It is quite common for a non-married couple to have a child out of wedlock. Yet this situation often raises complex questions when it comes to child custody and Michigan child support. In Michigan, according to the Acknowledgment of Parentage Act, the mother will always be awarded initial custody when the parents are unmarried. According to the Act, this means the mother has the right to remove the child from the home and the right to leave the state.

In a recent Michigan appellate court decision, one party excluded his partnership interest in a family business that was owned and operated by him and several other family members. The wife challenged this exclusion and the court held that the property in question was a pre-inheritance transfer from the husband’s parents to their children and thus should be treated as a regular inheritance. Accordingly, the interest in the family business was separate property and should not be included in the marital estate in a Michigan divorce.

When deciding whether such pre-inheritance property interests are part of the marital estate or not, your Michigan Divorce attorney will look to such points as whether or not:

• There are non-party co-owners
• Development restrictions on the property exists
• Which party is responsible for the breakdown of the marriage

Economic hardships propel change in a variety of ways. The pursuit of a better quality of life will sometimes lead parents to where opportunities are available. But for a divorced couple who share physical and legal custody of a child, a change of residence by the relocating parent might affect the child’s established custodial environment.  Under Michigan Family Law [MCL 722.31(1)] the parental custody is governed by court order and the legal residence of a child cannot be changed, except as otherwise permitted in the statute. The law restricts a parent from relocating to more than 100-miles away from his/her residence recognized under a custody order, as any changes to the rule would affect parenting time and the court ordered custody arrangement. 

A parent wanting to overcome economic hardships but unable to relocate outside of the 100-mile rule find themselves facing a child custody dilemma. Indeed, the impact of custodial arrangement modification could bring enormous changes into the lives of both parents and the child. Yet many remain unforeseen.  With several sensitive and legal matters to weigh-in, your Michigan Family Law Lawyer is able to offer legal insights to anyone confronting this problem.

Internet portals have increasingly offered greater access and liberty to all people. With virtual communities, social networks and public forums, cyberspace is home to massive expressions in different forms:  texts, documents, pictures, sounds, videos, etc. Some will post messages and materials intended to threaten, harass, and intimidate another - particularly in the realm of a pending divorce action. 

For whatever reason some people have for doing this, according to Michigan law, a person shall not post a message on the internet or send emails if the person knows that the conduct causes the victim to suffer emotional distress and to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested. In fact, Michigan Law provides criminal penalties of felony for cyber-harassment and, depending on the age of the victim and aggravating circumstances, it could be either felony or misdemeanor for cyber-stalking. The State encourages victims to exercise their rights including but not limited to the following: notifying the police; getting an anti-stalking restraining order from the circuit court and filing civil lawsuit against the offender.  

If you are facing a pending Michigan divorce action, it is essential that any damaging material on the Internet be kept off the record. Since it can be nearly impossible to have material removed from the Internet, the best way to ensure your family law case is not harmed by this material is to work with your Michigan Family Law Lawyer to bring the necessary criminal action against the offending party.  

During a marriage a couple often accumulate debt – from credit cards to cars and mortgages. When the couple divorces, sometimes the debt is assigned to a particular spouse while other times the debt is considered to be joint, meaning that it is the responsibility of both spouses. So what happens when the ex fails to make their car payments as ordered in the divorce decree? Often times you may be stuck with the bill.

For this reason, your Michigan Family Law Attorney should work out a debt dividing and debt responsibility proposal before your Michigan divorce is finalized. This is important because a Court actually has no authority to modify the terms of a contract between your creditor and you and your spouse. However, they can approve of a debt dividing agreement between you and your spouse. In other words, your Michigan Family Law Attorney will draft a separate debt-contract that outlines what spouse is responsible for what debt.

When drafting a modification of alimony order, the key is to use precise language. In a recent Michigan Alimony case, the court denied a divorce petition that included conditions not included in the original divorce decree. When the party tried to modify the alimony, arguing that the requirement terminated due to the occurrence of various conditions, the court denied the motion on the grounds that the conditions were not specified in the original decree.

Your Michigan Family Law attorney will work with you to draft a divorce decree that precisely outlines all conditions. Working with your Michigan Alimony Lawyer, you will work through a checklist of conditions and terms that must be included in the original decree in order to protect one in the future in case of modifications. In light of this most recent decision, it is imperative that when alimony is an issue, that specific conditions for its termination are listed – including the most obvious conditions like death!

If one parent denies the other parent the chance to establish a parental relationship with the child, can that parent be required to pay child support? For instance, the mother is married to another man and therefore does not seek child support from the biological father. At the same time, she does not allow the biological father to see or have any contact with their child. Then, years later, the mother divorces and turns to the biological husband for child support.

In the Michigan Child Support case Opland v. Kiesgan, the court held that regardless of the lack of relationship and existence of another marriage, the biological father has the obligation to support the child. On the other hand, what this case hints at is the right for a biological father to have a relationship with their child.

If you are in a similar situation to the one cited above, contact your Michigan Family Law Attorney to discuss your rights and obligations.

So you got the child support order in place – the amount is set and the income is there – yet the check just never comes. You’ve tried contacting the other parent, but they are clearly being uncooperative. What do you do?

When a parent fails to pay their Michigan child support payments, they become a non-compliant, non-custodial parent. Not only are they breaking the contractual agreement they have with you, but also committing a criminal offense, usually referred to as being in contempt of court. Once a parent misses numerous payments and their debt runs to a certain amount, legal action can be taken.

The first step is to report the parent your local Child Support Agency, who will take up the enforcement action. This agency has the jurisdiction to collect past payments through garnishment. Next, talk with your Michigan Child Support Lawyer about other options you may have – including a support modification agreement.