Michigan Family Law Blog

WHAT IS SOLE LEGAL CUSTODY IN MICHIGAN? Generally speaking there are two types of custody in Michigan, physical custody and legal custody.  Physical custody is the traditional type of custody most people think of when talking about custody, that is with whom does the child spend the majority of t...

In some divorce cases it can be hard to properly determine a person's income for purposes of calculating alimony or child support.  This could be due to the manner of the person's work or where they work; such as working for the family business, being self-employed, working on a "cash" basis or s...

If you are divorced and have children, you are probably aware that in most cases neither parent is allowed to move more than one hundred (100) miles from where they resided at the time of the divorce without the agreement of the other parent or the order of the court.  Unfortunately, it sometimes...

Custody battles are some of the most heated battles in family court. Parents who cannot agree to a custody and visitation schedule can put each other and their children through a traumatic, lengthy court battle. A Michigan child custody lawyer can help relieve some of your frustration and concer...

If you are contemplating a divorce, there are several things you should do before you begin the divorce process. The steps below are general steps that apply in most cases. Because your case is unique, you may also want to consult with a Michigan family law lawyer about other things you should d...

As a North Oakland, Michigan divorce attorney, one of the most gratifying parts of practicing family law involves stepparent adoptions. Seeing clients emerge from a divorce and find happiness again with another person is wonderful. But when that new mate wants to pursue a stepparent adoption an...

In Michigan, child care is included in child support until the first August after a child's twelfth birthday.  After that, the parties can agree to share the costs of child care or each parent will be responsible for paying for child care that is required during that parent's court ordered parent...

Never Try to Represent Yourself in a Divorce Case. Some people believe that it is ok to go through a divorce without an attorney.  When that happens the court considers that person to be acting as his or her own attorney.  The legal term for a person that represents her or himself is in propria p...

In all divorce cases, the court will schedule a deadline for the parties (the people getting divorced) to submit witness lists to the court.  Clients always ask who they should list as witnesses for the case or whom does the judge want to hear from about the case.  In virtually every case, the tw...

When it comes to a divorce, most of the time the parties (the people getting divorce) and counsel negotiate the division of the parties assets, debts, real estate and personal property with very little court involvement.  This is called the property settlement or property division part of the cas...

Sometimes people who are facing a divorce are concerned that their husband or wife will simply refuse to transfer assets or somehow avoid it.  This is a particular concern for the spouse that has the lower income or where the other spouse has always had control of the finances and retirement acco...

In a divorce case, one of the biggest factors that the court will consider when granting or denying alimony is the parties' incomes.  Many people are concerned that their spouse either works in an occupation that involves cash tips or the other spouse may own a business that handles cash but the ...

A teenager can have some input on how much time he spends with each parent when the parents are going through a divorce in Michigan. The wishes of the teenager are one of the many factors the judge will consider when deciding custody and parenting time and determining what is in the best interest...

A recent Michigan Court of Appeals decision overturned an Oakland County case (Gallagher v. Gallagher) where the judge awarded an ex-wife alimony thirty-seven (37) years after the divorce.  In that case, there was no alimony awarded in the judgment of divorce but alimony was reserved so the wife ...

It is common for parents to relocate for a variety of reasons when their children are minors. They may move because they have a better job opportunity, to be closer to family, or because they enter a new relationship. When parents have a time-sharing agreement, relocating the child's residence ca...

What is divorce mediation? If you're considering getting divorced in North Oakland, Michigan, or anywhere else, there are several mistakes you could make prior to or during the divorce process that could really cost you. One is not considering whether divorce mediation is a viable option for diss...

Custody, parenting time and child support are only an issue in cases where people have children.  Alimony may be applicable in cases where there is a serious wage disparity or other grounds to order it.  Property division is an issue in almost every single divorce case.  One thing the court or th...

Some divorce or separation cases where there are children involved will include a right-of-first-refusal (RFR) provision.  Basically an RFR will provide that if one parent is not able to be physically present (absent parent) for over a specific period of time while the child is supposed to be wit...

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...