Michigan Family Law Blog

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--especially if the parties can’t agree. In that case, the court will make the decision deciding what is in the best interest of the children and that’s not optimal since no one knows your children better than the two of you.

Both

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Justin Bieber Has At Least These Four (4) Things To Worry About Because He Did Not Get A Prenup

Justin Bieber married Hailey Bladwin but they did not sign a prenuptial agreement before the wedding.  Some publications now claim that sources say Mr. Bieber is concerned about this oversight.  I can immediately point out four (4) very serious areas of concern for Mr. Bieber but it is too late for him to protect himself.

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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 Read more . . .

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 other cases, a spouse may ignore divorce papers because he or she simply does not want to deal with the situation or is controlling and abusive. If your spouse ignores your divorce papers, it is helpful to seek the advice of an experienced
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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 together. However, anger and hurt feelings can prevent parents from putting aside their differences to negotiate a mutually acceptable holiday custody arrangement.
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Will A Court Enforce A Contract To Pay Money To Get Married?
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How Could The Divorce Court Fail to Change 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 interests".  The "best interests" of the child is actually a set of factors listed in Michigan statutes that have been enacted by the legislature.  Once the court has decided the issues of custody, it as well as parenting time and child support can be modified until the children become adults.  In order to modify the custody however, a person has to prove to the court's satisfaction that there has been a significant change in circumstances that seriously effects the child's life.

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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 basically two types of alimony, modifiable and non-modifiable.  Non-modifiable alimony is relatively new in comparison and can only be ordered by the court in cases where the parties have reached an agreement that specifically states that the support will be non-modifiable and that the parties waive their rights to modifiable alimony.  Modifiable alimony is the type of alimony that exists in all other cases where support is ordered by the court.

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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 divorce at the moment.

She married her fourth husband in 2006 and the couple had twin girls who are now ten years-old. After 10 years of marriage, the couple is in the middle of a contentious divorce. Miss Presley is reportedly now seeking a child custody order granting her primary physical custody of the twins.
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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 settlement, the court determines a fair and equitable division of marital property.

A spouse may argue that certain property is separate property to prevent the court from including the property in the final property division order.
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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 cost-effective. Our
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