Lawsuit to Stop New Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines

http://mensnewsdaily.com/glennsacks/...cs-guidelines/

Fathers & Families Files Lawsuit to Stop New Massachusetts Child Support
Guidelines

Several years ago Fathers & Families scored a major victory in
Massachusetts, getting child support obligations reduced by an average of
15%. This victory has saved Massachusetts noncustodial parents over $1
billion since 2001.

Unfortunately, now noncustodial parents are under attack, as child support
guidelines are being greatly increased.

Fathers and Families has filed suit in Federal District Court in Boston to
stop the scheduled January 1 implementation of new Child Support Guidelines.
The suit seeks a temporary injunction halting the use of the new guidelines
until a full hearing can be held. It will be heard before Judge D.P.
Woodlock on Monday, January 5 at 10 AM in courtroom 1.

Fathers and Families needs a big war chest to pursue its legal offensive.
Please support this effort with your tax-deductible gift to Fathers &
Families, by clicking here. If you make your gift today, it is still
eligible for a 2008 tax deduction. For those of you outside of
Massachusetts, remember that a victory here could establish precedents that
will help you in your state.

If you are in the Boston area, you must make it a point to attend the
hearing on Monday. Judge Woodlock needs to see that our position has broad
support. If you "leave it to the other guy," it won't happen. The hearing is
expected to last between thirty and sixty minutes. Directions can be found
here.

Fathers & Families' attorney Gregory Hession of Springfield argues that the
new guidelines were not formulated using the actual costs of raising a
child, as required by federal law, and are thus "arbitrary and capricious."
The pleadings before the court assert that the process used to put together
the new guidelines violated the due process and equal protection rights of
the payers of child support, as protected under the United States
Constitution. Additionally, the state bypassed the normal legislative
process by having a secret committee prepare them and a single judge declare
them to be law, in violation of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights.

The new guidelines will cause almost all child support orders to increase
substantially -- when all factors are considered, middle-class recipients
will enjoy a standard of living almost double that of payers who earn about
the same amount. In some cases, child support orders will triple, even in
cases in which the payer is poor and the child is economically comfortable
because the custodial parent earns over $100,000. And in high-income cases,
the child support order for one child could be nearly $50,000.

You can read the legal Complaint by clicking here, and the Memorandum of Law
by clicking here.

Fathers & Families Executive Director Ned Holstein, MD, served on the
commonwealth's Task Force that recommended the new guidelines, but authored
a minority report dissenting from the main recommendations. Dr. Holstein
said, "The new guidelines will harm children. Kids want to live with both
parents after divorce, and we want them to be well cared for in both homes.
But these new guidelines will create a 'castle versus a hovel' situation for
kids. These increases are radical and unexplained. They come at the worst
possible moment, just as a bad recession is causing people to lose their
jobs or suffer declining incomes. Our lawsuit is a way of saying, 'Let's
pause and reconsider the wisdom of these controversial changes at this
moment.'"

Help support this important legal fight with your tax-deductible gift to
Fathers & Families by clicking here.

It's been standard operating procedure just to pass laws without any
objection for so long, why should things change?


"Dusty" wrote in message
...
http://mensnewsdaily.com/glennsacks/...cs-guidelines/

Fathers & Families Files Lawsuit to Stop New Massachusetts Child Support
Guidelines

Several years ago Fathers & Families scored a major victory in
Massachusetts, getting child support obligations reduced by an average of
15%. This victory has saved Massachusetts noncustodial parents over $1
billion since 2001.

Unfortunately, now noncustodial parents are under attack, as child support
guidelines are being greatly increased.

Fathers and Families has filed suit in Federal District Court in Boston to
stop the scheduled January 1 implementation of new Child Support
Guidelines. The suit seeks a temporary injunction halting the use of the
new guidelines until a full hearing can be held. It will be heard before
Judge D.P. Woodlock on Monday, January 5 at 10 AM in courtroom 1.

Fathers and Families needs a big war chest to pursue its legal offensive.
Please support this effort with your tax-deductible gift to Fathers &
Families, by clicking here. If you make your gift today, it is still
eligible for a 2008 tax deduction. For those of you outside of
Massachusetts, remember that a victory here could establish precedents
that will help you in your state.

If you are in the Boston area, you must make it a point to attend the
hearing on Monday. Judge Woodlock needs to see that our position has broad
support. If you "leave it to the other guy," it won't happen. The hearing
is expected to last between thirty and sixty minutes. Directions can be
found here.

Fathers & Families' attorney Gregory Hession of Springfield argues that
the new guidelines were not formulated using the actual costs of raising a
child, as required by federal law, and are thus "arbitrary and
capricious." The pleadings before the court assert that the process used
to put together the new guidelines violated the due process and equal
protection rights of the payers of child support, as protected under the
United States Constitution. Additionally, the state bypassed the normal
legislative process by having a secret committee prepare them and a single
judge declare them to be law, in violation of the Massachusetts
Declaration of Rights.

The new guidelines will cause almost all child support orders to increase
substantially -- when all factors are considered, middle-class recipients
will enjoy a standard of living almost double that of payers who earn
about the same amount. In some cases, child support orders will triple,
even in cases in which the payer is poor and the child is economically
comfortable because the custodial parent earns over $100,000. And in
high-income cases, the child support order for one child could be nearly
$50,000.

You can read the legal Complaint by clicking here, and the Memorandum of
Law by clicking here.

Fathers & Families Executive Director Ned Holstein, MD, served on the
commonwealth's Task Force that recommended the new guidelines, but
authored a minority report dissenting from the main recommendations. Dr.
Holstein said, "The new guidelines will harm children. Kids want to live
with both parents after divorce, and we want them to be well cared for in
both homes. But these new guidelines will create a 'castle versus a hovel'
situation for kids. These increases are radical and unexplained. They come
at the worst possible moment, just as a bad recession is causing people to
lose their jobs or suffer declining incomes. Our lawsuit is a way of
saying, 'Let's pause and reconsider the wisdom of these controversial
changes at this moment.'"

Help support this important legal fight with your tax-deductible gift to
Fathers & Families by clicking here.