In Michigan, divorces involving children have a mandate six month waiting period before a Judgment can be entered.  The time is measured from the date of filing, not when the opposing party answers.

Fall is here and the holidays will be upon us—Halloween and Christmas being my personal favorites.

Navigating co-parenting agreements, your ex, your children, and competing schedules can make even the most level headed person see red.

One’s divorce in Michigan should certainly force them to review a number of different aspects of their life. Yet in all of the emotion that accompanies the dissolution of a marriage, one’s estate plans may be the furthest thing from their minds.

It is not unusual to have a troubled relationship with an ex-spouse following a divorce. Still, you want to cooperate as best you can with your co-parent to raise your children going forward. Unfortunately, sometimes one parent may feel such anger towards the other that the agitated parent alienates the child from the other parent.

Not every Michigan divorce has to drain your bank account. If you and your ex are both willing, you may be able to work together one last time to end your marriage. If you are able to do so, you may also be able to save considerable money because of your willingness to cooperate.

Per U.S. News and World Report, you may be able to save more for your post-divorce life by opting for something called collaborative divorce. How does collaborative divorce work, and how does it have the potential to save you quite a bit of money?

As of June 26, 2015, Michigan’s laws have recognized same-sex marriages. Some couples, however, may have begun their relationships before the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court ruling. If two individuals obtained assets together before their marriage, however, a divorce may affect their rights to property division.

As noted by Deeds.com, two unmarried individuals, for example, may purchase real estate together as tenants in common or as joint tenants with the right of survivorship. Couples who obtain property as tenants in common may agree on one individual owning a larger percentage than the other individual.

When you have a child with someone in Michigan and your relationship ends, you need to figure out who maintains what responsibilities when it comes to your shared child moving forward. If both you and your child’s other parent wish to have an active role in the child’s life, you may need Michigan’s family court system to come up with a custody arrangement for your family.

Per the Michigan Legislature, family courts in the state refer to a specific set of factors when making decisions about child custody. You may wonder if your child’s own preferences make the cut. Ultimately, whether your child’s opinions about where to live carry much weight is going to depend on several variables.

If you are a divorced parent, you know that life changes quickly. Your original child support agreement may have worked well in the beginning. However, your child’s needs, and your own ability to meet them, are likely to change as they grow and you continue to navigate life’s daily challenges.

Whether you find yourself unable to make monthly payments or the payments you receive are no longer enough, you may be able to modify your support order by petitioning the court.

You have probably heard one or more horror stories about going through a divorce. Now that you see that your marriage is coming to an end, you fear that you will head for an acrimonious divorce of your own. But it does not have to be this way, especially if you and your spouse do not feel negatively towards each other.

There are alternatives to hashing out your divorce in court. You and your spouse may work things out in mediation. This method may benefit you not only because it is often less expensive than a court battle, but it may help you and your spouse avoid anger and stress that you do not currently feel.

A collaborative marriage dissolution typically begins with two spouses agreeing to negotiate a settlement on their own with the aid of their attorneys. As noted by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, by conducting the negotiation process out of court, divorcing couples may keep their personal and financial matters private.

A traditional divorce generally requires disclosing income and assets to the court. Rather than share those details in a courtroom setting, soon-to-be ex-spouses may maintain their privacy. Issues contributing to a breakup, for example, may stay out of the court’s database and not become part of a public record.

If you are working through the process of getting a divorce and you have kids, it is vital to think about custody and support. Whether you seek full custody or intend to share custody with your ex, child custody arrangements could have a significant impact on your child’s life and your relationship with them. Moreover, a child support order could affect your finances and various aspects of your life. It is vital to prepare for these family law issues carefully.

Reviewing statistics on custody and child support helps provide parents with a better understanding of these topics. Moreover, you should realize that you are not alone and that many families find themselves in this position.

There are many reasons that a marriage might end, and not all of them end with the divorced couple hating each other. In fact, if you have children with your ex-spouse, being on good terms is beneficial for joint custody. 

If you and your spouse are able to maintain a positive working relationship, “nesting” might be a good post-divorce living situation for your family. According to Psychology Today, nesting involves maintaining a family house while the parents move in and out of the house according to the custody schedule.  

Estate planning looks different for each individual and may be straightforward or sophisticated, depending on the size of your estate and the complexity of your final wishes. 

In the absence of an estate plan, your family may become responsible for decisions they should not have to make. It is better to make your wishes known. 

If you recently went through a divorce and suspect that your former partner makes false statements about you towards your children, you could be a victim of parental alienation. 

According to Healthline, parental alienation occurs when one parent uses strategies to create a distance between you and your children. 

Many of those going into divorce proceedings in Michigan may believe themselves completely prepared for what lies ahead of them. Yet most express surprise to learn that certain assets (often assumed to be individual properties) are actually marital property.

Among these are 401(k) accounts. Contributions made to a 401(k) during a marriage come from marital income. This makes them marital assets (and thus subject to equitable division). Upon learning this, most of those dealing with it then want to know how the court divides such an asset during a divorce case.

When you father a child with someone in Michigan and the two of you are not in a marriage, you need to establish paternity if you want the same rights over your child that a married father would have. While establishing paternity may benefit you, the child’s father, it also leads to certain advantages for your son or daughter.

Per the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, establishing paternity helps give your son or daughter a stronger sense of identity. It also leads to many other benefits.

Because it has only been a few years since same-sex marriages became legal throughout the United States, those who are ending long-term relationships and who have children face issues that heterosexual couples do not.

A man can establish paternity regardless of marriage or be the presumed father if he is married when the child is born. A nonbiological mother does not have these options.

When you have a parent or other loved one who becomes incapacitated, you may consider stepping in as a matter of keeping this person safe and protected. If the person who becomes incapacitated does not have a power of attorney or a designation of a patient advocate in place, you may think about trying to establish a guardianship.  

A guardian oversees the needs of an incapacitated adult. Because guardianships take some rights away from individuals who lack capacity, you want to make sure the guardianship is necessary before moving forward with requesting one.  

If parents are not married in Michigan, the mother automatically has custody of her child. The father may have to fight to remain a part of their child’s life, and proving paternity is necessary.

According to Psychology Today, children benefit in several ways from the presence of a father or father figure in their lives, whether he lives with them or not.

As parents going through a divorce, you have more to worry about than a childless couple. After all, your top priorities will likely revolve around ways to make this event as trauma-free as possible for them.

But is there any way to do that? Can you actually make divorce easier for your child to handle? And if so, how?