Tag Archives: same-sex marriage
LANDMARK SJC DECISION INVOLVING THE RIGHTS OF A NON BIOLOGICAL PARTY TO DECLARE HERSELF THE PRESUMPTIVE PARENT OF A CHILD
A historical and remarkable decision has been issued today by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, entitled Karen Partanen v. Julie Gallagher, posted October 4, 2016, authored by Justice Lenk which addresses the legally enforceable rights of a non biological person in a same sex relationship in the midst of litigating the respective rights to the […]
Massachusetts Mediation, Not Just for Divorce.
My mediation practice ranges from Divorce, Post-Divorce Modifications, Parenting Plans, Child Custody, Pre-Nuptial & Post-Nuptial Agreements, Marriage Mediation, Cohabitation & Non-Marital Parenting, Mediation for Same Sex Couples, Contempts, to other non Family Law matters such as Contested Probate Estate Matters. I have over 30 years of experience in Family Law and bring to the table […]
WHEN MEDIATION IS USUALLY NOT HELPFUL
From my experience as a litigator, I know that there are certain types of cases that usually do not settle despite attempts at mediation, among them, the most difficult being custody of children. While not impossible for parties to resolve their differences in custody cases, these cases involving the parties’ children are often “gut wrenchingly” […]
SCOTUS and Same Sex Marriage
To all of you, I wish a happy, healthy, prosperous new year. There are several matters that are particularly exciting in which I am involved. Although I have been a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, especially the Massachusetts Chapter, since June 10, 1990, and had held office as well as participated on […]
RESTRICTIONS ON RIGHTS OF GAYS TO MARRY IN PENNSYLVANIA SWEPT AWAY
Noted in this brief article in the New York Times, Pennsylvania’s being the last state in the Northeast and the 19th state in the U.S. to recognize the rights of Gays and Lesbians to marry. There was a time when Jim Crow laws in the South and segregation throughout our country was pervasive. During the […]
New Website- Philip J. Byers
We are very proud of our new website http://www.philipjbyers.com and hope you will view it and let us know what you think. We especially want to thank Dr. Aaron Pollock, draaronpollock@gmail.com, who designed and implemented it for us. He did an AMAZING job and was a pleasure to work with!
DOMA
THE UNITED STATES: STILL THE LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD What a truly momentous decision that was issued by the United States Supreme Court on June 26, 2013. DOMA, known as the Defense of Marriage Act, was held to be unconstitutional. This law enacted by Congress in 1996 that limited marriage to one man and […]
Virgina is for Lovers?
A lead story in the Sunday New York Times dated July 29, 2012 concerned a same-sex married couple in Vermont who had one child born from one of the parties during the marriage by artificial insemination who had subsequently decided to divorce. Vermont does recognize same-sex marriage, and as a result, divorces in that instance are […]
PhilipJByers
Philip J. Byers, Attorney 