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In Michigan, alimony is referred to as "spousal support", but for the purpose of this blog I am going to refer to it as "alimony".  Some people believe that alimony is no longer an issue but alimony is still alive and well in our state.  Alimony, when it is an issue, is almost always the most contentious one in a divorce case.  It is also one of the more complicated or gray areas of the law.  This blog is written to generally address the main factors that tend to indicate someone will have to pay alimony if they get divorced in the State of Michigan.  If you have concerns about alimony, divorce or legal separation, please do not hesitate to schedule a consultation by clicking on this link or calling (248) 608-4123.

Will I Have To Pay Alimony If I Get Divorced In Michigan?

Alimony or spousal support was intended by the state legislature to be determined by the court examining or weighing twelve statutory factors when applying the law to the facts of the case.  After deliberate consideration of all twelve, the court should then determine what it considers to be the proper amount and duration of alimony, if any.  I have been practicing family law in Oakland County, Michigan for thirty years and I can say there are two main factors that one can look at to determine whether they will have a potential spousal support issue if they file for divorce here.  Those two factors are the length of the marriage and the difference in the spouse's incomes, particularly where one spouse earns a "good" income and the other spouse is not employed outside of the home.  The length of the marriage is more determinative of the duration that alimony will have to be paid whereas the difference in the incomes and the amount of the potential payor spouse's income will determine the amount of alimony.  That is not to say that the other factors are irrelevant, those factors can be used to argue for more or less alimony depending on the facts and the relevance of those factors.

It should be noted that many divorce lawyers, mediators and judges in Michigan use spousal support prognosticator programs.  These are programs that attorneys have developed that take into account some of the factors but typically weigh income and length of marriage more heavily than any of the other factors by far.  Until about ten years ago, judges were forbidden by case law to use these programs or consider the results of such a program when calculating alimony, however case law changes.  Now the judges are allowed to use these programs and they do, but the output is intended to be used as a starting point for the analysis and then it should be adjusted up or down based upon the other factors.  This does not always seem to be the case because in some instances, it appears that mediators or judges use the amount and duration suggested by the program without seeming to do much, if any, additional analysis.

This blog was written to very generally address the issue of alimony (spousal support as it is known in Michigan), if you have questions about how a divorce or legal separation might impact your life, schedule a consultation by clicking on this link or calling (248) 608-4123.