Ballard Steven

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(781) 235-7700Call Visit WebsiteVisit Website Map & DirectionsDirections354 Washington StWellesley Hills, MA 02481 Write a ReviewWrite Review

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Ballard Steven

Divorce
Steven Ballard works hard to achieve the best outcomes for his clients by strategic planning, skilled negotiations, and when necessary, aggressive court representation at hearings and at trial. He represents individuals in divorce and family law cases on a regular basis in the Greater Boston Area, in the courts of Middlesex, Norfolk and Worcester Counties. He also takes cases in Suffolk, Essex, Plymouth, Hampshire, Hampden, Barnstable and Franklin Counties.

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Phone: (781) 591-2750

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Law Offices of Steven Ballard

Ballard, Steven, ATTY

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http://www.stevenballard.com

http://www.stevenballard.com/contact.html

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Attorneys, Accident & Property Damage Attorneys, Adoption Law Attorneys, Child Custody Attorneys, Criminal Law Attorneys, Discrimination & Civil Rights Law Attorneys, Divorce Attorneys, Domestic Violence Attorneys, Employee Benefits & Worker Compensation Attorneys, Employment Discrimination Attorneys, Family Law Attorneys, Legal Service Plans, Personal Injury Law Attorneys, Sexual Harassment Attorneys, Workers Compensation Assistance

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Details

Phone: (781) 235-7700

Address: 354 Washington St, Wellesley Hills, MA 02481

Website: http://www.stevenballard.com

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Ballard Steven

Divorce
Steven Ballard works hard to achieve the best outcomes for his clients by strategic planning, skilled negotiations, and when necessary, aggressive court representation at hearings and at trial. He represents individuals in divorce and family law cases on a regular basis in the Greater Boston Area, in the courts of Middlesex, Norfolk and Worcester Counties. He also takes cases in Suffolk, Essex, Plymouth, Hampshire, Hampden, Barnstable and Franklin Counties.
Child Support
(d) Any action pursuant to this chapter that is pending or was previously adjudicated in the district court or Boston municipal court departments may be transferred by any party or by the IV-D agency as set forth in chapter 119A to the probate and family court department in the county where the child resides or, if the child does not reside in the commonwealth and a court of the commonwealth has jurisdiction under chapter 209D, in the county where one of the parents resides. An action shall be transferred upon the filing of the following documents with the probate and family court:- (1) a copy of the complaint; (2) a copy of the order of the district court or Boston municipal court, if any; (3) a copy of the findings of the court, if any; (4) a copy of the financial statements submitted by the parties, if any; (5) a copy of the worksheet used to calculate the amount of the child support order pursuant to the child support guidelines, if any; and (6) a copy of the docket maintained by the district court or the Boston municipal court, if any. Once transferred, the order of the district court or the Boston municipal court shall have the same force and effect, and shall be subject to the same procedures and defenses as an order of the probate and family court and may be enforced or modified in the same manner available to enforce or modify any judgment or order of the probate and family court. Transfer of an order pursuant to this section shall not limit the use of any enforcement remedy, whether judicial or administrative, that may be available and the probate and family court shall preserve all arrears that have accrued pursuant to the order of the district or Boston municipal court departments.
Child Custody and Visitation
As a family lawyer, Steven Ballard draws on several years of direct experience with children and adolescents, having taught primary school, secondary school and university students both in the United States and abroad, in his previous career as a pianist, music scholar and teacher. He is also the sole custodial parent of his only child after divorce. He is thus uniquely able to understand and handle custody and visitation matters and other issues involving children.
Adoption
Paternity
On complaint to establish paternity, the court shall make a judgment establishing or not establishing paternity which shall be determinative for all purposes. Upon default of the defendant or his failure to personally appear, the court shall make a judgment establishing paternity if a showing is made that the complaint was served in accordance with the applicable rules of court and that the mother or putative father submits that sexual intercourse between the parties occurred during the probable period of conception. For good cause shown, the court may set aside an entry of default and, if a judgment has been entered, may likewise set it aside in accordance with rule 60(b) of the Massachusetts Rules of Domestic Relations Procedure. The age of the person alleged to be the father or mother in any action under this chapter, including a filing of a voluntary acknowledgment of parentage, shall not be a bar to the establishment of paternity or entry of a support order pursuant to section nine. If the child or the mother on behalf of the child is a recipient of public assistance and if the department of transitional assistance, the department of social services, the division of medical assistance or any other public assistance program has not been made a party as required by section five, the court shall notify the IV-D agency as set forth in chapter 119A of the judgment. If the judgment is at variance with the child's birth certificate, the court shall order that a new birth certificate be issued under section thirteen of chapter forty-six.
Premarital Agreement
PROPERTY DIVISION AND AGREEMENTS - Contested Actions, Negotiation of Divorce Agreements, Prenuptial Agreements, Postnuptial Agreements, Financial Analysis and Advice on Tax and Financial Planning Aspects of Property Divisions and Transfers
Guardianship
GUARDIANSHIPS, PATERNITY ACTIONS, GRANDPARENTS' VISITATION - Legal Actions Related to the Rights and Responsibilities of Parents, Guardians, Grandparents and Others Regarding Children
Spousal Support
An action for divorce on the ground of an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage may be commenced with the filing of: (a) a petition signed by both joint petitioners or their attorneys; (b) a sworn affidavit that is either jointly or separately executed by the petitioners that an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage exists; and (c) a notarized separation agreement executed by the parties except as hereinafter set forth and no summons or answer shall be required. After a hearing on a separation agreement which has been presented to the court, the court shall, within thirty days of said hearing, make a finding as to whether or not an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage exists and whether or not the agreement has made proper provisions for custody, for support and maintenance, for alimony and for the disposition of marital property, where applicable. In making its finding, the court shall apply the provisions of section thirty-four, except that the court shall make no inquiry into, nor consider any evidence of the individual marital fault of the parties. In the event the notarized separation agreement has not been filed at the time of the commencement of the action, it shall in any event be filed with the court within ninety days following the commencement of said action.
Legal Separation
Any action commenced under the provisions of this chapter shall not preclude any other civil or criminal remedies. A party filing a complaint under this chapter shall be required to disclose any prior or pending actions involving the parties for divorce, annulment, paternity, custody or support, guardianship, separate support or legal separation, or abuse prevention.
Annulment
(a) Complaints under this chapter to establish paternity, support, visitation or custody of a child may be commenced by the mother, whether a minor or not; by a person presumed to be or alleging himself to be the father, whether a minor or not; by the child, whether a minor or not; by the child's guardian, next of kin, or other person standing in a parental relation to the child; by the parent or personal representative of the mother if the mother has died or has abandoned the child; by the parent or personal representative of the father if the father has died; by the authorized agent of the department of social services or any agency licensed under chapter twenty-eight A provided that the child is in their custody; or, if the child is or was a recipient of any type of public assistance, by the IV-D agency as set forth in chapter 119A on behalf of the department of transitional assistance, the department of social services, the division of medical assistance or any other public assistance program of the commonwealth; provided, however, that if the mother of the child was or is married and the child's birth occurs during the marriage or within three hundred days of its termination by death, annulment or divorce, complaints to establish paternity under this chapter may not be filed by a person presumed to be or alleging himself to be the father unless he is or was the mother's husband at the time of the child's birth or conception.

Criminal Defense
Attorney Steven Ballard currently limits his criminal defense practice to criminal cases in the district and superior courts of Massachusetts in the following areas...
Sex Crimes
The plaintiff's residential address, residential telephone number and workplace name, address and telephone number, contained within the court records of cases arising out of an action brought by a plaintiff under the provisions of this chapter, shall be confidential and withheld from public inspection, except by order of the court, except that the plaintiff's residential address and workplace address shall appear on the court order and accessible to the defendant and the defendant's attorney unless the plaintiff specifically requests that this information be withheld from the order. All confidential portions of the records shall be accessible at all reasonable times to the plaintiff and plaintiff's attorney, to others specifically authorized by the plaintiff to obtain such information, and to prosecutors, victim-witness advocates as defined in section 1 of chapter 258B, domestic violence victim's counselors as defined in section 20K of chapter 233, sexual assault counselors as defined in section 20J of chapter 233, and law enforcement officers, if such access is necessary in the performance of their duties. The provisions of this paragraph shall apply to any protection order issued by another jurisdiction, as defined in section 1, that is filed with a court of the commonwealth pursuant to section 5A. Such confidential portions of the court records shall not be deemed to be public records under the provisions of clause twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4.
Theft
Misdemeanors
His criminal cases have included many domestic violence cases, including misdemeanor and felony assault and battery charges, but also other violent crimes, sex crimes, crimes of drug possession and distribution, operating/driving under the influence (OUI), crimes of theft, and probation violation charges. As a necessary adjunct to his divorce and family law practice, Attorney Steven Ballard has been called upon on numerous occasions to defend clients in restraining order cases (Ch. 209A orders of protection from abuse), both in district courts and in the probate and family courts, and has been unusually successful in challenging and vacating a great many of those orders. He has also represented clients in seeking, obtaining and/or extending restraining orders as well, and in such cases, his clients have always succeeded in having such orders issued or extended when needed.
Drug Crimes
Description: OUI and illegal drug possession. Breathalyzer results showed blood alcohol content well above per se limit.
Assault
Most criminal cases he has resolved without the need for trial, and a large number of these cases have resulted in outright dismissals which left no stain on his clients' records. He has extensive experience handling domestic violence cases, many of which were ultimately dismissed because the complaining witness could not or would not testify, frequently by virtue of his/her exercise of the marital privilege or the 5th Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, or by virtue of having reached an "accord and satisfaction" agreement with the defendant client, thus sparing his client any criminal sanction. Many of his other criminal cases have been resolved through plea bargains which significantly reduced the punishments faced by his clients. But sometimes it is necessary to go to trial, or to work up the case to the point at which it will be dismissed or it will lead to the most favorable disposition possible. Attorney Steven Ballard has taken several criminal cases to trial in Massachusetts in recent years, all involving either charges of felony assault and battery or operating under the influence of alcohol, and in each and every trial he has handled in Massachusetts to date, whether before judge or jury, his clients have been found not guilty.
Murder
Section 3. Paternity and support actions; jurisdiction; enforcement of prior orders or judgments; juvenile court commitment proceedings; parents convicted of first degree murder
Probation Violation
Restraining Order
CONTEMPT ACTIONS AND RESTRAINING ORDERS - Representation in Civil and Criminal Proceedings Related to the Issuance of Court Orders for Protection Against Abuse, and for the Enforcement of Existing Family Court Orders

Workers Compensation
Attorney Ballard, before he started the Law Offices of Steven Ballard, worked as a trial lawyer in the areas of personal injury, professional malpractice, workers compensation, and employment discrimination, in a prominent plaintiff's law firm in the Boston area.
Employment Discrimination
Before starting his own practice in 2002, with a primary emphasis on family law and criminal defense, Steven Ballard was associated with one of Boston's most successful plaintiff law firms, where as a trial lawyer he handled personal injury cases, ranging from workplace accidents to complex matters of professional malpractice, and also claims of employment discrimination, based on race, gender, sexual orientation, sexual harassment and disability. His practice, then and since, has included appearances as lead counsel in Massachusetts district and superior courts throughout the state, and before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and the Department of Industrial Accidents.
Sexual Harassment

Property Damage
"You have the right to appear at the Superior, Probate and Family, District or Boston Municipal Court, if you reside within the appropriate jurisdiction, and file a complaint requesting any of the following applicable orders: (a) an order restraining your attacker from abusing you; (b) an order directing your attacker to leave your household, building or workplace; (c) an order awarding you custody of a minor child; (d) an order directing your attacker to pay support for you or any minor child in your custody, if the attacker has a legal obligation of support; and (e) an order directing your attacker to pay you for losses suffered as a result of abuse, including medical and moving expenses, loss of earnings or support, costs for restoring utilities and replacing locks, reasonable attorney's fees and other out-of-pocket losses for injuries and property damage sustained.

Personal Injury
No law officer shall be held liable in any civil action regarding personal injury or injury to property brought by any party to a domestic violence incident for an arrest based on probable cause when such officer acted reasonably and in good faith and in compliance with this chapter and the statewide policy as established by the secretary of public safety.
Disability Discrimination
EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION - Sexual Harassment, Racial and National Origin Discrimination, Sex/Gender Discrimination, Sexual Orientation Discrimination, Disability Discrimination

Trusts and Estates

Probate

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