DIVORCE LAW FORUM

     

MICHIGAN DIVORCE LAW

Here you will find Michigan specific divorce information, grounds, divorce law statutes, articles on Divorce law, state laws, child custody, child support, spousal support, visitation, legal separation, dissolution and links to free divorce forms, divorce records, divorce papers, divorce lawyers, divorce attorneys and support calculators.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS:

A divorce will be granted by a court in this state in a divorce action if the complainant or defendant has been a resident of the state for 180 days immediately preceding the filing of the complaint and, the same party has resided in the county in which the complaint is filed for at least 10 days immediately preceding the filing of the complaint.

A person may file a complaint for divorce in any county in the state without meeting the 10-day requirement above only if the following three factors apply and described in the complaint:

1.     The defendant was born in, or is a citizen of, a country other than the United States of America.

 

2.     The parties to the divorce action have a minor child or children.

 

3.     There is information that would allow the court to reasonably conclude that the minor child or children are at risk of being taken out of the United States of America and retained in another country by the defendant.

 

4.     The Complaint must also state the Judicial Circuit Court in the county where the claimant or defendant resides.

 [See Michigan Revised Statutes - Section: 552.6]

 

GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE:

A Michigan court shall enter a judgment dissolving the marriage if evidence is presented in court that there has been a breakdown in the marital relationship to the extent that the purposes of matrimony have been destroyed and there remains no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved.

[See Michigan Revised Statutes - Section: 552.6]

 

MEDIATION OR COUNSELING REQUIREMENTS:

The domestic relations court shall provide, parties access to a domestic relations mediator to assist the parties in voluntarily settling any dispute between them regarding child custody or parenting time that arises in a friend of the court case. Parties shall not be required to meet with a domestic relations mediator but may be ordered to by a judge

[See Michigan Revised Statutes - Section: 552.513]

 

PROPERTY DISTRIBUTION:

Michigan is an equitable property distribution state. Upon the termination of a marriage, the court may make a further judgment in order to restore either party to what the court concludes makes them whole, or such other awards as it shall deem just and reasonable, of the real and personal marital estate that shall have come to either party by reason of the marriage.  This is only the case where it appears from the evidence presented that the party contributed to the acquisition, improvement, or accumulation of the property.  The court may also award to either party the value of any such real or personal property, to be paid by either party in cash.

[See Michigan Revised Statutes - Section: 552.19]

 

SPOUSAL SUPPORT:

In any action brought filed in the court of domestic relations, either for divorce or legal separation, the court may require either party to pay any of the following; spousal support for the suitable maintenance of the adverse party; such sums as shall be deemed proper and necessary to conserve any real or personal property owned by the parties or either of them; and to pay any sums needed to enable the adverse party to carry on or defend the action (attorney fees), during its pendency. The court may also award costs against either party, or it may direct said costs to be paid out of any property sequestered, in the power of the court, or in the hands of a receiver.

Any alimony awarded by the court may be terminated by the court upon the party receiving alimony remarries, unless a contrary agreement is specifically stated in the judgment entry of divorce.

[See Michigan Revised Statutes - Section: 552.13]

 

LEGAL SEPARATION:

An action for legal separation may be filed in the circuit court in the same manner and for the same grounds as a complaint for divorce. In the complaint a plaintiff need not make other explanations of the grounds for separate maintenance other than by use of the statutory language as described above. If the Plaintiff produces evidence in court that demonstrates a breakdown in the marital relationship that is so severe the purpose of matrimony has been destroyed and there remains no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved, the court may enter either a judgment of separate maintenance if a counterclaim for divorce was not been filed, or a judgment dissolving the marriage if a counterclaim for divorce has been filed.

[See Michigan Revised Statutes - Section: 552.7]

 

SPOUSE'S NAME:

In Michigan, whenever a decree of divorce is granted, the woman, whether complainant or defendant, may request, and the court may grant, as part of the decree, that her name be restored to her given name, or any surname she legally bore prior to her marriage to the husband in the divorce action, or allow her to adopt another surname if the change is not sought with any fraudulent or evil intent.

[See Michigan Revised Statutes - Section: 552.391]

 

CHILD CUSTODY:

In Michigan, joint custody is always encouraged by the court. In cases where custody is contested, placement of minor children will be determined based on the best interests of the child. Factors for determining the best interests of the child include the following:

1.    The love, affection, and other emotional ties existing between the parties involved and the child.

 

2.    The capacity and disposition of the parties involved to give the child love, affection, and guidance and to continue the education and raising of the child in his or her religion or creed, if any.

 

3.     The capacity and disposition of the parties involved to provide the child with food, clothing, medical care or other remedial care recognized and permitted under the laws of this state in place of medical care, and other material needs.

 

4.     The length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment, and the desirability of maintaining continuity.

 

5.      The permanence, as a family unit, of the existing or proposed custodial home or homes.

 

6.      The moral fitness of the parties involved.

 

7.      The mental and physical health of the parties involved.

 

8.      The home, school, and community record of the child.

 

9.      The reasonable preference of the child, if the court considers the child to be of sufficient age to express preference.

 

10.       The willingness and ability of each of the parties to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing parent-child relationship between the child and the other parent or the child and the parents.

 

11.        Domestic violence, regardless of whether the violence was directed against or witnessed by the child.

 

12.       Any other factor considered by the court to be relevant to a particular child custody dispute.

 

[See Michigan Revised Statutes - Section: 552.391]

 

CHILD SUPPORT:

In Michigan, a court shall order child support in an amount determined by application of the Michigan Child Support Formula developed by the state friend of the court bureau. The court may order child support for the time a child is regularly attending high school, on a full-time basis, with a reasonable expectation of completing sufficient credits to graduate from high school while residing on a full-time basis with the recipient of support or at an institution, but in no case after the child reaches 19 years and 6 months of age.

Each support order entered or modified by the circuit court shall provide for an order of income withholding.

 

[See Michigan Revised Statutes - Section: 552.604, 552.605, 552.605b]

 

 

 

Disclaimer

This site is not meant to provide legal representation or to be relied on in place of an attorney. We recommend that anyone serious about going forward with a Divorce or Child Custody claim seek the advice and counsel of a qualified attorney in their respective state.

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