What is a Divorce
Divorce is the legal dissolution of a marriage. In order to be able to obtain a divorce, you must meet all of the prerequisites in terms of residency before you can even file for divorce. However, just meeting the requirements to file for divorce is not enough. In order to successfully obtain a divorce in Michigan, you must convince a judge in a family court that your marital relationship has broken down beyond repair and that there is no chance of reconciling.
Some judges will be satisfied with a simple yes or no answer to this question from the parties involved. Others, however, will expect specific facts and evidence. It is important to consult a lawyer to help you prepare to meet this burden.
There is no surefire objective way to tell if you need a divorce. However, there are often signs one can look at, such as refusing to live together, persistent fighting and resentment, etc. You should also recall that marriage is a joint enterprise involving you and your spouse. If there is any problem, it will have to be tackled together. If you believe that either of you would be unwilling or unable to do so, then perhaps a divorce is inevitable? In order to file for divorce in Michigan, you must be a resident of the state for at least 180 days (six months) and a resident of the county where you file for divorce for at least 10 days.
Do I Need to Tell My Spouse About the Divorce?
An important thing to note is that both spouses do not need to participate in the divorce proceedings. While the person filing for divorce has to provide notice to the other spouse, the other party does not have to respond in any way unless they wish to contest some issue of the divorce. The other spouse’s permission is not required, and they cannot simply forbid it. In order for the other spouse to prevent the divorce, they must make their own demonstration to the judge that an irreconcilable breakdown in the marriage has not occurred.
If My Spouse Has Served Me with Divorce Papers, How Should I Respond?
Technically you don’t have to respond at all. Given that Michigan is a no fault divorce state, your spouse can see through their divorce from you without any input from you unless you either challenge the divorce or have children. If you wish to challenge the divorce, then you must file an answer which challenges the assertion that the marital relationship has irrevocably broken down.
The complaint from your spouse also contains your spouse’s initial claims in terms of custody, spousal support, and child support. If you agree with their idea to get divorced, but disagree with these claims, then you must file a counterclaim. If you fail to respond, you run the significant risk that the judge will grant all of your spouse’s requests. However, filing a counterclaim may create complications if you decide not to get divorced later (see the following section for more details).
What is No Fault Divorce?
Michigan is a no-fault divorce state. That means that you do not have to show any wrongdoing on the part of your soon-to-be former spouse. Just the basic requirement is all that you need. However, fault may become relevant if any aspect of the divorce is contested. If there is fault with one of the parties, and the judge decides to consider that fault in the divorce judgment, that party may get a less favorable outcome in terms of division of assets, alimony, or child custody. If the divorce is uncontested (see the section below), you will most likely be unable to use that person’s fault against them.
“Fault” is a legal term that means any form of wrongdoing that would have been necessary in order to get a divorce in the era before the advent of “no-fault” divorce. This generally meant adultery, domestic violence, or things of that nature. The major takeaway is that while these factors might play into your decision to get a divorce, they are no longer necessary conditions in order for you to get your divorce finalized by a Michigan family court.
It should be noted that, unlike many no fault states, Michigan doesn’t even offer fault divorce, nor does it have an official list of recognized fault grounds. This might make it more difficult to leverage “fault grounds” to obtain a more favorable divorce judgement.
Fault Grounds
The judge will never actually refer to them as “fault grounds”. Furthermore, they won’t use many of the grounds that would have netted you a divorce in eras past, such as infertility/impotence. After all, the law and government no longer view child bearing as such a central and indispensable aspect of marriage. The court will only really look at infidelity, abuse, neglect/abandonment, or drug/alcohol abuse. These are factors that truly affect the interpersonal relationship between spouses and are typically the result of a willful decision by the at fault spouse. An example of the judge using these factors might be the judge giving the wife a more generous property settlement because the divorce was brought on by her husband’s cheating. Abuse, neglect, or addiction might be used to show that one of the spouses is an unfit parent, which would play into a custody determination. Abuse that causes physical injuries might become grounds for making the abusive ex -spouse pay for some of that person’s medical expenses. Criminal convictions can be relevant in multiple ways. If a criminal record/imprisonment was the root cause of the divorce, then the judge may attach moral weight to that when deciding on the distribution of property. Given the imprisoned spouse’s incarceration, it is unlikely that the court would assign greater spousal support.
That being said, a criminal conviction is highly relevant when it comes to child custody. A conviction of any kind, especially one that involves incarceration, virtually guarantees that the other parent will receive physical custody and is likely to result in a rather strict parenting time arrangement. In fact, for certain crimes involving sexual abuse or violence towards children; the crime cou ld even result in the outright termination of the defendant’s parental rights. Not every judge will be open to these kinds of arguments, but this is the only part of the divorce process where those factors are permitted to be considered at all in Michigan family court.
Alternatives to Divorce
Annulment is another option for those who do not want a divorce. An annulment invalidates a marriage based on the judge finding that the marriage was void from its inception or is voidable for some reason. Couples who receive an annulment must not continue to cohabitate. For more information on annulment contact our attorneys at Goldman and Associates.
A marriage is void when the couple is too closely related (parent/child, aunt/uncle, siblings, nephews, etc.) or where one of the spouses is still in a previous marriage (aka Bigamy). A void marriage cannot continue to be valid and will be nullified even without a court order. A good rule of thumb for distinguishing a void marriage from a voidable one is that the spouses are categorically incapable (by law) of being validly married no matter how willing they are.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, you will need an attorney to have a successful divorce. For more information on divorces in the State of Michigan, watch the videos below and check out the Goldman and Associates YouTube channel for more videos on everything relating to law in Michigan. Make sure to give our attorneys a call if you have any questions about divorce in Michigan.
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