Michigan Family Law Blog

Divorce is one of the most difficult things a person may have to face in their life.  It can affect every part of one's life, including their relationship with their children, their savings, home and retirement plans and their ability to support themselves.  Often one person does not want the div...

There are many issues that one must face in a divorce that include division of property and debt, division of retirement funds, alimony, custody and child support to name a few.  Some of these can continue to be issues after a divorce is finalized.  Issues revolving around alimony, child custody ...

Going through a divorce can be the most difficult time a person will have to face during their lifetime. It will have an effect on every aspect of a person's life, their financial security, their home and their family all must be addressed.  If a divorcing couple has children, the most important ...

There are many issues that may come up when one is considering a divorce or faced with a spouse that is considering divorce.  Divorce will affect every aspect of one's life including some of the biggest financial transactions one will ever have to handle, including division of retirement accounts...

When one is facing a divorce in Michigan, there are so many different issues to consider, from custody to alimony, property division to debt division, it can be difficult to focus on specific concerns.  While almost all property that is earned by either spouse during a marriage is considered mari...

I have been a divorce attorney practicing in Michigan since 1996.  There has always appeared to be some question from the public about whether retirement accounts or pensions are subject to division in a divorce.  There are also often concerns about the tax consequences of dividing these accounts...

When one is facing a divorce or separation, there are many issues that one must consider.  There will almost always be division of property and debt, if there is a disparity in income, then there may be alimony issues and if there are children, then custody, parenting time and child support are i...

There are many different issues that one may encounter in a divorce case.  There are many issues that are serous and some that are not as serious, so it is important to prioritize your needs and wants and what issues are more important than others.  It does not pay to become bogged down in issues...

Many people when confronted with the possibility of a divorce consider whether they should opt for trying a legal separation first.  While there are a myriad of emotional reasons why one might want to try a legal separation first, in most cases from a legal perspective, it is better to simply fil...

I am often asked by a potential client or in conversation with people who know that I am a family law attorney the same question, in a variety of different forms that boil down to "Should I Wait to File for Divorce?"  There are several reasons that people may want to wait to file for divorce incl...

One aspect that must be handled in almost every divorce is how to handle the division of debt.  Almost all marriages involve some form of joint or personal debt that must be addressed when separating households, whether it comes in the form of student loans, mortgages, car loans or credit card.  ...

There are really three basic issues that can be present in any divorce case: child custody, parenting time and child support, division of property/debt, and alimony known formally in Michigan as spousal support.  The question of what happens to a 401(k) falls into the area of property division. ...

One question that I am often asked as a divorce lawyer or family law attorney this time of year is whether there is any advantage to filing a complaint for divorce before the end of the year.  The answer really depends on the person's situation as to whether the should just go ahead and file or w...

There can be many issues in any given divorce case based upon the circumstances, some cases may have serious custody, parenting time or child support, same may have alimony issues, some with debt, but almost all cases require some division of property including but not limited to the house, cars,...

The holiday season in Michigan can bring many things; cold weather, office parties, food and sometimes issues about parenting time or custody.  This can often arise when parties are separated and going through a divorce, recently divorced or sometimes it can just be an ongoing problem.  What is ...

Now that it appears that the vaccines will be made available for most children, I have already had a client contact me to advise that while he would like his children to get vaccinated, his wife disagrees.  He wants to know how to handle the situation. Can I Just Take My Kids to Get Vaccinated i...

There are many questions that people have when considering a potential divorce or separation.  For many people it makes their minds race with questions that increases their anxiety to a very uncomfortable level.  One question that I am often asked by people whom I tell I am a family law attorney ...

From alimony (or spousal support as it is called in Michigan) to child custody, parenting time and property or debt division, divorce or separation is likely to affect every aspect of a person's life.  One issue that I have often come across as a family law attorney in Oakland County, Michigan is...

Is it Just a Threat? In a divorce, often the most important issue will be custody or parenting time of the children.  This is the most emotion packed issue for many divorcing parents and sometimes can cause people to act in erratic ways.  One thing that we encounter often in the filed of family ...

There are really three potential parts to a divorce, one - possible child custody, parenting time and child support issues, two - potential alimony issues and three - the division of assets and debts.  Divorce lawyers generally refer to the part of a divorce that deals with dividing assets and de...

If you own and operate a small business, are part of a family business or are a contractor/employee that is required to use an LLC, then you should be particularly concerned about getting a divorce in the State of Michigan.  The main reason is that the business or some portion of it will be consi...

Divorce Laws & Procedure Evolve Over Time Divorce and the laws that govern it, with regards to the outcomes of a case as well as the procedure itself, continue to evolve over time.  Where once it was almost routine that one parent would be granted primary physical custody and the other would ess...

There are many issues that one must face when dealing with a divorce or separation, some cases involve custody or alimony but almost all cases deal with some sort of property and/or debt division.  There are many nuances to divorce law and some it can be very counter-intuitive.  The pressure of a...

The most difficult issue in many divorce cases, is how to handle custody of the children.  There are actually two types of custody, legal custody and physical custody as well as a parenting time schedule.  Generally, legal custody refers to the ability to have a say in the child's upbringing, suc...

There are many issues that one may encounter in a divorce, from custody and child support to alimony and property division, almost every aspect of one's life will be affected by the divorce and the divorce process.  Some issues will generally be more financial based while others may be more emoti...