Family Law Statistics - What There is and What There is Not

This follows up Indiana Trial Court Statistics in a way. Massachusetts Divorce Lawyer Blog published the post Divorce Statistics in Massachusetts.

The probate and family courts of Massachusetts recently released data of different types of filings from 2005 to 2009.

Several interesting numbers:

Divorce filings in 2005 – 47,130
Divorce filings in 2009 – 53,097

Paternity filings in 2005 – 36,583
Paternity filings in 2009 – 49,754

So it is not just Indiana that lacks any detailed data on what goes on in paternity or divorce cases: how many are dismissed, how many involve children, custody dispositions, the number of modifications, the issues being modified, and so on.

We - that is lawyers and judges - are trained to think of the case before us and not how that case, that client fits within the overall system. The more I write here and the conversations I get into because of this blog, the more I think we should.