How do I get Divorced if I don't speak English?

Even if you don't speak English, the Probate & Family Courts in Massachusetts have made an effort to be accessible to all. If you do not speak English well enough to be comfortable understanding a Judge at a court hearing or to complete the forms, notify the court staff and they can arrange for an Interpreter to be present at any court hearing through the Office of Interpreter Services.

In addition, if your native language is Spanish or Portuguese (which represents 86 percent of the non-english speaking litigants in Massachusetts), the Court has released a short form Financial Statement and Instructions in each of those languages, available for download here.

Unless the irony of this blog title is lost on you, you're probably wondering how someone is supposed to read this who doesn't speak English. For that reason, we are re-posting this Blog in both a:

Spanish Version / Versión española
Portuguese Version / Versão Português

(with special thanks to the friends of our firm who translated this post for us)

Probate and Family Court Funding Crisis in Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Bar Association posted the below video to raise awareness about the problems of not properly funding the judicial branch in Massachusetts.  The Probate and Family Courts specifically have been hard hit, and were recently forced to reduce their hours.   As discussed in the video, any law-abiding citizen can end up in the Probate & Family Courts for necessary family matters such as probating a family member's estate or obtaining a guardianship to protect an elderly relative.  When these cases can't be heard in a timely manner, the system is failing the public.  As the saying goes: justice delayed is justice denied.



"As the House of Representatives and then the Senate begin their budget debates in April and May respectively, you, as a member of the public or legal community, can make a difference, by reaching out to your state senators and representatives to reiterate the importance ensuring a full funded judicial system. Visit http://www.massbar.org/courtfunding to identify your state representatives and senators and join the MBA in advocating for proper funding of the state's third branch of government -- the Judiciary."