Curtin, Peter J.

Kristine Ann Cummings is a graduate of Boston College Law School (J.D., 2007) and Temple University (B.A., summa cum laude, 2004). During law school, Kristine served as a clerk at the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General and with the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office.

Kristine's practice encompasses all aspects of family law and probate litigation, including divorce, custody, modification, removal, domestic violence and paternity issues, as well as equity actions, contested guardianship cases and fiduciary litigation regarding trust and estate matters. Kristine regularly handles domestic relations cases that involve complex financial and tax issues such as business and asset valuation, alimony and child support structured payments for tax deductibility and capital gains tax issues. In a recent matter, Kristine won a favorable decision, on behalf of a wife, in a bifurcated divorce trial to determine the enforceability of a prenuptial agreement. After a two-day trial, the judge issued a Memorandum of Decision and Order ruling that the prenuptial agreement entered into by the parties was not valid and therefore would not be enforced by the court. This favorable decision likely will result in long-term financial security for the client and her two year old son.

For the last three years, Kristine was recognized by Law & Politics as a "Massachusetts Rising Star" in the area of Family Law. Only 2.5% of lawyers under the age of 40 are selected for the list, which is published annually by a Thomson Reuters rating service in Boston Magazine.  Krisine is also ranked at the highest level of legal ability and ethics, "AV", in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.

Kristine presently serves on the Steering Committee of the Family Law Section of the Boston Bar Association, where she holds the position of Pro-Bono Committee Co-Chair as well as a member of the Newsletter Committee. She has lectured on general issues raised by military service in the context of domestic relations matters in connection with pre-deployment seminars for service members mobilizing for Overseas Contingency Operations. She also contributes towards materials for the bi-annual Probate and Family Court Judicial Forum program presented through Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education.

Kristine is an active member of the Massachusetts Bar Association and is presently serving her third term on the Board of Directors of the Young Lawyers Division. She is also involved with the Public Relations Committee of the Women's Bar Association.

Kristine is steadfastly committed to pro bono work and regularly represents victims of domestic violence through the Women's Bar Foundation (WBF). The Women's Bar Foundation honored Kristine in 2009 for her work with the Family Law Project for Battered Women. A letter from Nicci Meadow, WBA/WBF Executive Director and Rachel B. Biscardi, WBF Supervising Attorney notes as follows:

"You have received this award because you are fearless: you have handled cases that are difficult, time consuming and oftentimes require repeated court appearances. Your sensitivity and understanding of the difficulties faced by low income and indigent victims of domestic violence allows you to practice law with compassion. Moreover, you have an innate ability to present yourself well in court, allowing your clients the benefit of your oral advocacy."

Kristine also provides legal assistance to low-income residents of Greater Boston through the Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association.

Kristine is actively involved in the Boston community and serves as a member of the Junior League of Boston and Boston Hill Civic Association. She is an avid sailor and frequently volunteers her time at Community Boating, Inc.

She has remained active with Boston College Law School and regularly serves as a mentor to first-year law students as well as an advocacy judge for the ABA Law Student Division Negotiation Competition.

Client Recommendations

"I just want to drop you a note of thanks for all your hard work and dedication to my case. It's been a pleasure to work with you, even through all of the challenges of this case and the difficult legislative climate we face in Massachusetts. You have been the utmost in professionalism, you always come prepared and you've been very understanding when my frustration gets the best of me. I sincerely want to thank you for all your help and patience. Regardless of the outcome, I will truly be able to say I gave it my best shot. For the first time in 6 years I feel like I have qualified legal representation.

Letter from a former husband represented by Kristine in a modification and contempt action against his former wife.

"Kristine Ann Cummings is one of the most committed attorneys I have worked with to date; she is a very hard worker and extremely good at keeping me (the client) informed. Kristine was amazingly thorough and creative in her search for cases relevant to my own. I found Kristine very capable of keeping me focused on each step of the process which I considered to be quite daunting. Though Kristine is empathic, her ability to keep the broader perspective in focus for me was extremely helpful. Kristine was a very calming and empowering presence as I went through the legal process that involved very personal aspects of my life. I find Kristine to be that rare combination of kind, hard working and of unquestionable integrity. I would highly recommend Kristine, and I do believe one would be fortunate to engage her services."

Recommendation from a former wife represented by Kristine in an action to modify her former husband's child support payments and to set aside a portion of his inheritance for payment of future college expenses.

"Thank you so very much for fighting so hard for the boys and me. It was a long and treacherous road and I truly can't tell you enough what a good feeling it was knowing that you were ALWAYS there protecting and fighting for me. You are an extraordinary woman and exceptional attorney. You really made the long days in court so much easier (for me anyway) there are so many adjectives that I really don't think I would be able to put into words the respect I have for you and the way you handled this case."

Letter from a former wife that Kristine represented in a divorce and custody matter and in an abuse prevention action against her former husband.

"Kristine is one of the very rare, shining examples of the sort of consummately professional, caring, and thoughtful attorneys that very sadly, are uncharacteristic of Probate and Family Law. While unwittingly engaged in an exceedingly atavistic and hostile post-divorce and custody situation with an uncooperative and unrelenting ex-spouse, Kristine was able to use her superior negotiation powers to calm the waters and create mutual discourse. (It is important to note that four attorneys prior had failed to achieve similar success.) Kristine has gone out of her way at every point to clearly communicate and keep me informed. She has also persistently provided the insight needed to see "around the corners" of our Napoleonic Massachusetts Probate System - which, as any Mass. Father can attest, seems more like a trip through The Looking Glass [Tim Burton version] rather than Civil Logic 101. Throughout all of this, Kristine has stood steadfastly by, shielding me - her client - from the worse of the Byzantine brutality, and has helped my ex-spouse and myself to eek - albeit somewhat grudgingly - towards eventual closure. I highly recommend Kristine as an excellent and thorough Family Attorney and hope to continue my relationship with her for some time to come."

Recommendation from a former husband represented by Kristine against his former wife in connection with a modification and contempt action.

"Thank you so much for all you did for me. You made an extremely difficult experience a little less painful. I appreciate all the time, effort and kindness you gave to me."

Letter from a former wife represented by Kristine in a same-sex divorce action.