By Neta, founder of SortMyDivorce · Published · Updated
A year in Massachusetts before filing, waived if the marriage broke down here, and no hearing until 6 months after filing. Massachusetts does not recognize legal separation.
Massachusetts divorces run through the Probate and Family Court, and two features set the state apart early on: an unusually broad definition of what counts as marital property, and a choice between two very different filing tracks.
| Residency requirement | One spouse must have lived in Massachusetts for at least 1 year before filing. This is waived if the reason the marriage ended happened in Massachusetts and the couple lived there together as spouses (G.L. c. 208, § 5). |
|---|---|
| Grounds | No-fault: irretrievable breakdown of the marriage — filed jointly as a 1A petition or by one spouse alone as a 1B complaint. Fault grounds are also available (adultery, cruel and abusive treatment, desertion, and others under G.L. c. 208, §§ 1-2), though most people use the no-fault track. |
| Waiting period | Two stages, and both matter. Under G.L. c. 208 §1B no hearing may be held earlier than six months after filing. Judgment then enters as a Judgment of Divorce Nisi, which does not become absolute for a further 90 days under §21 — you are not free to remarry until it does. |
| Legal separation | Massachusetts does not recognize legal separation. There is no status to file for. Couples live apart and use a written separation agreement to settle support, property and parenting in the meantime. |
| If you were never married | Massachusetts does not create common-law marriage, and living together gives neither partner property or support rights. Claims rest on agreements between you. A common-law marriage validly formed in a state that does create them is generally still recognised. |
| Where you file | The Probate and Family Court in the county where you and your spouse last lived together, or in the county where either of you currently lives if you no longer live together. |
| Filing fee | Payable when you file your opening divorce document. Set by regulation and revised from time to time. A fee waiver is available if you cannot afford it. Filing fees are set by the court and change without notice: check the current schedule on the court's own website before you file, and ask about a fee waiver if the cost is a barrier. |
| Starting forms | Joint Petition for Divorce (CJD-101A) for uncontested cases, or Complaint for Divorce (CJD-101B) if filing alone; plus a Financial Statement (CJD-301S for income under $75,000, or CJD-301L for income at or above that), an Affidavit of Irretrievable Breakdown, a certified marriage certificate, and the Vital Records Statistical Form (R-408). |
| Simplified option | Yes — the 1A joint petition is the simplified, uncontested track for couples who agree on all terms and file a signed separation agreement together. |
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Massachusetts divides property under M.G.L. c. 208, §34, and the estate subject to division is broader than in many states. Courts can consider all property of each spouse — not just what was acquired during the marriage — meaning assets brought into the marriage, inheritances, and gifts can, in principle, be part of the conversation, even though courts still weigh when and how each asset was acquired. This is one of the most misunderstood points in Massachusetts divorce: 'it's in my name only' or 'I had it before we married' does not automatically place something outside the estate the way it might elsewhere. Confirm with a local family law attorney how this applies to your specific assets.
Filing also forks into two distinct paths. A 1A joint petition is for couples who agree on everything — grounds, property division, support, parenting — and file together with a signed separation agreement attached; it's generally faster and calmer. A 1B complaint for divorce is filed by one spouse, can allege fault or no-fault grounds, and follows a longer contested-case track with a summons, response period, and court events. Which track you're on shapes almost everything about pacing and paperwork, so it's worth confirming early which one applies to your situation.
Cases are heard in the Probate and Family Court for the county where either spouse lives. Massachusetts also has a residency rule: generally one spouse must have lived in the state for a year, or, if the grounds for divorce arose in Massachusetts, at least one spouse must live there at filing. A divorce judgment is first entered 'nisi' and becomes absolute after a waiting period — commonly 90 days — before either spouse is legally free to remarry.
Massachusetts requires mandatory financial disclosure early in the case, so assembling records before you file saves real time later. Every party must complete a Financial Statement: the short form if gross income is below the court's published threshold, the long form if at or above it — check the current Probate and Family Court threshold, since it is periodically updated. Under the court's disclosure rule, both spouses generally must exchange tax returns, pay stubs, and account statements within a set window after the case starts, so having them ready in advance is a genuine advantage.
Start pulling together: three to four years of tax returns, recent pay statements, statements for every bank, retirement, and investment account, mortgage and property tax records, and documentation for any debts. If premarital or inherited assets are part of the picture, gather the records showing what they were worth and how they were kept — separate or commingled — since that history matters more in Massachusetts' broad-estate framework than in states with a stricter marital/separate divide.
Keep a copy of every letter exchanged with the other spouse or their lawyer from the start. In a 1B contested case especially, this correspondence often becomes the timeline the court and any mediator rely on — who proposed what, and when.
If there are minor children, Massachusetts generally requires both parents to complete a court-approved Parent Education Program before a divorce can be finalized — plan for this early rather than treating it as an afterthought. Parenting arrangements are decided under a best-interests standard, and specific, workable schedules tend to hold up better than vague intentions.
Child support follows the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines, primarily driven by each parent's income and parenting time. Where a business or self-employment income is involved, expect income documentation to draw extra scrutiny — this is a common friction point in Massachusetts filings.
Massachusetts is one of the states where legal separation simply does not exist. There is no petition to file and no decree to obtain, so couples who want to live apart without divorcing do so informally.
The tool that does the work is a separation agreement: a private written contract setting out who pays what, who lives where and how parenting works while you are apart. It is not a court order, but it is binding between you, and it is what a court will generally look to later.
Living apart is not the same as being divided. Until a divorce is finalised you are still married, with whatever that means for property and debt in this state — worth confirming with a local family lawyer before assuming that moving out has drawn a line.
Massachusetts does not create common-law marriage. There is no number of years of living together that turns into a marriage here, and none of the divorce machinery on this page applies to a couple who never married — no property division, no spousal support, no residency requirement to satisfy, because there is nothing to dissolve.
What unmarried partners have instead are ordinary civil claims: whatever you agreed between yourselves, in writing or by clear conduct, and claims over property you actually hold jointly. These are argued like any other contract or property dispute rather than as family-law entitlements, and they turn on what can be proved.
One qualification runs the other way and matters. A common-law marriage validly formed in a state that does create them — Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas or Utah — is generally recognised elsewhere. A couple who met that state's test while living there, and later moved here, are married, and separating means divorcing. Children are unaffected either way: custody and child support are decided on the same basis whether or not the parents married.
1) Figure out early whether you're heading toward a 1A joint petition or a 1B complaint — the honest answer to 'do we agree on the big items' determines your track and your timeline. 2) Build your Financial Statement supporting documents before the disclosure clock starts running. 3) List out premarital, inherited, and jointly acquired property separately, with paperwork on origin and value, given how broadly Massachusetts defines the estate. 4) If children are involved, register for the Parent Education Program as soon as the case is filed rather than waiting. 5) Track every date named in any letter or filing — response deadlines in a 1B case, and disclosure windows in either track, carry real consequences if missed.
You generally need 1 year of Massachusetts residency before filing, unless the cause of the divorce happened in Massachusetts and you lived there together as a couple. Check which applies to your situation before you file.
If you and your spouse agree on everything — property division, support, and custody — and can sign a joint separation agreement, you qualify for the simplified 1A no-fault process. If you don't agree, one spouse files a 1B complaint to start the case, which the other must be formally served.
For 1A, complete the Joint Petition for Divorce (CJD-101A), a notarized separation agreement, the Affidavit of Irretrievable Breakdown, and a Financial Statement (CJD-301S or CJD-301L) for each spouse. For 1B, one spouse completes the Complaint for Divorce (CJD-101B) instead of the joint petition. Both tracks need a certified copy of your marriage certificate and the R-408 statistical form.
File in the county where you and your spouse last lived together, or where either of you now lives. Massachusetts Probate and Family Court divisions accept filings electronically through eFileMA as well as in person.
Expect a fee is set by the court though you should confirm the exact current amount with the court clerk when you file. If you can't afford it, ask the clerk for an indigency/fee-waiver application.
In a 1B contested filing, the complaint and summons must be formally served on your spouse, typically by a sheriff or constable. Joint 1A petitions don't require service since both spouses file together.
The court schedules a hearing to review your paperwork and, for 1A cases, your separation agreement. If the judge finds the agreement fair and reasonable, the divorce is approved.
After approval, the court enters a Judgment of Divorce Nisi. Your divorce isn't final yet — this is a mandatory waiting period (about 90 days for 1B, or roughly 120 days total for 1A) before the judgment becomes absolute.
Once the nisi period passes without appeal, the judgment becomes absolute and you are legally divorced. Note: Massachusetts does not recognize common-law marriage, so unmarried cohabiting couples separating don't go through this divorce process — property, custody, and support issues are instead handled as separate civil matters.
No — this is a key Massachusetts distinction. Under M.G.L. c. 208 §34, courts can consider all property of each spouse, including some assets owned before the marriage or received as gifts or inheritance, though how and when property was acquired still factors into the outcome. Confirm with a local attorney how this applies to your assets.
A 1A joint petition is filed together by both spouses who already agree on all terms, with a signed separation agreement attached. A 1B complaint is filed by one spouse and follows a longer, contested-case process. Which applies depends on whether you and your spouse agree on the major issues.
A judgment is entered 'nisi' first and generally becomes absolute after a waiting period — commonly 90 days — before either spouse can remarry. Confirm current timelines with the Probate and Family Court, since procedures and forms are periodically updated.
No. Massachusetts law does not provide for legal separation, so there is no court status to apply for. Spouses who want to live apart without divorcing generally sign a separation agreement, which is a contract between them rather than a court order. It can cover support, the family home and parenting. Until a divorce is finalised you remain married, so confirm what that means for property in your situation before relying on living apart.
No. Massachusetts does not create common-law marriage, and living together for any length of time gives neither partner property division nor spousal support. Unmarried partners rely instead on agreements between themselves and on claims over jointly held property, argued as ordinary civil matters. One important exception: a common-law marriage validly formed in a state that does create them — such as Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas or Utah — is generally recognised here, so that couple would need a divorce. Custody and child support apply regardless of marriage.
If you are in immediate danger, call 911. For support with domestic violence, contact SafeLink at 1-877-785-2020 — 24/7 statewide. Nationally you can also reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788 if a call is not safe. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988.
Last reviewed August 2026. Researched and written by Neta, founder of SortMyDivorce. I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice — laws, fees and forms change, so please confirm current details with the official sources above or a local family lawyer.
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