Go in ready.
Questions About Your Situation?
Our attorney is available for confidential consultations at our Topsfield office, or by appointment in Gloucester or North Andover.