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    • ALL SIGNIFICANT CASES
    • Young v. Young
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    • ​Vedensky v. ​Vedensky
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SIGNIFICANT CASES
Austin v. Austin, 445 Mass. 601 (2005)
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reversed both the trial court and Appeals Court decisions in this case and affirmed the ability of parties to permanently waive alimony in a prenuptial agreement. Atwood & Cherny (Jacob M. Atwood) represented Craig Austin who entered into a prenuptial agreement prior to marrying Donna Austin which provided, amongst other things a waiver of any claims to alimony by Donna. Under the terms of the divorce judgment, enforcing those provisions of the parties’ prenuptial agreement pertaining to property division, Mrs. Austin received, among other things, the marital home valued at $1,275,000, $525,000 in cash, her Lexus automobile, $500 per week in child support and $1,000 per week in alimony. The Supreme Judicial Court found the prenuptial agreement to be enforceable, upholding the waiver of alimony and reversing the alimony award. In doing so, the Supreme Judicial Court followed its earlier decision in DeMatteo v. DeMatteo (2002) and dismissed Mrs. Austin’s contention that the prenuptial agreement that she signed (which included a permanent waiver of alimony) somehow "…stripped her of all marital interests…" and further affirmed that the fact that a prenuptial agreement may "…leave one spouse in an essentially different lifestyle is not a valid basis for determining that the agreement was valid…." The SJC reaffirmed that such agreements made in the contemplation of marriage, waiving rights to property division and alimony, will be enforced absent the "…mental or physical deterioration of the contesting party…" or "…erosion of promised support by inflation…" that would lead a court to determine the agreement to be unconscionable.

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SIGNIFICANT CASES
  • ​Young v. Young,  81 N.E. 3d 1165 (2017)
  • Van Arsdale v. Van Arsdale, 477 Mass. 218 (2017)
  • Rodman v. Rodman, 570 Mass. 539 (2015)
  • Zaleski v. Zaleski, 469 Mass. 230 (2014)
  • ​Vedensky v. Vedensky, 86 Mass. App. Ct. 768 (2014)
  • Pierce v. Pierce, 455 Mass. 286 (2009)
  • Austin v. Austin, 445 Mass. 601 (2005)
  • DeMatteo v. DeMatteo, 436 Mass. 18 (2002)
  • Krock v. Krock, 46 Mass. App. Ct. 528 (1999)
  • Cricenti v. Weiland, 44 Mass. App. Ct. 785 (1998)
  • Kendall v. Kendall, 426 Mass, 238 (1997), cert. denied, 118 U.S. 23669 (1998)
  • Rosenberg v. Rosenberg​, 33 Mass App. Ct. 903 (1992)
  • Bacon v. Bacon, 26 Mass. App. Ct 117 (1988)
  • Wansong v. Wansong, 395 Mass. 154 (1985)
  • Dominick v. Dominick, 18 Mass. App. Ct. 85 (1984)
  • Rolde v. Rolde, 12 Mass. App. Ct. 398 (1981)
  • Osborne v. Osborne, 384 Mass. 591 (1981)​

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  • HOME
  • ATTORNEYS
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    • DAVID E. CHERNY >
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    • Dawn Ethier Young >
      • dawn ethIer young contact page
    • Rachael M. Soun >
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    • Thomas D. Ritter >
      • thomas d. ritter contact page
    • Gretel Marie DuFresne >
      • gretel m. dufresne contact page
    • Cassandra P. Kent >
      • Cassandra P. Kent contact page
    • Simone D. Shapiro >
      • Simone D. Shapiro contact page
    • Kristen A Klinetob >
      • Kristen A. Klinetob contact page
    • Alanna E. Mahnke >
      • Alanna E. Mahnke contact page
    • Joseph W. DeCaro >
      • Joseph W. DeCaro contact page
    • Nicole Eidelman >
      • Nicole Eidelman contact page
    • Alexis R. Dellaquila >
      • Alexis R. Dellaquila contact page
    • Paige M. Medeiros >
      • Paige M. Medeiros contact page
    • Jason L. Land >
      • Jason L. Land contact page
    • Mark T. Smith >
      • Mark T. Smith contact page
    • Patricia S. Fernandez >
      • Patricia S. Fernandez contact page
    • IN MEMORY | Jacob M. Atwood
  • SERVICES
  • SIGNIFICANT CASES
    • ALL SIGNIFICANT CASES
    • Young v. Young
    • Van Arsdale v. Van Arsdale
    • Rodman v. Rodman
    • Zaleski v. Zaleski
    • ​Vedensky v. ​Vedensky
    • Pierce v. Pierce
    • Austin v. Austin
    • DeMatteo v. DeMatteo
    • Krock v. Krock
    • Cricenti v. Weiland
    • Kendall v. Kendall
    • Rosenberg v. Rosenberg
    • Bacon v. Bacon
    • Wansong v. Wansong
    • Dominick v. Dominick
    • Rolde v. Rolde
    • Osborne v. Osborne
  • CONTACT
    • CONTACT/DIRECTIONS
    • david E. cherny contact page
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    • dawn ethIer young contact page
    • rachael m. soun contact page
    • thomas d. ritter contact page
    • gretel m. dufresne contact page
    • cassandra p. kent contact page
    • Simone D. Shapiro contact page
    • Kristen A. Klinetob contact page
    • Alanna E. Mahnke contact page
    • Joseph W. DeCaro contact page
    • Nicole Eidelman contact page
    • Alexis R. Dellaquila contact page
    • Paige M. Medeiros contact page
    • Jason L. Land contact page
    • Mark T. Smith contact page
    • Patricia S. Fernandez contact page