Family Law

• Divorce
  Atwood & Cherny, P.C. offers an array of services in the area of family law and divorce in addition to litigation, appellate work and mediation. Many of our attorneys are trained in Alternative Dispute Resolution and serve as Court Appointed Masters, Conciliators and Guardian Ad Litems. Divorces involving high net worth and substantial assets require careful planning. Let the respected attorneys of Atwood & Cherny guide you through this process.
• Child Support
  The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reversed both the trial court and Appeals Court decisions in this case and affirmed the ability of parties to permanently waive alimony in a prenuptial agreement. Atwood & Cherny (Jacob M. Atwood) represented Craig Austin who entered into a prenuptial agreement prior to marrying Donna Austin which provided, amongst other things a waiver of any claims to alimony by Donna. Under the terms of the divorce judgment, enforcing those provisions of the parties’ prenuptial agreement pertaining to property division, Mrs. Austin received, among other things, the marital home valued at $1,275,000, $525,000 in cash, her Lexus automobile, $500 per week in child support and $1,000 per week in alimony. The Supreme Judicial Court found the prenuptial agreement to be enforceable, upholding the waiver of alimony and reversing the alimony award. In doing so, the Supreme Judicial Court followed its earlier decision in DeMatteo v. DeMatteo (2002) and dismissed Mrs. Austin’s contention that the prenuptial agreement that she signed (which included a permanent waiver of alimony) somehow "…stripped her of all marital interests…" and further affirmed that the fact that a prenuptial agreement may "…leave one spouse in an essentially different lifestyle is not a valid basis for determining that the agreement was valid…." The SJC reaffirmed that such agreements made in the contemplation of marriage, waiving rights to property division and alimony, will be enforced absent the "…mental or physical deterioration of the contesting party…" or "…erosion of promised support by inflation…" that would lead a court to determine the agreement to be unconscionable.
• Child Custody and Visitation
  The wife was a resident of Massachusetts and the husband was a resident of New Hampshire. The parties entered into an agreement modifying a divorce judgment, allowing the wife to move with the parties' minor children from Massachusetts to Nebraska. As part of the agreement, the parties agreed that Massachusetts would retain exclusive jurisdiction over the custody and visitation issues of the children. Approximately 1-1/2 years later, the Wife filed a petition in Nebraska to modify the terms of visitation. The Massachusetts court enjoined the wife from proceeding in Nebraska. The court also denied the wife's motion to dismiss based on the court's lack of jurisdiction under the Massachusetts Child Custody Jurisdiction Act and the Parental Kidnaping Prevention Act. On appeal, the Massachusetts Appeals Court reversed the lower court, holding that in interstate custody disputes under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act and the Parental Kidnaping Prevention Act, Massachusetts does not reserve jurisdiction under a continuing exclusive jurisdiction provision.
• Paternity
  DAWN ETHIER YOUNG became a partner with the law firm of Atwood & Cherny, P.C. in October 2012. She is a trial attorney with a litigation practice focused on complex domestic relations and family law matters at both the trial and appellate levels. This includes divorce, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, paternity matters, alimony/ spousal support, child support, child custody/ parenting plans, removal of children from the Commonwealth, and the enforcement and modification of prior judgments.
• Premarital Agreement
  Twenty years after the leading case on prenuptial agreements was decided by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in Osborne ( Jacob Atwood represented the wife in that case - see Osborne v. Osborne, 384 Mass. 591 (1981) ), the SJC took another opportunity to clarify and expand the standard by which prenuptial agreements would be judged. Atwood & Cherny represented Mr. DeMatteo, who had entered into a prenuptial agreement with his wife just prior to their marriage and sought to have it enforced at the time the marriage ended. The trial judge found the agreement at trial to be unenforceable, and the firm filed an application for direct appellate review with the Supreme Judicial Court. In a unanimous decision written by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court, the court adopted Atwood & Cherny's argument that the trial court had applied the wrong legal standard to the enforceability of the prenuptial agreement and reaffirmed and expanded upon the purpose of prenuptial agreements, their difference from separation agreements and how courts and lawyers should approach them in their application for the future.
• Guardianship
  Is a partner with Atwood & Cherny, P.C. Rachael specializes in the representation of clients in all aspects of family law. She has handled cases in probate and family courts across the Commonwealth. Rachael represents individuals in varied complex divorce and family litigation law matters including issues pertaining to: child custody and parenting plans, alimony and child support, asset division, modification and contempt actions, antenuptial agreements, paternity actions, guardianship matters, international family disputes and Hague Convention matters, and domestic relations related appeals. Rachael is an experienced trial attorney and litigator, having tried cases in courts across the Commonwealth as well as in private arbitration. That said, Rachael prides herself in being resolution oriented, often representing clients who have chosen to mediate their divorce, or working with opposing counsel to reach agreements outside of court. Rachael is a frequent lecturer and author on topics relating to family law.
• Spousal Support
  The Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed the trial court's divorce judgment which awarded approximately $3.6 million of the marital estate to the wife and $200,000 to the husband with no alimony. The Appeals Court affirmed the divorce judgment based on the fact that during the twelve year marriage, the majority of the marital estate was largely acquired from the wife's inheritance. In addition, she used her inheritance to support the family and her inheritance appreciated in value due to her father's investment advice. Also, the husband played little role in the appreciation of the assets, used his income for his own purposes and relied on the wife to support him.

Criminal Law

• Restraining Order
  Dawn’s concentration lies in high-conflict child custody disputes, and the litigation of alimony/spousal support, division of assets and other financial aspects for high-net worth individuals, real estate holders, and business owners. Dawn also appears in various District Courts prosecuting and defending No Abuse Restraining Orders and Harassment Orders. Her practice area extends throughout all counties of Massachusetts, including the Cape and Islands.
• Kidnapping

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  MARY BETH L. SWEENEY is a partner with the law firm of Atwood & Cherny and has been with the firm since 1998. Her practice includes all aspects of domestic relations and probate litigation in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. A significant portion of her practice involves custody matters and children’s issues, including the impact of a child with special needs in a divorce case. Mary Beth has expertise in custody, removal, visitation, and Hague Convention matters (where a parent abducts a child to/from another country). She was one of the trial attorneys responsible for the first highlighted “virtual visitation” case in Massachusetts, as it pertained to a creative method of contact for a non-custodial parent in a removal matter. A component of her practice also includes representing family members in Estate Litigation matters in both the Probate and Superior Courts of the Commonwealth. Mary Beth is an elected Trustee with the American Inn of Court, currently serving a four year term. She is a Past President of the Massachusetts Family and Probate American Inn of Court and is the Past President of the North Shore Women in Business. Mary Beth also serves by appointment and agreement as a Guardian ad Litem in family law cases and is regularly appointed as a Conciliator by various justices of the Massachusetts Probate and Family Courts. She is a trained mediator and collaborative law attorney and also works as a Parenting Coordinator. Mary Beth also volunteers her time with the Andona Society.
• Probate
  Represents clients in a wide variety of matrimonial matters, both in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Cate has expertise in complex divorce cases, including valuation, asset division, support, custody, and removal. She has significant experience drafting of prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, as well as litigation of such agreements at the time of a divorce. A component of her practice also includes paternity matters, contempt and modification of divorce or paternity judgments as well as family law related appeals. Cate’s experience includes both litigation and resolving cases outside of the courtroom, whether through mediation, collaborative law, or direct attorney negotiation. She is trained as both a collaborative law attorney and mediator. Cate is also appointed to assist the courts with custody matters as a Category F GAL and ARC counsel. Cate is also on the Probate and Family Court Category U (Discovery Master) list. Prior to joining Atwood & Cherny, Cate served as a law clerk to the Justices of the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court. During her two years as a judicial law clerk, Cate worked on a variety of family law, probate law and equity matters for the justices of Bristol, Middlesex, Suffolk, and Worcester counties. Cate volunteers her time as Lawyer for the Day in Norfolk County.