With a population of 21,000 people, Marquette Michigan may be considered a small town, however for the parties in Lessard v. Londo, Michigan Court of Appeals Docket No. 336156, the small town was home to a big problem involving the best interest of the child, age 16 months. Mr. Lessard met Ms. Londo on the[…]
This morning, I read an interesting article in The Detroit News advocating for a new custody law to promote a shared custody arrangement, which is often referred to as joint custody. House Bill 4691, which was recently introduced by Rep. Jim Runestad, would joint custody and substantially equal parenting time as a starting point for[…]
The 2017 Michigan Child Support Formula Manual (“MCSFM”) The new Michigan Child Support Formula Manual has arrived. The last time the Michigan Child Support Formula Manual was updated was 2013. The major changes to the 2017 Michigan Child Support Formula Manual are set forth on pages “i” and “ii” and are restated below. You can[…]
On of the most prolific family law topics relates to child custody and in this article, we will cover more Michigan Child Custody Laws than anyone. Everything from the basics, to the complex. In this post we will review everything we have published on the topic of Michigan Child Custody Laws. Michigan child custody resource[…]
When Circumstances Change I was recently approached by the editors of the Michigan Family Law Journal to write a monthly coulmn on Michigan Divorce and Family Law. The Michigan Family Law Journal is a publication of the State Bar of Michigan Family Law Section and serves as “Family Law Council’s forum to share ideas; review, evaluate,[…]
On topic that seems to come up more than any is the notion of physical custody. Unlike legal custody, which awards a parent with access to the educational, medical, religious and other pertinent records of the child. Physical custody in Michigan is not easily defined. In fact, the Michigan Child Custody Statute MCL 722.26a does not[…]
The Brady Bunch got it right when they sang the once well-known verse of their hit single: “When it’s time to change, you’ve got to rearrange.” However, in custody cases, change does not always come easy. In fact, Michigan custody modification law makes it difficult to “rearrange” custody if the change is really big. By[…]
The artist, the engineer and the emotional divorce. When I was in law school, a comment by my Constitutional law professor, Robert Sedler, remains imprinted in my mind. Professor Sedler commented something along the lines of: “the problems with stereotypes is that they are usually true.” When I first heard this, I disregarded it as[…]
The Christmas (Hanukkah, Kwannzaa . . .) holidays give plenty of reasons to be stressed out. Add a holiday visitation dispute to the season and the stress level can reach epic proportions. Holiday visitation in Michigan is governed by Michigan Compiled Laws section 722.27a which provides that visitation shall be granted in accordance with the[…]
The 2017 Michigan Child Support Formula Manual (“MCSFM”) The last time the Michigan Child Support Formula Manual was updated was 2013. The major changes to the 2017 Michigan Child Support Formula Manual are set forth on pages “i” and “ii” and are restated below. The phrase “Extraordinary medical” was changed to “additional medical” and “third[…]
When I got married, my wife had a cat. I love my wife but I don’t like cats. Now we have a dog and ironically, the dog has bonded with my wife. For many, issues relating to a dog and divorce (note – when I say dog, the same rules also apply to cats, horses, ferrets,[…]
Lawyers in Oakland County fondly refer to Wednesday as cattle call day because Wednesday is miscellaneous motion call. A motion requests a judge to make a decision on an issue and one of the issues argued last Wednesday was if a divorce court can require a parent to take a child to church? My opposing[…]
There is confusion among clients and even some lawyers of the role fault plays in a divorce. Which beg’s the question: Does it matter if the divorce is your fault? The answer to the question is it may. Michigan No-fault divorce It is important to understand what no-fault divorce actually is. No-fault divorce is the[…]
The end of child support in Michigan Everything comes to an end, including the obligation to pay child support. Which begs the question, when is the end of child support in Michigan? The answer to the question is found in two Michigan laws, the Child Custody Act of 1970 and the Michigan Support and Parenting[…]
The Rape Survivor Custody Act protects woman who become impregnated by a rapist. Governor Snyder singed the Rape Survivor Custody Act set forth in Michigan Senate bill 858 and Michigan House bill 4481 were reconciled and signed into law by Governor Snyder on May 3, 2016. Widely lauded by conservative right to life groups who[…]
The Oakland County divorce court is changing. Mandatory retirement, judicial appointments and elections in November will result in even more changes at Oakland County divorce court. The Oakland County divorce court is made up of Judges from both circuit court and probate court. These judges specialize in hearing family law cases such as divorce, custody,[…]
Can you sue a Judge in Michigan? Let’s face it, sometimes Judges get things wrong. When they do, one option is to take an appeal, but can you sue a Judge in Michigan? The Michigan Court of Appeals is an intermediate higher court and can overturn a lower court’s decision when it makes an error[…]
Michigan child custody law – the statutes. In this article we examine the most commonly cited statutes relating to Michigan child custody law. Sources of Michigan child custody law Michigan child custody law comes from four sources, statutes, precedent, court rules and English common law. When the legislature passes a Michigan child custody law, the[…]
Custody in Michigan – Child abduction law in Michigan Child abduction by a parent is a felony Michigan which means it is punishable by more than 1 year in prison. The Michigan Penal Code Act 328 of 1931 can be found in MCL 750.350a and is commonly known as the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act. […]
Collaborative divorce in Michigan Collaborative divorce is a process by which the parties try to reach a fair result while minimizing conflict. When practicing collaborative divorce, our Michigan collaborative divorce lawyers pledge to work on negotiating an acceptable agreement with professional help. Collaborative divorce is not for everyone. […]
Sometimes things do not go as planned. Parents typically celebrate after a child is born. Unfortunately, many relationships end, and if parents cannot agree on custody or parenting time of a child, the Michigan divorce or custody court will decide how custody is awarded and parenting time is spent. When a court makes the wrong[…]
Best interest of the child factor (i) – “I want to live with . . .” Best interest of the child factor (i) examines if it is ever appropriate for a child to decide who to live with? Frankly, the short answer is no. A child is not a parent. A child is a child and[…]
Ever wonder how a court enforce’s its orders? One answer is a show cause hearing. A show cause hearing asks the question: “Why shouldn’t the court hold you in contempt of court for violation of the court’s order?” At a show cause hearing, the burden is placed on the person suspected of violating a[…]
What happened to physical custody in Michigan? When I began practicing divorce law almost 20 years ago the phrase “physical custody” in Michigan had specific meaning. The phrase physical custody in Michigan identified which parent a child spent the majority of the time. The other parent had “parenting time’. Things have changed. Now almost 20[…]
Custody in Michigan – Best interest of the child factor (h) One of the twelve child custody factors set forth in the Child Custody Act is best interest of the child factor (h). Best interest of the child factor (h) addresses the home school and community record of the child. Not every child is the perfect[…]