In Michigan a divorce is started by filing a Complaint For Divorce and Summons with the county Circuit Court. The Complaint and Summons together with any other exhibits or documents must be served personally on your spouse.

No. Divorce papers must be served by a process server or a disinterested third party. It is permissible, however, to have your spouse pick up the paperwork from our office if he or she is willing to do so and signs for the documents.

You must file a written response or answer with the Court and your sposes attorney within 21 days. The answer must address each item contained in the Complaint for Divorce individually and specifically. A Proof of service showing you have served the Answer on your spouse attorney must be filed with the court. Failure to file a timely answer puts you in default and substantially impacts your rights.

An uncontested divorce is one in which there are no disputes over property issues, support or child custody. Issues involving property and support, if resolved by the parties, may be set out in a marital settlement agreement which is presented to the court at the time the divorce action is filed. The court will review the agreement and, if reasonable, it will be made part of the divorce decree.

If you continue to do nothing,you will have no right to defend yourself in the case and your spouse's attorney will draft a Judgment of Divorce on his or her terms. Even if you missed the deadline it may be possible for us to set aside the default and be permitted to answer. If this is accomplished, the court will normally require to pay some of your spouses attorney fees associated with the extra work involved.

In some cases one spouse can be required to assist the other spouse in paying his or her reasonable attorney fees. In cases where there is a substantial disparity of income, the court may order the payment of attorney fees. Courts also assess attorney fees if one spouse is required to do extra legal work as a result of the other spouses bad conduct such as refusing to comply with court orders.

If there are no children involved, a divorce may be granted in 60 days. When children are involved, a divorce cannot be granted until six months have passed. It should be stressed that these are minimum statutory times. More often than not, additional time would be required, based on the complexity of the case, the court docket, and various other factors. In cases with minor children, if the parties have an agreement on all aspects of the case, it may be possible to have a judgment entered before the expiration of the full six month waiting period if good reason is shown to the court.

Michigan is a "no-fault" state. The court has the power to terminate the relationship between the parties regardless of who did what to whom. Fault does play a role however, in the court's determination of child custody, property rights and spousal support.

You must live in Michigan for 180 days before you file your complaint for divorce. You must reside in the county in which you file for at least ten days before you file.

Yes. The filing spouse (plaintiff) must show the court he or she has made a 'good faith effort' to locate the missing spouse, and swear under oath and penalty of perjury that they do not know the current whereabouts of the defendant and have made an effort to locate him or her The missing defendant can then be 'served' by publication of a notice in a local newspaper.

Generally, it is a conflict of interest for an attorney to represent both sides of a divorce action - even when the parties appear to agree. An attorney can have only one employer. If a disagreement arises between you and your spouse, the attorney need to know which party he represents.

Michigan is an "equitable distribution" state, generally meaning that all marital property acquired during the marriage is subject to division. The division does not have to be an exact 50-50 split. However, it must be fair to both sides. Property brought into the marriage by one spouse will not be subject to division if it is kept as separate property and not commingled with joint property.

Michigan, like all other states, uses guidelines for determining the amount of child support to be paid. The guideline amount is presumed to arrive at an amount of support that is in the child's best interest. If the parents are unable to agree to an amount of child support, the Friend of the Court will investigate the incomes and expenses of both parties and make a recommendation using the formula dictated in the guidelines.

Yes. When a parent incurs reasonable, provable child care expenses (in order to look for work, retain paid employment or attend school programs to enhance employment opportunities), the Michigan Child Support Guidelines provide for the parents' payment of child care expenses

Child support is payable until a child turns 18 years old or graduates from high school, whichever occurs last. In no event is child support due beyond the age of 19-1/2 years old.

Unless you have agreed to pay these expenses in the judgment of divorce the court cannot order you to pay college tuition or other expenses. Your legal obligation to pay support ends when the minor child attains the age of 18 years or finishes high school.

Yes. The court uses two different formulas depending on the amount of parenting time. The traditional formula is used to calculate full support. However, if the non-custodial parent has parenting time of 128 overnights or more a year, the court will use a "shared economic responsibility" formula. The child support obligation will usually be less when the "shared economic responsibility" formula is used.