There are 5 primary issues involved in a Michigan divorce where there are minor children: Custody, Parenting Time, Child Support, Spousal Support, and Property Division.
1
Custody
There are two types of custody - Legal and Physical custody. Legal custody has to do with who has the right to participate in making major decisions in the child's life such as selection of doctors, schools, camps, etc. Normally, the court would order joint legal custody unless there is a good reason not to. Physical Custody has more to do with who is the primary care giver. I normally recommend that we first work out an appropriate parenting time schedule, then decide whether that is joint or primary physical custody.
2
Parenting Time
An appropriate parenting time schedule is determined after considering a number of factors, including the best interest of the children, the ability of each of the parents to exercise parenting, and each of the parents work schedules.
3
Child Support
Child support in Michigan is calculated using the Michigan Child Support Formula. Many attorneys use the same computer program as the Friend of the Court. We enter the number of overnights each party exercises, the income of each party, certain expenses such as child care and health insurance, certain deductions such as child support for other children, and the Formula provides the amount.
4
Spousal Support
Spousal Support or Alimony is permitted in Michigan. The Court utilizes certain criteria to determine whether spousal support is appropriate, the amount, and the duration. The criteria includes such factors as the age of the parties, the health of the parties, the length of the marriage, the income of both parties, and which parent(s) provided primary care to the children.
5
Property Division
First, we determine what property is part of the marital estate. Normally, all assets and liabilities accrued during the marriage are part of the marital estate. Second, we determine what does not go into the marital estate such as separate property or property included in a Prenuptial Agreement. Third, we determine the net value of the marital estate. Fourth, we determine the best way to distribute the assets and liability so that each party gets 50% of the net value of the marital estate. In some cases, it may be appropriate to have an unequal distribution of the marital estate.
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