Michigan Family Law Blog

Anytime I meet with anyone that is considering marriage and is self-employed and considering marriage, I strongly advise them to get a prenuptial to protect the business and their interest in the business.  The problem for small business owners is that the divorce courts in Michigan will consider...

Some people seem to believe that alimony, or spousal support as it is know in Michigan, is a thing of the past.  This is incorrect, alimony is alive and well in Michigan, it must be given very serious consideration when considering a divorce or separation.  One question that I am often asked more...

One of the most difficult aspects to handle in a divorce case is the issue of alimony or "spousal support" as it is called in Michigan.  Alimony is still alive and well in Michigan and if you are the person that is faced with paying alimony, it almost always seems like you are paying too much to someone after you are no longer with them, and if you are the potential recipient of the alimony it often seems like it is not enough to reimburse you for the sacrifices you made for the family and to help you continue to maintain the same standard of living as your ex-spouse.  This blog written to generally address the specific issue of whether bonus income is included when it comes to paying spousal support in Michigan.

There are so many different issues that have to be considered when contemplating divorce or separation at every level of a person's life.  If you have children then one of the most important issues will be custody, parenting time and child support.  Child support in Michigan is determined by a fo...

Divorce can affect every aspect of one's life.  If you have children, the primary concern is how will custody be handled and how often will you be able to see the children.  Many men that I talk to are very concerned about getting equal time with the children.  Many of us grew up with the old fas...

Divorce is a difficult process to go through and typically causes massive change in a person's life but at some point, the divorce process comes to an end.  When you have children together issues can arise until the youngest child reaches the age of majority (and even after that put the law does ...

Divorce is always difficult, particularly if you have children.  In addition, if you have children, then the divorce is not really the end of the potential issues with your ex-spouse.  Child custody, parenting time and child support are always modifiable until the child turns eighteen or graduate...

I strongly suggest that anyone contemplating marriage in Michigan at least consult with a family law attorney about prenuptial agreements.  At the very least the lawyer will be able to explain just exactly what you are potentially getting into financially, including potential future property or a...

There are many reasons that a person may have an affair, if you are married and having an affair and  your spouse has not discovered the affair, you should probably end the affair, get some personal counseling, consider marriage counseling and schedule a consultation with an attorney regarding th...

What should you do legally if you find out that your spouse has cheated on you or is having an affair?

Often the most emotional and just plain difficult area to handle in family law is custody and parenting time.  In some cases, there are certain family members or relatives of the other parent you do not want to interact with the child. This blog addresses how you may handle that in a divorce or family law situation.

Child support in Michigan is based upon a number of factors including but not limited to the total income of each parent from all sources and the number of overnights the children have with each parent.  This blog is written to briefly address the issue of what you should do with regards to child support in the State of Michigan if you lose your job whether you are the payor or the recipient of the child support.  If you have questions regarding your personal situation, please contact us to schedule a consultation either by clicking on this link or by calling (248) 608-4123.

When a person with children is facing a divorce, often the most difficult issues to resolve are custody and parenting time issues.  Parenting time, formerly known as visitation, is the schedule for what days and nights the children will be spending with each parent.  This blog is written to broad...

Many parents in Michigan take advantage of the Michigan Education Savings Plan (MESP) or MI-529 Plans when saving for their children's education.  One question that comes up in a divorce case where there are children is what happens to these types of accounts?  This blog is written to generally a...

If you are facing a divorce or separation and have children custody, parenting time and child support are extremely important issues that will be central to your case in most instances.  Most people do not want to have to file for divorce hastily or before they are actually ready but in the insta...

In Michigan, particularly Oakland County, if you file a complaint for a divorce and have children, the court will automatically schedule an Early Intervention Conference (EIC) with the Friend of the Court referee assigned to your case.  This blog is written to very basically address what an Early...

If you have a child or children and are considering a divorce or separation in Michigan, custody and parenting time can be the biggest and certainly the most emotional issue.  In Michigan, parenting time is the actual schedule of with which parent the child is with on any given day or time.  Typi...

If you are divorced or separated and have children in Michigan, then you are probably familiar with the term "parenting time".  Parenting time is the schedule that governs with which parent the children will be staying on which days, nights, weekends and holidays.  Once parenting time is establis...

A divorce will often have an impact on almost every aspect of your life.  If you have children often the primary concern is custody or parenting time and how the children will handle the divorce.  One topic that sometimes comes up is how to handle the situation where the children are attending a ...

There are several different types or styles of mediation, some are more useful in certain situations while others are not.  There are some mediators or mediation centers that focus more on allowing the two spouses to attempt to work out the issues by talking them through with the mediator in one ...

In some cases the divorce is the end of the marriage and the parties are able to move on without any further required court intervention.  In many cases however, there are continuing conflicts or other issues may arise after the divorce which may require court intervention.  One post-divorce issu...

One aspect of just about every divorce is the division of property.  This includes personal property like furniture, real property (real estate/the marital home), bank accounts and retirement accounts.  One question that I am often asked is what date do we use to value the bank account or retirem...

Child custody, visitation or parenting time as it is known in Michigan and child support can be very conentious issues in divorce cases.  In general the courts are moving toward an equal amount of time with the children to each parent.  There are some cases where one parent will be very instant t...