How to Fill Out and File Massachusetts Form CJD-305: Grounds, Filing, and Hearing

Massachusetts Form CJD-305, “Findings and Determinations for Child Support and Post-Secondary Education,” is the Probate and Family Court document that records a judge’s reasoning when a child support order departs from the standard guidelines calculation. You file it together with the Child Support Guidelines Worksheet (CJD-304) so the court sees both the formula result and the facts justifying a different number. The form is available as a fillable PDF through the Mass.gov Trial Court website and through the eFileMA portal.¹

When the Form Is Required

The Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines create a rebuttable presumption that the worksheet amount is correct.² If a parent or the judge believes that number would be unjust or inappropriate, CJD-305 is how the deviation is requested and documented.

Section IV of the guidelines requires the court to enter written findings on CJD-305 covering four things: the amount the guidelines would have produced, why that amount is unjust or inappropriate, the specific facts supporting a departure, and a determination that the departure serves the child’s best interests.³ Without all four, a deviation will not stand.

Grounds That Justify a Deviation

Section IV lists fifteen circumstances that can support an order above or below the guideline amount, including setting support at zero. The most commonly cited:³

Agreement of the parents, where the judge finds the agreement fair and reasonable.
A child’s ongoing special educational, physical, mental, or developmental needs with financial consequences.
Extraordinary travel costs to exercise parenting time, such as airfare for out-of-state visits.
Extraordinary health care expenses, including unusually high premiums or out-of-pocket costs.
A parenting time split that is substantially less than one-third, or substantially more than one-third but less than one-half.
A parent’s inability to meet basic living expenses if the guidelines were applied, often in low-income cases.
A gross disparity in the standard of living between the two households.
The paying parent’s incarceration without sufficient resources to pay.
Families with more than two legal parents, where the standard two-parent formula does not fit.

A catch-all also covers any other situation where applying the guidelines would be unjust, inappropriate, or not in the child’s best interests.

High-Income Cases

The guidelines calculate support on combined available gross income up to $450,000 per year. When combined income exceeds that figure, the amount at $450,000 becomes the minimum presumptive order, and the judge has discretion to set additional support on the income above it.⁴ High-income cases almost always involve CJD-305.

How to Fill Out CJD-305

Download the current form from the Mass.gov Child Support Guidelines page, or complete it in your browser through the Trial Court’s online forms portal at courtforms.jud.state.ma.us and save it as a PDF.⁵

Case Identification

Enter the Plaintiff and Defendant names exactly as they appear on the original complaint and write in the docket number so the clerk can connect the form to your file. If you are using the online version, select the county where your case is pending.

Income Findings

The form captures findings about each parent’s income. If the judge determines that a parent’s reported income does not reflect actual earning capacity, the form includes sections for documenting imputed or attributed income. Pull the figures straight from your completed CJD-304 so the numbers match across both documents.

Presumptive and Proposed Amounts

Enter the presumptive amount, which is the weekly support figure from the standard guidelines calculation on the worksheet. Below that, state the amount you are requesting. The difference between the two is the deviation, and the judge needs both figures side by side.

Written Justification

This is where the request is won or lost. Identify which deviation factors apply, then connect each one to concrete evidence. A parent claiming extraordinary travel expenses should reference actual airfare receipts, mileage logs, or fuel costs rather than vague assertions about distance. Attach tuition invoices for special education programs, medical billing statements for ongoing treatment, or financial records showing an inability to self-support, and link each exhibit to the specific factor it supports.

Post-Secondary Education Section

CJD-305 also covers contributions for children over eighteen who are still attending school, with separate findings for educational costs, health care coverage for adult children, and dental or vision insurance. Complete these sections if they apply; leaving them blank when they are relevant can delay the order.

Filing the Form

CJD-305 must always be submitted together with a completed CJD-304 worksheet.¹ If the worksheet is missing, the court may reject the filing. Confirm that income figures, parenting time percentages, and support amounts are consistent on both forms.

You can bring or mail the documents to the Clerk’s Office at the Probate and Family Court division where your case is active. If you mail them, use certified mail and keep copies. The court also accepts electronic filings through eFileMA (efilema.com) around the clock. Several divisions, including Bristol, Middlesex, Plymouth, and Worcester, require filings at least 72 hours before a scheduled hearing, and emergency filings must be done in person.⁶ Exhibits and attachments may need separate handling, so contact your local division for instructions.

Filing Fees

When CJD-305 is filed with a Complaint for Modification related to child support, custody, or parenting time, the court filing fee is $50. Modifications of non-child-related issues cost $150.⁷ New cases filed electronically carry an additional one-time $22 surcharge plus a credit card processing charge.⁶ When CJD-305 accompanies an initial complaint such as a divorce filing, the fee is whatever the complaint itself costs; CJD-305 is a supplemental form, not a separate filing.

If you cannot afford the fee, you can request a waiver by filing an Affidavit of Indigency, which is available through a guided online interview on Mass.gov.⁸

Serving the Other Parent

The other parent or their attorney must receive a copy of everything you file. For initial complaints, service is typically handled by a sheriff or constable, or the other parent can sign an Acceptance of Service in front of a notary, which avoids the sheriff’s cost.⁹ The court will not schedule a hearing until the signed summons showing service is returned to the clerk.

At the Hearing

Once the form is filed and the other parent is served, the court schedules a hearing. The judge reviews the proposed figures, the written justification, and any supporting evidence, and both parents can present their position. If the judge is satisfied that the four required findings are met, they sign the Order section at the bottom of CJD-305, converting the proposed deviation into a binding order enforceable through the Massachusetts Department of Revenue’s Child Support Enforcement Division.

If the judge denies the deviation, the standard guidelines amount from the worksheet becomes the order. Thin or disorganized documentation is the fastest way to lose a deviation request, because the judge cannot make the specific written findings the rule requires without concrete facts to point to.

Changing a Deviation Order Later

A deviation order is not permanent. To change it, file a Complaint for Modification in the court that entered the original order. The standard is a material and substantial change in circumstances since that order was entered.¹⁰ Common qualifying changes include:

A significant gap between the current support amount and what the guidelines would now produce.
Job loss or a substantial drop in income.
Health insurance that was affordable is no longer available, or coverage that was previously unavailable has become accessible at a reasonable cost.
A change in where the child lives or in the parenting time split.

The modification filing fee for child-support-related changes is $50.⁷ At the hearing, the judge reviews the current order, hears what has changed, and examines updated financial statements and a new worksheet. If the revised amount again deviates from the guidelines, a fresh CJD-305 will be required.¹⁰

A Note on Taxes

A deviation changes the dollar amount of support, not the federal tax treatment. Child support is tax-neutral: the recipient does not report it as income, and the payer cannot deduct it. The dependency claim is a separate issue. The IRS awards it based on custody measured by overnights, so if the parents want the noncustodial parent to claim the child, the custodial parent must sign IRS Form 8332 releasing the claim, and the noncustodial parent attaches it to their return each year they claim the credit.¹¹ A deviation order can address which parent claims the exemption, and some orders alternate the claim between even and odd tax years. If yours does, make sure the Form 8332 paperwork matches the order.

1
Massachusetts Court System. Child Support Guidelines
2
Mass.gov. 2025 Child Support Guidelines Introductory Material
3
Mass.gov. 2025 Child Support Guidelines Section IV Deviation
4
Mass.gov. 2025 Child Support Guidelines Section II Factors to Be Considered in Setting the Child Support Order
5
Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries. Findings and Determinations for Child Support and Post-Secondary Education (CJ-D 305)
6
Mass.gov. eFiling in the Probate and Family Court
7
Mass.gov. Probate and Family Court Filing Fees
8
Mass.gov. Indigency (Waiver of Court Fees)
9
Mass Legal Help. How to Serve a Defendant in a Probate and Family Court Case
10
Mass.gov. Learn About Changing a Child Support Order
11
Internal Revenue Service. Release/Revocation of Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent