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SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1983 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1099
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Paul R. Feeney
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act reforming alimony in the Commonwealth.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Paul R. FeeneyBristol and Norfolk 1 of 4
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1983 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1099
By Mr. Feeney, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1099) of Paul R. Feeney for
legislation to reform alimony in the Commonwealth. The Judiciary.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 968 OF 2023-2024.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
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An Act reforming alimony in the Commonwealth.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Section 53 of chapter 208 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022
2Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “order”, in line 24, the following
3words:- , except in cases where deviation applies pursuant to subsection(e).
4 SECTION 2. Said chapter 208 is hereby further amended by adding the following
5section:-
6 Section 56. No alimony judgment under sections 48 to 55, inclusive, where the parties
7have agreed in writing that the alimony judgment survives or is not modifiable shall be modified
8by a court without the consent of both parties.
9 SECTION 3. Chapter 124 of the acts of 2011 is hereby amended by striking out section 4
10and inserting in place thereof the following section:- 2 of 4
11 Section 4. (a) As used in this section the following words shall, unless the context clearly
12requires otherwise, have the following meanings:-
13 "Alimony", the payment of support from a spouse, who has the ability to pay, to a spouse
14in need of support for a reasonable length of time, under a court order.
15 “Existing alimony judgment”, an order of a court to pay alimony entered by a court prior
16to March 1, 2012.
17 “General term alimony”, the periodic payment of support to a recipient spouse who is
18economically dependent.
19 “Payor”, a spouse required by order of a court to pay alimony or general term alimony.
20 “Recipient”, a spouse receiving by order of a court alimony or general term alimony.
21 (b) Existing alimony judgments shall be general term alimony as that term is defined in
22section 48 of chapter 208 of the General Laws.
23 (c) Unless otherwise provided in this section, existing alimony judgments shall terminate
24pursuant to the terms of such existing alimony judgment or pursuant to an order of modification
25entered by a court.
26 (d) Existing alimony judgments that exceed the durational limits under section 49 of said
27chapter 208 shall be deemed a material change of circumstance that warrants modification and
28shall be modified upon a complaint for modification without additional material change of
29circumstance, unless the court finds that deviation from the durational limits is warranted. 3 of 4
30 (e) A payor of alimony paying alimony pursuant to an existing alimony judgment may
31file a complaint for modification of the existing alimony judgment if the recipient is determined
32to be cohabitating pursuant to subsection (d) of said section 49 of said chapter 208. A court
33considering a complaint for modification of an existing alimony judgment pursuant to this
34subsection shall consider the recipient’s cohabitation a material change of circumstance when
35ruling on the complaint for modification.
36 General term alimony shall be suspended, reduced or terminated upon the cohabitation of
37the recipient spouse when the payor shows that the recipient spouse has maintained a common
38household, as defined in this subsection, with another person for a continuous period of at least 3
39months.
40 (1) Persons are deemed to maintain a common household when they share a primary
41residence together with or without others. In determining whether the recipient is maintaining a
42common household, the court may consider any of the following factors:
43 (i) oral or written statements or representations made to third parties regarding the
44relationship of the persons;
45 (ii) the economic interdependence of the couple or economic dependence of 1 person on
46the other;
47 (iii) the persons engaging in conduct and collaborative roles in furtherance of their life
48together;
49 (iv) the benefit in the life of either or both of the persons from their relationship;
50 (v) the community reputation of the persons as a couple; or 4 of 4
51 (vi) other relevant and material factors.
52 (2) An alimony obligation suspended, reduced or terminated under this subsection may
53be reinstated upon termination of the recipient's common household relationship; but, if
54reinstated, it shall not extend beyond the termination date of the original order.
55 (f) A payor of alimony paying alimony pursuant to an existing alimony judgment may
56file a complaint for modification of the existing alimony judgment if the payor has reached full
57retirement age pursuant to subsection (f) of said section 49 of said chapter 208. A court
58considering a complaint for modification of an existing alimony judgment pursuant to this
59subsection shall consider the payor’s reaching full retirement age a material change of
60circumstance when ruling on the complaint for modification. The court may grant a recipient an
61extension of an existing alimony order for good cause shown; provided, however, that in
62granting an extension, the court shall enter written findings.
63 (g) No existing alimony judgment under this section where the parties have agreed in
64writing that the existing alimony judgment survives or is not modifiable shall be modified by a
65court without the consent of both parties.