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Laws & Courts:
State Law - state divorce statutes, Chapter 552. Supreme Court Homepage - opinion searching capability, with links to the Appellate and Trial courts, directory information, legislative news and court publications. Court Opinion Search - search Michigan Supreme and Appellate Court decisions online.
Michigan Child Support
Child Support Profile - profile the state's child support laws. Easy to use table layout includes information on UIFSA, reciprocity, age of majority (emancipation), statute of limitations, income withholding,
paternity, support order establishment, support enforcement, modification and review/adjustment. From the the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement's "Interstate Roster and Referral Guide." Michigan Child Support Services - child support information pamphlets available for download (also in PDF format), from the child support division of the Family Independence Agency. Critique of the Michigan CS System - from
Roger F. Gay, Project for the Improvement of Child Support Litigation Technology.
Additional Resources:
State Bar of Michigan - opinion database, court news and legal links from the State Bar of Michigan. Michigan Family Support Council - information and news from the nonprofit group whose mission is "Supporting, protecting, and promoting the rights of minor children by providing information and services to those officials responsible for the investigation and recommendation of custody, parenting time, and the establishment and collection of child support." Children's Rights Council - national nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC that works to assure children meaningful and continuing contact with both their parents and extended family regardless of the parents' marital status.
For Michigan chapters, contact Barbara Toth at 517-427-5774. DADS Of Michigan - an ACFC Affiliate
6632 Telegraph Rd, Suite 110
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301
Phone: 248-559-DADS
Fax: 248-559-5984 Hillaker Investigations
PI firm has conducted over 2500
behavioral investigations and are well versed in the area of child custody.
Legal overview Divorce in Michigan requires that you have been resident for at least 180 days. There is one specific "ground" required to obtain a divorce in Michigan, a no-fault divorce. Read our detailed legal summary of Michigan including grounds, residency, custody, child support, alimony, joint custody, and property.
Residency
The family division of the circuit court handles all divorce cases in Michigan. If you want to file for a divorce, one of the parties must have lived in Michigan for at least 180 days, and in the county where the case will be filed for at least 10 days before filing. The person who starts the divorce action is called the plaintiff. The plaintiff must file a complaint asking the court to grant a divorce. There is a filing fee for this action. The filing fee may be more if there are children of the marriage who are under the age of 18.
If there are no children under the age of 18, there is a 60-day waiting period before a divorce can be granted. In cases where there are minor children, the waiting period is generally 6 months. However, if there is unusual hardship or such compelling necessity the court may waive the six-month waiting period. This waiver can only be obtained by petitioning the court.
Grounds
There are three distinct ways of legally ending a marriage relationship in Michigan: Divorce, Separate Maintenance and Annulment. In a Separate Maintenance action, the party filing this proceeding is asking the Court's help in providing for the division of marital property and, if there are children, for the custody and support of the children. A party may also request spousal support. However, in an action for Separate Maintenance, the Plaintiff does not seek to have the marriage dissolved. In Michigan, if the other party requests a divorce, instead of Separate Maintenance, the Court is required to grant the request for a divorce.
An Annulment proceeding, is where the Plaintiff asks the Court to declare that the marriage never existed and is void. The "grounds" for Annulment include bigamy, fraud, insanity or the attempted marriage of a minor. Annulment can only be used in special circumstances and can not be used if children have been born as a result of the marriage.
People seeking a divorce are often confused about the concept of fault as used in Michigan divorce law. The common term for a divorce in Michigan is "no-fault" because in Michigan it is not necessary to establish that one party was at fault in order to obtain a court ordered divorce.
To receive a court-approved divorce in Michigan it is not necessary to show that either one of the parties was at fault in the decline of the marriage. The only thing that is necessary to prove is that there has been a breakdown in the marital relationship to the extent that the objects and goals of marriage have been destroyed and that no reasonable possibility remains that the marriage can be saved.
The assignment of fault may make a difference in terms of a court's final determination of the division of property. If one party is determined to be at fault for the breakdown of the marriage, then the court may award the other party more property.
Property
Generally, courts start with the presumption that marital property should be split equally between the parties. However, Judges are only required to divide the property in a fair and equitable manner. In some cases, such as alimony, this requires that the property not be divided equally, this allows the court to make determinations based on relative fault. Some of the other factors that may be considered are the duration of the marriage, the age, health, and earning power of the parties, and the contributions of the respective parties to the marital property. The Court is also required to consider pensions, annuities, profit sharing plans, and other retirement plans as part of the marital property.
Alimony
In Michigan, a court may award alimony at the conclusion of a divorce case if the judge determines that support is appropriate in the given circumstances. Michigan courts have the authority to make an award of alimony in appropriate cases. The factors the court applies in determining the question of alimony include:
1. The past relations and conduct of the parties.
2. The length of the marriage.
3. The ability of the parties to work.
4. The source of and amount of property awarded to the parties.
5. The age, health, and needs of the parties.
6. The prior standard of living of the parties and whether either is responsible for the support of others.
Alimony can last for varying lengths of time and as a general rule can be modified or terminated as conditions warrant.
Some courts will also consider an award of rehabilitative alimony. This type of award is usually designed to allow one spouse to obtain schooling or special training so that they can earn more in the job market. This type of alimony is usually limited in its duration.
Joint Custody
Divorcing parties who have minor children are required to appear at a Conciliation Conference at the office of the Friend of the Court. This conference is designed to assist parents in reaching agreement on issues of temporary child custody, parenting time and child support. Often, a Temporary Order will result from this conference.
The court must determine whether an award of joint custody is in the best interest of the child by using factors found in the divorce statue. The first factor actually consists of the 12 factors that make up the Best Interest of the Child Test. The second factor found in the Joint Custody statutory provision is based on the ability of the parents to cooperate.
Custody
The starting point for any discussion regarding child custody in the state of Michigan is the best interest of the child test. Before an award of custody can be made to either party, in a contested action, the judge must examine each factor in the test and make a determination as to whether one parent better fulfills that part of the test.
Child Support
Generally, the issue of the amount of child support is referred to the Friend of the Court. This agency will conduct an investigation and make a recommendation as to the amount of child support. The Friend of the Court utilizes a Child Support Formula incorporated into a computer program and manual. The Friend of the court will take into account many factors in making a recommendation, which are included in the text version as well as software version of the Child Support Manual. A non-custodial parent will generally pay a percentage of their net income after taxes.
There are many adjustments that are taken into consideration which can increase or decrease the amount of child support. Some common ones include incomes from second jobs, income your spouse or former spouse earns and prior support obligations.
Once the Friend of the Court completes its recommendation each party is presented with its recommendation and the matter is referred to the judge assigned to your case. If the parties cannot agree it will be up to your judge to determine the amount of child support. This is done by means of a hearing.
Even if the parties are able to successfully negotiate the issues in their Divorce case Michigan law still requires that one of the parties physically appear before the Court and testify under oath that there has been a breakdown of the marriage relationship. In this hearing it is the judge's responsibility to make sure that the best interests of any children have been met and that both parties agree to the settlement.
