Welcome to Goldman & Associates Law Firm

Hiring an attorney, whether in the Detroit area or elsewhere in Michigan, is not absolutely necessary. However, due to the complicated nature of Michigan law and court system, it is often difficult for separating couples without legal experience or training in law to navigate the separation process without some degree of legal assistance.

Even for an uncontested divorce, it is advisable to retain a trial attorney for basic representation and assistance with legal documents, such as divorce forms, temporary orders, findings of fact and conclusions of law, and final decrees. Practicing law without an attorney, which is what you’re doing if you do your own divorce, poses a lot of potential pitfalls.

The general rule for asset and debt division in divorce is a 50-50 split. Michigan is an equal distribution of the marital assets and debts state, so marital property and assets, along with debts, are not automatically divided 50-50 between spouses who are ending their marriage in the state of Michigan. If one spouse can prove during the court proceedings that a 50-50 split would be highly unfair, the court can divide assets and debts differently.

When it comes to spousal support, incomes are not divided equally. The calculation to determine alimony is complicated and very fact dependent, and you should meet with an attorney to discuss what you may pay to, or receive from, your ex spouse.

Michigan is a no-fault state. No-fault means neither party needs to be responsible for misconduct that caused the breakdown of the marriage.

The most common grounds for divorce cited in Michigan a divorce petition are:

• Irreconcilable differences
• Domestic violence
• Adultery/infidelity
• Abandonment

• The parent likely to receive the most custody and parent-time with children is the one who has been the minor children’s primary caregiver. The primary caregiver is the one who spends the most time with the children, takes the children to medical appointments, attends teacher-parent conferences, puts the children to bed, drives them to school, takes them to extracurricular activities, etc.
• The bottom line is this: the more involved you are in your kids’ lives, the more likely you are to receive joint custody, whether you have a contested or uncontested divorce.
• Now, there are other factors, besides who is the primary parent, that sway a judge in determining custody when it comes time to sign a final decree. For example:
  • How bonded you are to your kids.
  • Your mental and physical capability to provide care for your kids.
  • Your history of drug or alcohol abuse.
  • How stable your living situation is.
  • Whether you can maintain a steady job and pay child support.
  • How much you encourage your kids to have a good relationship with your ex.

• Joint Legal Custody: Legal custody refers to who gets to make big decisions for a couple’s children. Big decisions like religion, medical decisions, money, education, extracurriculars. Joint custody means exes, whether separated or part of paternity actions, need to work together and come to an agreement on these big decisions.
• Sole Legal Custody: Legal custody refers to who gets to make big decisions for a couple’s children. Big decisions like religion, medical decisions, money, education, extracurriculars. Sole legal custody means one parent has been court ordered the authority to make decisions about children without any obligation to talk to the other parent.
• Joint Physical Custody: Physical custody refers to where a child spends time, specifically where a child sleeps. Joint physical custody means each parent has a child at least 30% of the overnights in a year. 50/50 custody arrangements are joint physical custody. When joint physical custody is ordered in the final decree, it’s very difficult for one parent to move out of Michigan and take a child with them.
• Primary Physical Custody: Physical custody refers to where a child spends time, specifically where a child sleeps. Primary physical custody means a child spends less than 30% of overnights with one parent. For example, if a child stays overnight with one parent only 100 times per year, then the other parent has primary physical custody. When parents live far apart, or if one parent lives out of state, then one parent will almost always be awarded primary physical custody.
• Split Custody: Split custody refers to when parents have more than one child, and one parent has primary physical custody of one of the children, and the other parent has primary physical custody of the other child.

There is no “most common” child custody arrangement. Custody and visitation depend on the facts of particular circumstances. Some factors that can affect custody and parent time are:

• Who is the primary parent? In other words: who has taken care of the child the most? The primary parent will often have more time with the children after the finalization of custody.
• Has there been domestic violence against a spouse/parent or child? The perpetrator of domestic violence will very often end up with far less custody and enjoy fewer parental rights.
• Does a parent’s work schedule allow that parent to be with the kids? If a parent has a crazy work schedule (e.g. overnights, lots of extended travel), that might make it almost impossible to spend much time with the kids.
• Has a parent gone through the adoption process? If someone has not legally adopted a child, that parent very likely has no legal right to custody or parent time.
• Has a parent refused to pay child support? If a parent refuses to pay child support, then it’s really difficult for that parent to successfully argue for much parent time.
• Is one parent addicted to drugs or alcohol? If one parent is addicted to drugs or alcohol or has a serious history of drug or alcohol addiction, then that parent may pose a significant safety risk to the child.
• How close do the parents live? The farther away parents live from each other, the less evenly they can share time with their kids.