Family Law - Divorce

1. What is a divorce?

A Judgment of the Court recorded in the Court’s records, which dissolves the parties’ marriage between two people. In a divorce, spousal support (alimony), property settlement and debt responsibility for the parties are issues that are addressed, as well as custody and parenting time of any minor children of the parties.

2. What do I have to do to get a divorce?

A complaint must be filed with a Court having jurisdiction to hear the matter and the complaint must ask the Court to dissolve the marriage between two people. When the complaint is filed in the Court the proper filing fee needs to be paid (depending on whether minor children are affected by the Court’s decree). The complaint needs to allege that there has been a breakdown in the marital relationship such that the objects of matrimony have been destroyed and there appears no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved. The party filing the complaint for divorce needs to have resided in the State of Michigan for at least six months and have resided in the county where the complaint is filed for at least ten (10) days immediately prior to the filing of the complaint.

3. How long does it take to get a divorce?

If there are no minor children (less than 18 years of age), sixty (60) days is the earliest that a divorce judgment can be entered. If the parties have minor children between them then the earliest a divorce can be resolved is six (6) months. In emergency situations the waiting period can, with permission of the Court, be shortened upon showing of a manifest necessity (i.e. one party is about to leave the country due to his or her service with the armed forces, etc.).

4. I need help now; what can I do before the divorce is granted?

It seems simple, but the most important thing you can do is to immediately consult with an experienced divorce law attorney. Custody issues are the most complex, yet taking correct action on your property split with your spouse can also be a critical step that needs to be wisely taken considering tax consequences and protecting your credit history. What actions you initially take can have a large impact on the ultimate question of who gets what property and who gets what type of custody, i.e. joint, sole legal custody, or sole physical custody.

5. Can I get alimony?

Whether you receive alimony or spousal support depends to a large degree on ten (10) separate “factually driven “factors””. Your age, length of marriage and health are the most important factors. Marriages that have lasted at least fifteen (15) years, give the parties seeking spousal support a greater chance of eligibility for the same if there is a large income disparity between the party and their spouse. Spousal support is either transitional, i.e. a short term lasting for two or three years (also known as rehabilitative) to allow one party to complete an education or to go back and be retrained to enter the workforce or it is long term. Alimony may either be in gross (lump sum) or periodic and dependent on the needs of the party to receive the same, i.e. health, age, etc.  Periodic alimony usually ends with remarriage and always with death.  Alimony in gross can be an asset that is included in the estate of the spouse that was scheduled to receive a specific number of monthly or annual payments.

6. How will our property be divided in the divorce?

Fairly. In Michigan, you start with a 50/50 presumption that can change if one party is significantly at fault in causing the breakdown in the marital relationship (i.e. one party had an affair or one party inflicted spousal abuse on the other, etc.). Absent an arms length negotiated pre-nuptial or an ante-nuptial agreement, all assets and debts acquired during the marriage are subject to the potential equitable division by the Court.

7. How is child support ordered in Michigan?

It depends on how many overnights each parent has the children during the year. Once the overnights are figured, you look to each spouse’s annual income and apply each party’s income to a set of guidelines adopted and published by the State of Michigan’s Office of Child Support. These guidelines set the amount of child support that, absent issues involving a property settlement between the parents, are normally followed by the Court when ordering child support be paid commensurate with the parties’ ability to pay the same. There are ways attorneys can draft a divorce judgment so that child support does not need to be deducted out of the payer’s paycheck.

8. How will child custody and visitation be determined?

If the parties are not able to agree on custody and parenting time issues, the County Friend of the Court will make an initial determination as to both issues on a temporary basis. If either party objects to the temporary order of the Friend of the Court they may request a full formal hearing to be conducted by the Referee for the Friend of the Court. At the time of such a formal hearing a mini-trial occurs where witnesses are called, sworn, and able to be cross-examined by the parties or their attorneys. After the formal hearing has been completed the Referee will issue a written opinion making a recommendation for custody, parenting time, and child support issues. If either party timely objects to the written opinion of the Referee that was issued subsequent to the formal hearing, then both parties will be allowed to have a “Denovo” trial before the Circuit Court judge assigned to hear the case.