At its April meeting, the BBA Council voted to support S 665, “An Act to Reform and Improve Alimony,” co-sponsored by Senator Gale Candaras and Representative John Fernandes. This bill, the result of a Herculean effort led by the Legislative Alimony Reform Task Force, is the result of thoughtful discussion and negotiation. The final product provides a structure that gives durational and amount limits to alimony orders while giving the court the ability to consider the facts and circumstances of each case, which is key to preserving judicial discretion within the framework of reform. Our Family Law Section has taken it one step further and has provided additional comments for the Legislature to consider.
The Legislative Alimony Reform Task Force was convened to bring all parties with an interest in alimony reform together in one room to collaborate on a single, compromise piece of legislation. The Task Force constituted one of the broadest groups of family law stakeholders possible, including Chief Justice Paula Carey of the Probate and Family Court in an advisory capacity, and representatives from the BBA, the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Women’s Bar Association, father’s rights groups and private family law practitioners. Members met for marathon sessions over fourteen months under strict confidentiality — trudging through various alimony reform proposals already in existence and working together on each piece of the new legislation. The BBA’s Family Law co-chair, Kelly Leighton, acted as the BBA’s liaison throughout the process.
The call to reform alimony laws in Massachusetts has gotten louder and louder over the last several years. These laws have a direct impact on the lives and livelihoods of so many people throughout the Commonwealth. The current laws give little discretion to judges to set a termination date on alimony payments absent a significant change in the lives of the two parties. Often there is little consistency in alimony rulings because of the ambiguities in the current statutes.
We aren’t the first group calling for change in this area of the law, and it was only after our collaboration with other groups that it appears Massachusetts will finally benefit from legislative reform. Our work on this started years ago, when the BBA and the MBA convened a joint task force to study the alimony issue and make recommendations. In 2010 the BBA endorsed the report of that joint task force, which was utilized in the drafting of “An Act to Reform and Improve Alimony.”
Although the alimony reform process may still take some time, it certainly looks like Massachusetts will finally have an alimony system which is consistent while allowing for judicial discretion. Legislators rely on groups like the BBA to help frame issues in a way that can bring about meaningful change. The next step in the process is to weigh in publicly with our support when the Judiciary Committee schedules a public hearing on this issue.
-Kathleen Joyce
Government Relations Director
Boston Bar Association
