Mass. Gen. Laws » Part II Title III Chapter 208
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 208, § 20A (2026)

Judgment denying divorce; living apart for justifiable cause; authorization

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 20A. If, after a hearing, the allegations of an action for divorce are not sustained, the court may, if the facts warrant, enter a judgment denying the divorce and making a finding that the plaintiff is living apart from the defendant for justifiable cause, and may make such order relative to the support of either spouse and the care, custody of and maintenance of the minor children of the parties as the circumstances require. The various provisions of chapter two hundred and nine which relate to proceedings commenced under section thirty-two thereof shall be applicable to this section.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1 case, 1977–1977 · leading case: Hano v. Hano, 367 N.E.2d 1190 (Mass. App. Ct. 1977).
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Hano v. Hano, 367 N.E.2d 1190 (Mass. App. Ct. 1977). “The defendant’s unsuccessful suicide attempt in April, 1973, eventually resulted in her permanent separation from the family residence at her husband’s insistence. Since 1974 the defendant has not required hospitalization for her psychiatric problem but has continued to receive…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.