Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 208, § 38 (2026)

Costs

✓ current as of July 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MAmalegislature.gov (official) JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Section 38. In any proceeding under this chapter, whether original or subsidiary, the court may, in its discretion, award costs and expenses, or either, to either party, whether or not the marital relation has terminated. In any case wherein costs and expenses, or either, may be awarded hereunder to a party, they may be awarded to his or her counsel, or may be apportioned between them.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 69 cases (9 in the last 5 years), 1930–2026 · leading case: Cooper v. Cooper, 815 N.E.2d 262 (Mass. App. Ct. 2004).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Cooper v. Cooper, 815 N.E.2d 262 (Mass. App. Ct. 2004). · cites it 4× “G. L. c. 208, § 38. We will not disturb an award that is “not incommensurate with an objective evaluation of the services performed.”

Krapf v. Krapf, 786 N.E.2d 318 (Mass. 2003). · cites it 2× “The defendant claims that the judge lacked authority in a declaratory judgment action to award the plaintiff appellate counsel fees pendente lite “pursuant to” G. L. c. 208, § 38. He does not claim that the amount of fees awarded was unreasonable.”

Cox v. Cox, 780 N.E.2d 951 (Mass. App. Ct. 2002). · cites it 3× “Mahlowitz, as attorney for the wife, presumably pursuant to G. L. c. 208, § 38, and G. L. c. 215, § 34A, 5 approximately $30,000 in counsel fees, a sum that was less than half of the fee *866 requested.”

Hoegen v. Hoegen, 43 N.E.3d 718 (Mass. App. Ct. 2016). “See G. L. c. 208, § 38. In the present case, it appears that the judge considered the motion and denied it, but he did not provide any explanation for the denial.”

Rauseo v. Rauseo, 740 N.E.2d 1063 (Mass. App. Ct. 2001). · cites it 3× “949 (1976); G. L. c. 208, § 38; G. L. c. 211 A, § 15; and G.”

Fuss v. Fuss (No. 1), 368 N.E.2d 271 (Mass. 1977). · cites it 2× “Finally, the judge *67 awarded to James’s counsel attorneys’ fees amounting to $25,000, as well as costs and expenses amounting to $5,000, pursuant to G. L. c. 208, § 38, c. 209, § 33, c. 215, § 45, and common law authority.”

Heistand v. Heistand, 423 N.E.2d 313 (Mass. 1981). · cites it 2× “In the absence of the defendant’s specification, the judge based her determination on both the judicial discre *29 tion standard (G. L. c. 208, § 38) and the bad faith claim standard (G.”

Doe v. Roe, 585 N.E.2d 340 (Mass. App. Ct. 1992). · cites it 3× “Arguing that a judge may not award legal fees in the absence of statutory authorization, the defendant challenges the portion of the November 7, 1988 order which required the defendant to pay the plaintiff legal fees of $4,000.”

Freidus v. Hartwell, 954 N.E.2d 50 (Mass. App. Ct. 2011). · cites it 4× “As we conclude that the judge did not err by failing to award the wife contractual attorney’s fees (or statutory attorney’s fees pursuant to G. L. c. 208, § 38), we affirm the judgment.”

J.S. v. C.C., 912 N.E.2d 933 (Mass. 2009). “However, the statutory *666 authority to shift fees in marital custody disputes, G. L. c. 208, § 38, has been read to extend to nonmarital children.”

Krock v. Krock, 707 N.E.2d 839 (Mass. App. Ct. 1999). · cites it 4× “Finally, Barbara argues that G. L. c. 208, § 38, which permits assessment of attorney’s fees as an incident to a divorce proceeding, cannot govern an award here.”

Schechter v. Schechter, 37 N.E.3d 632 (Mass. App. Ct. 2015). “130, 141 (2004), citing G. L. c. 208, § 38. If an award is within the range of reasonableness based on “an objective evaluation of the services performed” it will be affirmed on appeal.”

Show all 69 citing cases →

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.