Michigan Family Law Blog

In many cases where the parents of a child are divorced or separated, the child, by court order, spends more time with one parent than the other.  The court order might state that parent has primary physical custody or it may be referred to this arrangement as joint physical custody with one pare...

Parents are expected to support their child financially even though the parents may divorce or are not in a relationship with each other. Not being with a child's other parent or not having primary care of the child does not relieve a person's responsibility to care for the child. Some parents ar...

If one spouse earns more income than the other spouse during a marriage, then the court may order the higher wage earner to support the lower wage earner after a divorce.  This is called spousal support in Michigan but it is in reality alimony.  A surprisingly large amount of people believe that ...

Gray divorce (also called grey divorce) is when adults age 50 and older dissolve their marriages. Because the baby boomer generation is now in this age range, a substantial number of people are seeking gray divorces. Our Michigan divorce lawyers are seeing more of these types of divorces as this...

Can one incident of poor judgment cost me custody of my children? If you're considered getting divorced in North Oakland, Michigan and you have minor children, deciding on who will have legal and physical custody of the children can be the most contentious or difficult part of the divorce process...

Justin Bieber Has At Least These Four (4) Things To Worry About Because He Did Not Get A Prenup To paraphrase Jessica Simpson in answer to the question what was the worst financial decision she ever made "my first marriage".  She did not get a prenuptial agreement.  It seems pretty well known tha...

Tuition and expenses for a college education can be significant. Many parents choose to pay college tuition for their children or contributed to the cost of college tuition and expenses. When parents divorce, the question of who pays for the child's college education can become complicated. A Mi...

In many divorce cases, both spouses agree that the marriage is broken, but they may argue about the details of the divorce. However, there are cases in which one spouse is taken by surprise by a divorce action. Some spouses may want to reconcile; therefore, they may ignore the divorce papers. In...

Holidays can be difficult for parents and children when parents are no longer married or together. Children may feel torn between his or her parents. Parents may feel bitter and abandoned. The ideal solution is for parents to work out an arrangement that allows everyone to spend the holidays toge...

Will A Divorce Court Enforce A Marital Contract (aka) A Contract To Pay Money To Get Someone To Marry You? A traditional component of some Islamic marriages is a "mahr".  The mahr is a payment of cash money (or a contract to pay money) to a prospective bride in order for her family and her to agr...

How Could The Divorce Court Fail to Consider A Change Of Custody In This Case? The issue of custody is one of the most difficult that a court must handle in divorce cases.  The initial decision to grant custody to one parent, the other parent or to both parents is based upon the child's "best int...

Terminating Alimony In Michigan Can Be Difficult (But Not Impossible) Many people seem to believe that alimony (aka spousal support) is no longer awarded in divorce cases.  This is wrong, alimony is alive and well and can be granted in any case where there is an income disparity.  There are very ...

How can I ensure I won't have to pay alimony in a divorce? The late, great Elvis Presley once sung of a place at the end of Lonely Street called Heartbreak Hotel. And a while she might not feel so lonely she could die, his only child, Lisa Marie Presley, is reportedly going through a difficult di...

One of the commonly litigated issues in a divorce is the separation of property between the spouses. Michigan follows the equitable distribution theory for dividing property in a divorce. Equitable distribution means “fair” not “equal.” Therefore, when parties cannot agree to a property division ...

Mediation can often produce a more satisfactory agreement during a divorce proceeding than allowing a judge who does not know your family to make decisions for you. However, mediation may not work for every couple. There are certain cases and situations in which mediation may not be productive or...

Property division can be a fiercely litigated issue in a Michigan divorce case. A spouse may disagree about several issues related to property division, including what constitutes marital property. An inheritance may be the cause of litigation when non-inheriting spouse asserts that the inheritan...

What Should I Do If I Am Served With Divorce Papers? Court rules allow several ways for one spouse to serve the other spouse with divorce papers.  First, the spouse may mail the paperwork, however this does not count as valid service unless it is done through certified mail, receipt restricted to...

What Are "Grounds For Divorce" In Michigan? Michigan is a "no-fault" divorce state.  This means there is only one ground for divorce in this state based upon the family law statutes.  The legal ground for divorce in Michigan is stated specifically as follows "there has been a breakdown of the mar...

What Happens to Debt In A Divorce? The division of marital debt is included in the property division of the judgment of divorce.  In general, debts are treated as negative assets in valuing an overall property award and courts typically allocate them according to the same equitable principles tha...

Will A Court Consider Income From Growing Medical Marijuana In A Divorce? The Michigan Court of Appeals recently considered this issue in the matter of  Beauchamp v Beauchamp (Unpublished Opinion, October 23, 2018).  In that case, the husband originally ran a drywall business when the parties mar...

Who gets the dog-- or other pets--in a divorce? If you're considering getting divorced in Michigan, you can expect to work through many issues as you separate one household into two separate ones-- though how many will be determined based on your particular circumstances. One issue all couples h...

Can A Man Get Alimony In Michigan? Alimony is alive and well in Michigan, however we refer to it as "spousal support" technically, although the terms are interchangeable.  The award of support is determined on a case-by-case basis.  The statutes states that the purpose of support is to balance th...

“It is the most wonderful time of year . . .” However, it is also one of the most stressful times of the year. The holidays bring joy, laughter, and delight. Unfortunately, for many individuals, the holidays also bring a great deal of stress as they attempt to balance work, home, and family. When...

What Should I Do IF My Ex Is Not Following Court Orders? Court orders or judgments in divorce and custody cases are not self-enforcing.  In most cases, neither the court or the friend of the court will follow-up with the parties after the orders are entered.  The exception is child support, the f...

What Happens To Student Loans In A Divorce? Almost every divorce case requires dividing some form of debt between the spouses.  There are secured debts, like a mortgage or vehicle loan where the loan is secured by some property that the lender can repossess.  Then there are unsecured debts such a...