Supreme Judicial Court interprets 2011 Alimony law

Attorney Powers was appellate counsel in Chin v. Merriott, one of the three cases argued in front of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court which resulted in the definitive interpretation of portions of the Alimony Reform Act of 2011.

Attorney Powers was appellate counsel in Chin v. Merriott, one of the three cases argued in front of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court which resulted in the definitive interpretation of portions of the Alimony Reform Act of 2011.

The Supreme Judicial Court agreed with Attorney Powers that portions of the Alimony Act, allowing alimony to be presumably ended upon obtaining  retirement age by the payor and/or cohabitation of the payee, were prospective in application and did not apply to merge agreements which were entered into prior to March 1, 2012, the date the act became effective.

This does not leave payors  whose obligations stem from judgments prior to the Act’s effective date with no remedy. They may still go forward for a modification of alimony based on a substantial change of circumstance.  In these cases retirement age and cohabitation may be factors.

Attorney Powers will be posting an in depth analysis of the three cases soon.