Michigan Family Law Blog

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...

There are many reasons that people get divorced.  Finances or financial concerns are often a big factor when it comes to a divorce or separation. Whether it is the failure to earn income or enough income, reckless spending or disagreement on how assets should be allocated, financial friction can ...

If you have children and are considering a divorce, one of the considerations will be child support, childcare and how those are paid after the divorce is finalized.  In Michigan, child support is calculated using the Michigan Child Support Formula and the accompanying guidelines.  This blog addr...

While there are many considerations to take into account when filing for a divorce in Michigan, how it will affect your ability to retire should be a key concern.  It is often said by divorce lawyers to their clients that it is more expensive to support two separate households than it does to mai...

There are many considerations one must face when a divorce seems imminent, particularly if you have children.  Most often parents are primarily concerned with the child's welfare and how the child will cope with the divorce and life post divorce.  The primary concerns in such cases are custody, parenting time and child support.  One other aspect that is sometimes overlooked is the cost of childcare

There are many issues in any divorce case including the division of property, division of debt, alimony or spousal support and in cases where there are minor children there is custody, parenting time and child support.  This blog is intended to broadly address the issue of which parent should pay...

Going through a divorce is a very difficult time for anyone and can be particularly difficult for spouses with children.  The issues of custody, parenting time and child support can be some of the most difficult issues you will have to handle in your entire life.  One question that should be addr...

When you are considering a divorce, there is a lot of anxiety about a wide variety of issues.  Because the divorce process is often slow and takes time, one consideration that concerns many people in this situation is how they will pay their bills while the divorce case is proceeding.  That is ho...

In many divorce cases there can be a lot of "he said, she said" regarding threats or admissions by one of the spouses.  Typically these types of conversatinos take place between the spouses  privately without any witnesses which leaves it up to the judge to make a decision who is lying based upon...

Going through a divorce will most likely have some effect on nearly every aspect of your life.  This includes not only your finances and savings but potentially how much time you will get to spend with your children.  One issue that often comes up is "what will happen to an inheritance in a divor...

For people that have minor children, the biggest concern they have when preparing to file for a divorce or custody proceeding is custody, parenting time and child support.  The concerns become that much greater when there is no trust between the parents or one of the parents has issues with drugs...

There are many issues to consider when you're contemplating a potential divorce or separation.  One thing that comes to mind for many people is what will happen to their health insurance, particularly if they are self-employed or home-makers who have their insurance through their spouse's employe...

Prenuptial agreements are commonly used to protect the assets and/or income of one or both parties to a marriage.  Sometimes after the parties to a prenuptial have been married for a long period of time, it can seem unfair to one spouse to enforce the contract as it is written.  This leads to the...

There are many aspects to a divorce including child custody, child support, alimony or spousal support as it is known in Michigan, division of debts and property division as well.  This blog is intended to address the limited question of how family law courts in this State will handle an IRA when...

Family law matters are considered to be within the purview of the State government as opposed to the Federal government.  To determine in which state and which circuit court you should file for a divorce is a question of jurisdiction and venue.  Jurisdiction for a divorce matter is what gives the...

When considering a divorce, issues concerning the children are often the primary consideration.  In some cases, there are multiple concerns about custody, parenting time and child support while in others these can worked out relatively smoothly with counsel.  In the case of young children, childc...

When you are considering a divorce or separation from your spouse there are so many things to think about it can be overwhelming.  There are custody and parenting time issues to determine, calculation of child support, potential spousal support, property division and debt division.  This blog is ...

One of the problems with going through a divorce is that it is a slow process and the Michigan legislature has designed it to be that way.  This means that many spouses must continue to reside in the marital home while the divorce case is proceeding.  Many people have asked me whether this can be...

Yes, a valid prenuptial agreement is really the only way to protect yourself from alimony or "spousal support" as it is called in Michigan.  I have been practicing family law in Michigan since 1996 and I am divorced myself.  One conclusion I have reached after handling literally thousands of divo...

There are many concerns for people that are planning a wedding, the venue for the reception, guest lists, seating arrangements, paying for it all and many other things to consider.  A wise thing to consider for many people getting married is a prenuptial agreement or contract.  These contracts ar...