Essex County Probate and Family Court
The Massachusetts Family Law Group represents our neighbors in Essex County with local offices. To make an appointment for a no-obligation consultation, call (800) 763-1030 or contact us online.
The Essex County Probate and Family Court has jurisdiction over family matters such as divorce, paternity, child support, custody, parenting plans, termination of parental rights, and abuse prevention orders relating to those residing within Essex County.
All matters are heard at one of the two courthouses listed below:
Essex Probate and Family Court, 36 Federal Street, Salem, MA 01970
Essex Probate and Family Court, 2 Appleton Street, Lawrence, MA 01840
If a party to a case filed in Essex County resides in Lawrence, Methuen, or Andover, that matter will be assigned to the Lawrence session.
How Judges Are Assigned to Cases
All new cases (and cases in progress) are assigned to a particular judge. The last two digits of the docket number of a file will ordinarily govern the judge responsible for all proceedings relating to that matter. Those cases will be assigned to the following judges:
- 00-24 – Judge Blake
- 25-49 – Judge Sahagian
- 50-74 – Judge Boyle
- 75-99 – Judge Cronin
All cases assigned to the Lawrence geographical area, regardless of docket number, are heard in the Lawrence court before Judge Manzi.
In Essex County, the Procedure Is a Little Bit Different Than it is In Other Courts
Motions, trials, contempts, and other matters are heard on different days of the week – based on which judge is assigned to your case. For example, Judge Blake only hears motions on Mondays, Judge Boyle hears motions on Tuesdays, Judge Cronin hears them on Wednesday, and Judge Sahagian hears motions on Fridays. In Lawrence, Judge Manzi hears motions on Wednesdays.
Self-Represented Men and Women Are Held To the Same Standard as Attorneys
In the Essex County Probate and Family Court, judges hold self-represented people to the same standard as lawyers. Given that self-represented people do not know the law, the court procedures, what is reasonable, or how the judge will likely decide, he or she can often ruin their entire case in seconds.
Our North Shore Divorce Attorneys also know how to show that the opposing party – the self-represented person – who has limited knowledge in the area, is being unreasonable and should not only not prevail, but should have to pay the opposing party’s legal bill.
Highly charged emotions are expected and anticipated in the Essex County Probate and Family Court. The judges, family service officers, and court officers in Salem and Lawrence (and on rare occasions, Newburyport, too!) see more action in a week than the courts in other counties – say Berkshire County or Dukes County – in an entire year.
In a typical motion session, a wife headbutts her husband for selling her things on eBay; a dad with 10 aliases and prior convictions of drunk driving and drug trafficking seeks custody of the children; a divorcing wife can’t attend the school play and see her children because of mutual restraining orders with her husband, who knows that the first one who arrives is the one who gets to stay.
When Divorce Involves Children…
If the contested issues of your case revolve around parental fitness, or which of the parties ends-up with custody of the children, you’ll likely have a Guardian ad Litem or parenting coordinator assigned to your case. Notwithstanding this, when it comes time for you and your lawyer to present your best case, you’re going to get into trouble if you are viewed as making false allegations, general conclusions, or overblown charges about your spouse’s parenting skills. Rather than insist he or she is an unfit parent, be specific: speak of their sexual misconduct, your child’s excessive school absences when in his or her care, how there are serious health risks, or how there is a pattern of all night partying or no food in the refrigerator.
Once there is enough of a concern, the court-appointed evaluator, or even the Department of Children and Family (DCFS), will spend a great deal of time gathering up information, interviewing the children and third party witnesses, and begin psychological testing.
The days are long in Salem or Lawrence, but you must remember that, no matter if you are downstairs in probation or in front of one of the judges, you should always refer to your children as “our” children, not “my” children. Another courthouse tip is that, if you have any evidence (documents, photographs, etc.), never hand them to the probation officer or judge directly. A paramount concern is that the opposition will not have been given the opportunity to see what is being given to the court and put into the file.
Paternity Cases Are Common in Salem and Lawrence Motion Sessions
Essex County has the second highest number of paternity cases in Massachusetts than any other county. Our attorneys have been successful when it comes to actions involving paternity to collect child support, rights to custody or visitation, establish DNA and paternity testing, matters involving non-traditional families and same-sex couples, health insurance-related issues, and college funding. We are also staunch advocates for releasing court-ordered support for a child that may not be your own.
A Local Essex County Divorce Lawyer Can Make THE Difference in Your Case
Massachusetts divorce cases are handled at the local level. Although the law is the same throughout the Commonwealth, individualized judges and courthouses interpret the law and handle certain procedures a little differently from the others. For that reason, it is very important that you work with a divorce attorney with experience advocating and defending family law matters in the Essex County Probate & Family Court.
With our North Shore regional office in Woburn, and our offices areas in Salem, Andover, and Newburyport, we represent clients throughout all stages of the divorce process. This includes the drafting and filing of the initial divorce action, drafting Motions for Temporary Orders, drafting discovery requests, drafting appropriate responsive pleadings, drafting Pre-Trial Memorandums and attending all Court hearings including motion hearings, Pre-Trial Conferences and trial dates.
Call Our Boston-North Shore Attorneys With Your Questions
For a free, no-obligation consultation, call (800) 763-1030 or contact us online. When you arrive at your meeting, an attorney best suited for your case will review the facts of your matter, explain the divorce process specific to the judge and courthouse where your matter will be heard, and help you make a plan of action that improves your chances of an equitable settlement and winning resolution of your case.
