Blog

When you decide something is “yours” — or “ours,” if you’re happily married — a funny thing happens. Whether consciously or not, you start to treat that object as though it is worth more than an identical object that doesn’t belong to you. Psychologists call this the endowment effect, and they’ve proved in it dozens if not hundreds of studies. ...

Child custody battles are among the most emotionally fraught parts of any parent’s life, much less “just” the divorce process. But like every court case, there’s more people involved than just you, and in many cases, the other spouse is just as emotionally invested if not moreso than you are — and the child may be anywhere on the spectrum ...

Can a rapist get himself named as the legal father of your child? Not anymore. Up until about a year ago, however, they totally could. The law didn’t explicitly allow someone who had committed rape (or any other sexual assault that resulted in conception) to pursue the status of legal father — but didn’t stop them until after they had ...

These days, it’s not entirely unusual for couples to have children out of wedlock. In some cases, this occurs due to unexpected pregnancy, while in others, the parents make a choice to live together and raise a family without getting married. The problem is that this type of arrangement can muddy the waters of child custody, so that if parents ...

When children are minors, which is to say, under the age of 18, parents are responsible for their care, and this means providing for material needs such as food, clothing, medical care, and so on. Just because parents get a divorce doesn’t mean they aren’t both still legally obligated to financially provide for these basic needs. Following divorce proceedings, many ...

Many factors come into play when a court is determining child custody in Michigan, and this is only right since it’s a weighty decision with life-altering consequences for the child. If you are a parent attempting to gain sole or joint custody of a child or children, here’s what you should expect a court to consider before making a determination. ...

When you go through a divorce, a child custody case, or a property settlement situation, you can come out of the experience feeling a little beat up. You might just be glad the whole thing is over, even if the results are not what you hoped for. However, you should know that lower court decisions in Michigan may be subject ...

Marriage is a promise of exclusivity, wherein two people vow to honor and cherish each other for the rest of their lives. Most marriage ceremonies imply or explicitly state that this pact is made at the exclusion of all others. In other words, spouses promise to be faithful to one another. This is why infidelity is so harmful to a ...

It’s important to plan for the future, whether you want to save for your eventual retirement, you’re protecting personal assets against business debts, or you want to make sure your loved ones are cared for in the event of your untimely demise. Estate planning with wills, trusts, investments, and so on is just one way to reach your future goals. ...

Once a marriage is dissolved through divorce proceedings and property has been divided, you might think the process is done and you can wash your hands of your ex-spouse. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. If you have children, for example, custody and child support will still have to be determined. Whether you have kids or not, alimony, or ...