Filing for Divorce in Massachusetts

1. What are the residency requirements for filing for divorce in Massachusetts?  
Massachusetts’ residency requirements are a bit more complex than some. You may file for a divorce in Massachusetts if you have lived there for more than a year regardless of where the action(s) that led to your divorce took place, as long as you and your spouse lived as husband and wife there, and you resided there when the action(s) that led to your divorce occurred.  

Or you may file if you are a resident of Massachusetts for any length of time and the action(s) that led to your divorce occurred in Massachusetts. You cannot file for a divorce Massachusetts if you and your spouse have never lived as husband and wife there. You must file in the county in which you or your spouse lives; if one of you still lives in the county where you both last lived together, that is the county in which you have to file.  

2. Does Massachusetts have a waiting period?       
There could be various waiting periods in your divorce depending on the type of ground with which you file. If you are filing on the ground of an irreconcilable breakdown of your marriage and your spouse submits a statement with you, you will have to wait 30 days. If you are filing on the ground of an irreconcilable breakdown and your spouse does not submit a signed agreement, you will have to wait six months. Read on for details.  

3. Does the state have grounds for divorce?  
Yes. You may file for a divorce in Massachusetts based on these grounds:

• Your spouse has committed adultery — had an affair.
• Your spouse is impotent.
• Your spouse has voluntarily deserted you with no intention to return and has been gone for more than a year.
• Your spouse has extreme habits of intoxication or drug use.
• Your spouse treats you cruelly and abusively.
• Your spouse has cruelly refused or neglected to help support you.
• Your spouse has been sentenced to five or more years in prison.
• Your spouse has been absent so long and under such circumstances as to be presumed dead.  

You also may file for divorce based on an irretrievable breakdown of your marriage. If you and your spouse both agree in signed statements that this is true and file a separation agreement, then within 30 days of approval of that agreement, the court will rule on whether your marriage is irretrievably broken, meaning there is no hope for reconciliation.  

You also may file based on the ground of irretrievable breakdown without the signed statements and agreement, but the court will wait at least six months before ruling on your case.  

4. How does Massachusetts determine the division of property?    
You and your spouse are encouraged to come up with a settlement on your own and present it to the court. If you can’t agree, the court will divide your property for you.  

The court will only divide your marital property. In Massachusetts, that includes all property you acquired during your marriage, with the exception of property that you received as a gift or inheritance, or property that you acquired in exchange for property you received as a gift or inheritance. Property that you acquired before you were married remains your separate property, though any increase in value of that property may be considered marital property. Pensions and retirement benefits may be considered marital property too.  

Your property will be divided in whatever way the court thinks is most fair. Generally, the parent with whom your child lives will be granted the opportunity to have or live in your house. The court also will take into account the following in deciding what is fair:

• How long you were married.
• You and your spouse’s conduct during your marriage.
• You and your spouse’s ages.
• You and your spouse’s health.
• You and your spouse’s lifestyle.
• You and your spouse’s occupations.
• You and your spouse’s amounts and sources of income.
• You and your spouse’s skills.
• You and your spouse’s employability.
• You and your spouse’s estates.
• You and your spouse’s debts and needs.
• You and your spouse’s opportunities for future assets and income.  

5. Does Massachusetts require mediation before a divorce is granted?  
No, mediation is not a requirement for a divorce in Massachusetts.