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.

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.

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 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.  

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.

Your budget and lifestyle may look much different after you divorce your Michigan spouse, but your divorce gives you an opportunity to assess your financial situation and take steps to improve it. While making smart money moves is important, so, too, is avoiding common financial errors that many people in your shoes make.

Business Insider recommends that you avoid making the following money mistakes when working through your divorce.

Deciding to get a divorce is just the first step in a long process. You want to sit down and figure out how to approach everything else moving forward. But the first thing you should do is figure out how to break the news to your child.

Is there a right way to do it? A way that mitigates the most damage? Or do you just have to test the waters as you go?

Recently, you learned the court awarded you and your soon-to-be-ex-spouse joint custody of your shared child. How do you make this arrangement work to everyone’s benefit? 

Parents magazine offers rules for making the most of joint child custody. Get insight on improving your child’s life and your relationship. 

If you are behind on child support or spousal support, you might have received warnings that garnishment action could follow. Maybe you even wondered if you could volunteer for wage garnishments to reduce the likelihood of falling behind on payments. Whatever the reason, garnishments may lead to big deductions from your income.

When you and your ex come to an agreement, the amount might add up to a much smaller figure than when courts intervene without your cooperation. However, this depends on whether the court believes your proposal seems fair.

Now more than ever, fathers’ rights are a crucial aspect of marital relations and family dynamics. Society continues to change and progress. Through that, more people acknowledge the importance of having two active parents in a relationship.

Unfortunately, courts often still favor the mother over the father. But fathers’ rights are undeniably important, and a father’s place in a family is as crucial as a mother’s.

Bias in the courts

The Fathers’ Rights Movement discusses how crucial fathers’ rights are in current day society. It is also important to look at the type of harassment and discrimination that fathers face. Until the 1970s, custody battles rarely ever happened. From that point on, society established that both parents could hold financial responsibility. Fathers were also established as real parents during the emergence of custody battles.

But to this day, a bias for mothers and against fathers exists in the court system. Outdated ideology insists that mothers hold a more essential role in the life of the child. These ideals stereotype women as the caretakers and providers for the children. They prioritize the mother due to childbirth rights. Mothers do not have to face the uncertainty and stigma of unproven paternity, either.

A father’s role

But women are as capable of abuse, neglect and carelessness as men. Mothers can abuse children just as fathers can. It is unfair to fathers everywhere to automatically side with women due to their status as mothers.

Not only that, but studies often show that two-parent households raise more stable and happier children. These children experience greater financial stability and more emotional support. They often enjoy a smoother transition into adulthood.

For the sake of children, fathers’ rights must have protection. This is especially true in court, where fathers everywhere still have hurdles to overcome.

Every year, married couples across the state of Michigan decide to bring their marriage to an end. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that over the course of 2018, more than 782,000 couples got divorced, and this only includes data from 45 states and D.C. There are many factors to take into consideration with respect to the divorce process, but spouses need to focus on properly filing all documents.

In the digital era, many people take advantage of the convenience and efficiency associated with filing paperwork online. However, parties must review and file these documents with care.

Helpful tips and options if you and your ex have disagreements bout parenting time during the holidays.

Interview by Megan Sarnacki, Grand Rapids Magazine, January 1, 2020

When you are a parent, the decision is far more difficult because you know that it will impact those that you love the most — your children.