Questions & Answers

I’ve only been married for 2 weeks, am I eligible for an annulment?

In the state of Massachusetts, a court granted annulment means your marriage never legally happened. Each state’s legislative code sets specific guidelines for what constitutes an annullable marriage. Contrary to popular belief, you can’t annul a marriage based on a short duration. Massachusetts outlines seven specific grounds for annulment. In Massachusetts, annulments require your marriage to be either void or

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Can the police look at my cell phone if I am detained or arrested?

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects you from unreasonable government searches and seizures, including your electronic and smart devices. Whether you’re being held under detainment or arrest, you still have protective rights. To start, before speaking to any law enforcement official, you can state you do not wish to answer any questions without your attorney present. In many

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Does it really matter if I skip jury duty?

Yes—yes it does. Skipping jury duty is an easy way to land yourself in completely unnecessary trouble. Massachusetts makes it rather difficult to miss or skip your service date. There are many chances to make right on your having skipped jury duty, but they are all time-consuming and potentially nerve-wracking. After missing jury service, you will receive a “Failure to

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Does Massachusetts allow pain-and-suffering claims?

Massachusetts allows pain-and-suffering claims in some cases. Pain-and-suffering claims are considered “non-economic” in that they are not seeking to compensate for a price-tagged, financial loss caused either by damage to property or by high medical bills. The latter type are “economic” damages. In Massachusetts, pain-and-suffering claims must usually be filed alongside economic claims. In the case of car accidents, medical

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What is a common law marriage and how is it different from legal marriage?

When it comes to understanding common law marriages, there are a lot of misconceptions out there. You may have heard that a couple living together for 7 years or longer are automatically common law spouses. This is a false statement as common law marriage regulations are determined per state. In fact, only 15 states recognize a common-law union, and Massachusetts

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I hear police say they are detaining a suspect while putting them in handcuffs. What is the difference between detention and arrest?

It’s important to understand the differences between detention and an arrest because your rights change drastically from one to the other. Anyone can be detained. The police only need reasonable suspicion to stop an individual. It is required by law that when an officer stops someone, the officer has either a search warrant, probable cause to search, or reasonable suspicion.

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My ex-spouse has asked to pick up our children, of whom we share custody, at a different time from that stated in our custody agreement. I’m fine with the change. Do we need to alter the agreement, or is a verbal agreement enough?

As an attorney, my answer is almost always going to be “get it in writing.” While you may have the most amicable divorce in the world, you never know what the future may hold. Contracts fill the gaps left when human trust fails. If this is a one-time, or two-time situation, a verbal agreement might suffice. Of course, without putting

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I make my living in the arts. Does my spouse have a fifty percent share in rights to my works and the income they produce?

Yes and no. Yes, in the sense that artistic works, along with patents, trade secrets, and many other “intangible” properties, constitute intellectual property. And intellectual property, in Massachusetts, is marital property. No, in that Massachusetts does not assume “equal” (fifty-fifty) distribution of property between partners at the dissolution of a marriage, but rather “equitable.” Intellectual property falls under the requirement

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What constitutes “malicious” destruction of property?

“Malicious” is what separates a crime from an accident that happened to destroy someone’s property. It is also worth noting that the statute covers both “destruction” and lesser “injury” to another person’s belongings, physical or digital. In Massachusetts, the law is primarily concerned with three things: intention, motive, and cost of the destroyed property. The Commonwealth’s General Code states that

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At a shopping center, I slipped on the wet floor and broke my tailbone. Would I sue the owners of the particular store, or of the entire complex?

Liability depends on many factors, primarily the exact location where you slipped and the cause of the wet floor. Typically, an individual or corporation owns the building that comprises the shopping center. The owner or owners then rent out particular units to individuals or corporations. While the tenants are responsible for conditions within their particular units, the landlord remains responsible

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