On December 20, 2024, the Michigan Court of Appeals issued its opinion in the case of Julie Weber vs. Lucas Weber. Julie and Lucas married in 2012 and lived with their two minor children on a 20-acre farm where they grew crops and raised cattle. However, things on the farm became unsettled. The parties separated in May 2021 and Julie filed for divorce in April. The trial court awarded Julie a larger portion of the marital estate because of Lucas’s conduct. In this blog, we examine why? Fault and the division of property in divorce.
Lucas argued that the trial court made an error in part by imposing in analyizing fault and the division of property. A trial court may consider the following factors when distributing the marital estate.
Factor 8 – fault
(1) the duration of the marriage, (2) the contributions of the parties to the marital
estate, (3) the age of the parties, (4) the health of the parties, (5) the life situation of
the parties, (6) the necessities and circumstances of the parties, (7) the parties’
earning abilities, (8) the parties’ past relations and conduct, and (9) general
principles of equity. Sparks vs. Sparks
The law: Fault and the divison of property.
Factor (8) of the Sparks factors examines: “the past relations and conduct” of the parties (fault) when deciding how property is to be divided. The key cases on point are as follows:
[F]ault is clearly a proper factor to consider in the division of marital property. Source: Washington v Washington.
In determining fault as one of the factors to be considered when fashioning property settlements, courts are to examine the conduct of the parties during the marriage.” Source: Welling v Welling
The question . . . is whether one of the parties to the marriage is more at fault, in the sense that one of the parties’ conduct presented more of a reason for the breakdown of the marital relationship than did the conduct of the other.” Id. The trial court cannot place excessive weight on the factor offault. Source: McDougal v McDougal
As for Julie and Lucas, the trial court determined that the evidence, along with the testimony of the parties persuaded the court that Lucas was at fault for the breakdown of the marriage and the Court of Appeals agreed with the reasoning for giving Julie the majority of the marital estate.
By: Daniel Findling (c) 2025
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