Common Misconceptions in Michigan Divorce Law, Part I
Gucciardo Family Law’s attorneys deal with the details of divorce law on a near-daily basis, and we’ve heard so many urban legends about how divorce law works in our state that they don’t surprise us anymore. But we thought we should do our part to put some of these myths to rest — so here’s a few of the most commonplace misconceptions about Michigan divorce law that come up around our office.
There’s No Alimony In Michigan
Michigan law absolutely supports alimony payments, as do hundreds of case-law precedents. In fact, Michigan law prevents a judge from entirely excluding alimony unless both parties sign a written agreement that states that they don’t want alimony to be part of their divorce. Without that agreement, a judge must by law make a determination about reasonable alimony based on factors like
- How long the marriage lasted,
- Existing regular payments between the two (mostly in the form of child support payments),
- The circumstances of each ex-, including age, income, and education,
- The way in which the martial assets are being split by the divorce agreement, and
- The well-being of any children involved in the divorce proceeding.
Michigan’s No-Fault Rule Means Misconduct Doesn’t Matter
Not at all — misconduct during a marriage is always relevant during a divorce proceeding. The only thing that “no-fault” means in the legal sense is that either party can request a divorce proceeding without proving ‘grounds for divorce.’ In some states, you can only get a divorce if you can prove that your spouse was cheating, harming you, or otherwise creating an environment that you couldn’t reasonably continue living in. In Michigan, we prefer to believe that a marriage should make both participants happy — and if you don’t see that happening, we’ll allow you to file for divorce. ‘Misconduct,’ which includes things like adultery, addiction, cruel treatment, and deliberately creating an economically untenable situation, will always be taken into account during property division and custody determinations.
I Don’t Get Alimony/Retirement Sharing Because We Haven’t Been Married Long Enough
This common misunderstanding is based on the 10-year requirement for sharing Social Security payouts and some forms of pension. This doesn’t apply whatsoever to alimony, which is determined by a judge as mentioned above — or to retirement accounts, which are divided exactly like any other martial asset, even if you’ve only been married for two weeks. (Seriously, get an annulment instead.) If you have a retirement account you need to defend, talk to us — there are strategies to do so.
That’s enough for today — come back later this week for 3 more!
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