Hi --

I live in Massachusetts and my ex-wife says her lawyer is recommending
that she file a "complaint of modification." I don't know what
"complaint of modification" means.  Should I be worried?

To give you some background, I think the threat is related to the fact
that I was paying to send my daughter to a public university, which
was a reasonable cost I could afford. Then, my daughter decided public
university wasn't good enough for her, and she opted to enroll in a
private university (which costs about 5 times more money) without
consulting me -- with the intention of forcing me to contribute the
same percentage to the cost of her new education. Therefore my
contribution would be jumping from $3,000/year to about $15,000.

In the meantime I was promoted this month from men's tennis coach to
both men and women's tennis coach. This means a salary increase in the
sense that the university is paying me more, but the other side of the
equation is that the added responsibilities mean that I have no time
to teach private lessons anymore. The income derived from the private
lessons was substantially the same as my salary increase.

In summary: I'm getting higher pay from my job, but no pay from my
lessons. Private lessons pay a lot better than my job.

---

Request for Question Clarification by justaskscott-ga on 06 Aug 2003 09:34 PDT

I should emphasize the disclaimer at the bottom of this page, which
indicates that answers and comments on Google Answers are general
information, and not intended to substitute for informed professional
legal advice.  If you need such advice, you should contact a lawyer
admitted to practice in Massachusetts.

However, a Google Answers Researcher, as a layperson, can do basic
research to see if there is some explanation of "complaint of
modification", which you can then discuss with a lawyer.  I think that
the following information would be helpful for this research:

I assume that there is some kind of court order or private agreement
concerning how much you are required to pay to your ex-wife and/or
your daughter.  What kind of order or agreement is it?  (A title or a
brief description would probably suffice.  Conceivably there are
particular aspects of the order or agreement that you might feel to be
worth mentioning as well.)

Does the order or agreement contain any provisions relating to
modificiation?

In what state (or states) were you and your ex-wife living in when the
agreement or order was made?

In what state does your ex-wife live now?

---

Clarification of Question by laserlynn-ga on 06 Aug 2003 11:38 PDT

Thanks about the disclaimer. I obviously understand you are not a
lawyer, and are just giving me information based on your research.

There is a legal agreement between my ex-wife and myself (here it's
called a "separation agreement") which specifies that we each
contribute to the children's college costs according to our income. In
this case, since she earns more, she contributes 60% and I contribute
40%. The agreement also specifies that both parties must consult each
other before a college is decided upon, especially where the choice
may result in an increased financial burden for the parties involved.
The agreement does not specify any provisions for modification except
by going to court and obtaining a court order.
My ex-wife and I were living in Massachusetts at the time the
agreement was made (6 years ago). She still lives here in
Massachusetts. I am remarried and she is not. I also still live in
Massachusetts. My current wife's finances and mine are entirely
separate per a legal agreement as well.
The only other information which may be pertinent is the fact the
daughter in question (for whose education I am paying)is now 19 and
has not spoken to me since she was 13, and continues to refuse to do
so, although the agreement specifies that she must make attempts to.
She has made no attempts to do so.

Hi laserlynn,

Keeping in mind that I cannot give a professional legal opinion, it
appears to me that a "complaint of modification" -- or a complaint for
modification or modification complaint, if you prefer -- arises under
the General Laws of Massachusetts, Chapter 208, Section 28.

"Chapter 208: Section 28"
The General Laws of Massachusetts
http://www.state.ma.us/legis/laws/mgl/208-28.htm

This statute provides, among many other things, that a "court may make
appropriate orders of maintenance, support and education of any child
who has attained age eighteen but who has not attained age twenty-one
and who is domiciled in the home of a parent, and is principally
dependent upon said parent for maintenance."  (That is the
third-to-last sentence of the first paragraph of the statute.)  The
statute also contains a number a provisions for "modification" of the
orders entered upon divorce (which it appears can be based upon the
"agreement of the parties").

None of these provisions specifically states that agreements or orders
relating to education of 18 to 21 year old children can be modified. 
However, it appears that courts address such cases upon a "complaint
for modification" or some such phrase.  I found a few seemingly
relevant cases by searching on the following database of Massachusetts
Supreme Judicial and Appeals Court Decisions since 1997 for the terms:
208 and 28 and education and modification

"Supreme Judicial Court"
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly
http://www.malawyersweekly.com/masjc.cfm

Here are the cases I found:

"Eccleston v. Bankosky"
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly
http://www.malawyersweekly.com/archives/ma/opin/sup/1000703.htm

"Cabot v. Cabot"
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly
http://www.malawyersweekly.com/archives/ma/opin/coa/1126702.htm

"L.W.K., et al. v. L.R.C., et al."
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly
http://www.malawyersweekly.com/archives/ma/opin/sup/1017900.htm

"Nancy Lee Hamilton v. Salvatore Pappalardo, Jr."
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly
http://www.malawyersweekly.com/archives/ma/opin/coa/1108097.HTM

I hope that this information is helpful.

- justaskscott


Search strategy:

Searched on Google for:

massachusetts general laws

Browsed the General Laws of Massachusetts to find statute

Browsed FindLaw ( http://www.findlaw.com ) to find site with
Massachusetts case law

Thanks for your help. I truly appreciate it.

A complaint for modification in Massachusetts requires a change in
circumstances - such as a significant increase or decrease in a
parent's income - to go before the court. The matter turns on the
actual language of your agreement and your relative financial
positions. If your net income is the same after your job change, that
is not likely to be viewed as a change in circumstances. Get thee to a
Massachusetts lawyer.