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If you are marred with children and facing the possibility of a divorce or separation, the first priority is to determine how the courts in Michigan will handle custody of the kids.  This blog is written to generally address joint custody in Michigan, if you have a specific question or you are facing a possible divorce yourself, bless do not hesitate to contact us to schedule a consultation.

How Common Is Joint Custody In Michigan?

Joint custody is very common in Michigan, in fact it is the norm in Oakland and Macomb Counties.  However, the question most people are really asking when they ask about joint custodty, is how common is "equal parenting time" granted to each parent in Michigan.  There are two types of custody, legal custody and physical custody.  Legal custody refers to the ability of each parent to be involved in the decision making for the child including such necessary things as access to medical/school records, school decisions, medical decisions and basically the ability to be the child's parent legally.  Physical custody refers to with whom the child is physically, joint physical custody simply means that the child spends time with both parents but it does not necessarily mean that they share an equal amount of time with each parent.

This brings us to the term "parenting time".  Parenting time refers to the actual schedule of where the child will be and with whom during school weeks, summer weeks, weekends and holidays throughout the year.  Equal parenting time has become the norm in most family courts in Michigan.  Parents can come up with their own schedules for when the child will be exchanged such as one week with one parent and the next with the other, or the child might be with one parent on Mondays and Tuesdays, the other on Wednesday and Thursdays and then alternate the weekends between the parents.  Parenting time can be very flexible and negotiated between the parents if they are still amicable enough to make reasonable decisions regarding the children.

This blog is a very general explanation of how common joint custody is in Michigan, divorce cases in Michigan can be counterintuitive and very complicated.  If you or you believe your spouse is considering divorce, you should contact us to schedule a consultation by clicking on this link or calling (248) 608-4123.