Cost of divorce in Massachusetts

One court, one fee, two ways in

Every Massachusetts divorce goes to the Probate and Family Court, which has a division in each county. The court’s filing fee list prices a divorce complaint and a joint petition identically at $215, which means the joint route saves no fee; its value is in skipping the summons and the answer. After the divorce, a complaint to modify child support, custody or parenting time costs $50.

Judgment nisi: married a little longer

Joint petition (§ 1A): judgment nisi enters 30 days after the court approves the agreement, and becomes absolute 90 days later (§ 21), i.e. 120 days after approval. Contested no-fault complaint (§ 1B): no hearing earlier than six months after filing, then the 90-day nisi period. "Nisi" means "unless": the judgment becomes final unless something happens to stop it, such as the spouses reconciling. Through those 120 days the spouses are still married, and a party who needs the court to act, for example on a change in circumstances, files a motion during the nisi period at $100. Because the clock starts only when the judge approves the agreement, the date of filing matters less than the date of the hearing.

Section 1A or section 1B

Joint petition for divorce on irretrievable breakdown with a notarized separation agreement, no summons or answer required (G.L. c. 208, § 1A). Section 1B is for a spouse acting alone on irretrievable breakdown, and its six-month delay before any hearing makes it slower even when the other spouse eventually agrees.

Where the cause arose

If the cause occurred outside Massachusetts, the plaintiff must have lived in the Commonwealth for one year before filing; if the cause occurred in Massachusetts, the plaintiff need only be domiciled there at filing, unless the plaintiff moved there to obtain a divorce (G.L. c. 208, § 5; see also § 4). This is a different test from the fixed months most states use: a couple whose marriage broke down while living in Massachusetts can file without waiting, while a newcomer whose marriage ended elsewhere waits a year.

A party who cannot pay files an Affidavit of Indigency (G.L. c. 261, §§ 27A-27G), the procedure of chapter 261, sections 27A to 27G, for waiving or reducing court fees and costs.

A sample budget

Two spouses with a signed separation agreement file a joint petition, and one pays a lawyer $350 an hour for 6 hours to review it, numbers that only illustrate the method. The court's share stays $215 and the estimate $2,315. Alimony in Massachusetts is covered on the Massachusetts alimony page, and child support follows the guidelines on the Massachusetts child support page. Next door, New York collects its fees in stages.