Doktor v. Doktor

Joseph Doktor and Dorothy Doktor were divorced by a judgment nisi entered in January 1992. The judgment incorporated a separation agreement that obligated Joseph to pay alimony to Dorothy until the death or remarriage of Dorothy. The alimony provision merged with the judgment. In 2013, Joseph filed a complaint for modification seeking termination of the alimony obligation under the retirement provision of the Alimony Reform Act, which provides that “general term alimony orders shall terminate upon the payor attaining the full retirement age.” A probate and family court judge dismissed the complaint for modification, concluding that the retirement provision applies prospectively, and therefore, Joseph was required to establish that there had been a material change in circumstances warranting modification and that Joseph had not met this burden. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding (1) the retirement provision of the Act was not applicable to modification of the alimony judgment in this case; and (2) the judge did not abuse her discretion in concluding that the parties’ circumstances did not warrant modification of the alimony judgment. View "Doktor v. Doktor" on Justia Law