SUFFOLK COUNTY PROBATE & FAMILY COURT
The local attorneys at The Massachusetts Family Law Group are dedicated to helping clients throughout the Greater Boston and Suffolk County area. To schedule an appointment in our Boston, Cambridge, Woburn, or Norwood conference centers, call (800) 763-1030 or contact us online for an appointment at any of our offices.
The Suffolk Probate and Family Court has jurisdiction over all divorces and paternity matters throughout Greater Boston including the communities of Audubon Circle, Back Bay, Bay Village, Beacon Hill, Brighton, Charlestown, Chinatown, Fenway, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Kenmore Square, Longwood Medical, North End, Revere, Roslindale, South End, and West Roxbury.
Additionally, all alimony, child support, custody, modifications, parenting plans, or temporary orders relating to an action of the court will also be heard in Suffolk County.
The courthouse, named the Edward W. Brooke Courthouse, is located at 24 New Chardon Street, Boston 02114. All matters are heard on the second and third floor.
Judges Are Assigned By Docket Number
When your case is filed in the Suffolk County Probate and Family Court, based on your docket number, you will be assigned one judge throughout your entire case. The judge is the man or woman who will preside over your hearings. The judge wears a black robe and sits at the judge's bench in the front of the courtroom. The judge has the power to make rulings on pretrial motions and decides who wins.
In Suffolk County, the judges assigned to the family court are most often First Justice John M. Smoot, the Honorable Justice Joan Armstrong, the Honorable E. Chouteau Levine, the Honorable Elaine M. Moriarty, or the Honorable Jeremy A. Stahlin.
The judge should be addressed as "Your Honor," "the court," or "Judge (enter last name). Do not say "Sir or "Ma'am." Additionally, you should always stand when the judge enters the courtroom. You'll typically be prompted to do so by the court officer who'll say, for example, "All rise." If you fail to stand, it will be viewed by the judge as a sign of disrespect. Do not sit down until the judge sits and the court officer indicates as such.
Courtroom Procedure in Suffolk County
The best the Suffolk County family court judges can do is to triage - to stop the bleeding of thousands of Boston's troubled families and failed relationships. When you consider that there is a caseload of nearly 12,000 new divorce, separate support, modification, contempt, and abuse prevention filings each year and only five full-time judges assigned to hear cases, certain things start to make sense.
First of all, with 25 to 40 cases on a typical morning calendar, your case will start downstairs in the probation department. The hope is that you and your spouse can resolve the matter without judicial intervention, but even if only a few issues get resolved, the day may still be a success given that the judge might have only 10 or 15 minutes to hear from both sides and decide the fate of your alleged crisis.
How to Conduct Yourself Before the Judge
Once you do end-up before your judge, our Massachusetts and Boston-North Shore Divorce Attorneys will advise you of how to conduct yourself in front of your particular judge. Each has his or her customary policies on certain matters when presented with specific matters and requests.
For example, children often want to give their opinion about where they want to live. The policy of each individual judge will determine whether or not the children will have that opportunity, and at what age. In another case, you may want to use an outside psychiatric evaluator to conduct testing on your spouse. Each judge will have his or her own ideas of when - and if - such an evaluation should be made.
Given the vast number of cases in the judicial pipeline, and how slowly some cases move through the process, if you and your spouse are open to the idea of reaching in agreement, we can file a joint petition (agreement) instead of a complaint. Here, just about anything can be handled administratively. You still need the judge's approval, but once matters are agreed-to by both of you, the matter goes ahead of the line and right before the judge. Some issues that are well-suited for this process include:
- Uncontested divorces, where you and your spouse agree on each and every item and issue related to the ending of your marriage. This does not necessarily mean that the divorce is amicable, but merely that all the disputes between you and your spouse can be resolved outside the courtroom.
- Custody and parenting plans relating to your children, including agreements as to each parents' rights and responsibilities and other decision-making issues.
- Property and debt division, otherwise referred to as "equitable distribution" in Massachusetts divorce cases.
Litigate or Negotiate? In Suffolk County, There are Advantages and Disadvantages to Each
Resolving all contested issues through negotiation sounds like a good idea, but it's easier said than done. Don't expect to get everything you want; be willing to give on some issues and to trade on others. If you can get most of what you want by agreement, let a few minor points slide. On the other hand, if your spouse is only willing to see things in his or her black-and-white world, you'll need to go before the judge. If it's in the gray area, you and your attorney are the ones who have to weigh the risks, benefits and costs.
If you are of the belief that you can navigate the Suffolk County family court as well as, or better than a lawyer, you are seriously misguided, to say the least. If you retain only one piece of advice from our website, please let it be this one: Get a Lawyer!
The best thing that you can do if you'll be appearing before the court, is to make a field trip to your judge's courtroom in order to observe how cases like yours are handled. The time to observe him or her is early in the morning as this is when all parties are directed to appear. Plan on staying until 12noon. The more you know about what to expect, the better prepared you will be for your day in court.
In Suffolk County, Hire an Attorney Who'll Give You a "Home-Court Advantage"
While every judge applies the same set of laws, each interprets statutory law and handles
its procedures a little differently from the judges and courthouses in the other counties. For that reason, our attorneys are assigned to specific regions and courthouses. By working day in and day out in the same places, we know how things work.
Does that mean we litigate every case? No. However, we do prepare each case as if it is going to trial. We believe our preparation and willingness to go to court leads to more favorable settlement offers.
Call Our Boston Divorce Attorneys For a FREE, No-Obligation Consultation
To learn more about how to put our 40+ years of combined legal experience to work for you, contact us online or call (800) 763-1030 for a free, no-obligation consultation. While our main Boston-area offices are in Woburn and Norwood, we avail ourselves for appointments in Cambridge, Back Bay, and East Boston. This enables us to serve men and women with divorce, paternity, modification, and contempt matters in Allston, Beacon Hill, Chelsea, Jamaica Plain, the North End, Revere, Roslindale, South Boston, and West Roxbury.
