Family Law

 

Serving Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, and Chicago, IL

 

Divorce

 

In Michigan there are three types of legal separation.

1. 1. Annulment

2. Separate Maintenance

3. Divorce

The most common type of legal separation for married couples is Divorce. In a divorce action, the married couple severs the marriage contract and allows the parties to maintain their own household and legally remarry.

Annulment is legal separation that renders the marriage invalid. Annulments are rarely granted by the courts. The moving party must show the court the marriage never existed. Grounds for annulment include but are not limited to: mental incapacitation, bigamy, nonage, fraudulent inducement of consent, and concealment of drug addiction or sexually transmitted disease.

 

Child Custody & Modifications

When advising our clients on child custody it is important the client understands family law terms.

 

SOLE CUSTODY: There is no legal definition for sole custody. Sole custody occurs when primary physical custody and legal custody are given to one parent.

Physical custody is when a parent provides most of the day to day care for the child.

Legal custody is when a parent has the responsibility of making all major decisions regarding the child’s upbringing (such as medical treatment, school enrollment, religious instruction, and participation in extracurricular activities).

JOINT CUSTODY: At the request of either parent, the court must consider ordering joint custody. If the parents agree on joint custody, the court must order it unless the court determines that joint custody is not in the best interests of the child.

Show Cause Proceedings

The Michigan Friend of court defines show case proceedings as the following. A Michigan court will hold a show-cause hearing when the local friend of the court office (the FOC) informs the court that a parent may have violated that court’s order regarding child custody, family support payments, or parenting time. In response to the information that the FOC has provided to the court, the judge usually will order the parent to appear in court to show cause why the court shouldn’t hold the parent in contempt of court for violation of the court’s order.

 

Paternity Suit

Please see the Michigan Department of Human Services Website

Establishing paternity by including the father on the birth certificate gives a child born outside of marriage the same legal rights as a child born to married parents.

Children with legal fathers are entitled to benefits through their fathers. These include

Social Security benefits, veteran's benefits, and inheritance rights. Children may also benefit by knowing the family's biological, cultural, and medical history.

When a married couple has a child, the law automatically recognizes the husband as the child's legal father so paternity does not need to be determined.

When an unmarried woman has a child, an official act is needed to establish the legal father of the child. This is called the establishment of paternity.

Child support offices may assist either parent in establishing paternity for a child who does not have a legal father. Paternity must be established before the court can order child support.

Paternity can be established in the following ways:

• If a child is born to an unmarried mother, she and the alleged father can sign an affidavit  to legally establish the father's legal rights (sometimes referred to as paternity acknowledgment), or
• The mother and the alleged father can ask the court to determine the legal father of the child. The prosecuting attorney's office in each county is responsible for filing and prosecuting actions to establish paternity.

 

Sometimes a parent may want proof that the man is the biological father of the child before he is named the legal father. In that case, either parent may request genetic testing. This testing will show either:

the man is not the biological father of the child, or

• a greater than 99% likelihood that the man is the father of the child.

 

Mediation & Arbitration

Mediation: n. the attempt to settle a legal dispute through active participation of a third party (mediator) who works to find points of agreement and make those in conflict agree on a fair result. Mediation differs from arbitration, in which the third party (arbitrator) acts much like a judge in an out-of-court, less formal setting but does not actively participate in the discussion. Mediation has become very common in trying to resolve domestic relations disputes (divorce, child custody, visitation) and is often ordered by the judge in such cases. Mediation also has become more frequent in contract and civil damage cases. There are professional mediators or lawyers who do some mediation for substantial fees, but the financial cost is less than fighting the matter out in court and may achieve early settlement and an end to anxiety. However, mediation does not always result in a settlement. Arbitration n. which may be for a lawsuit ready to go to trial, held in an attempt to avoid a court trial and conducted by a person or a panel of people who are not judges. The arbitration may be agreed to by the parties, may be required by a provision in a contract for settling disputes, or may be provided for under statute. To avoid clogged court calendars the parties often agree to have the matter determined by a panel such as one provided by the American Arbitration Association (which has a specific set of rules), a retired judge, some other respected lawyer, or some organization that provides these services. Usually contract-required arbitration may be converted into a legal judgment on petition to the court, unless some party has protested that there has been a gross injustice, collusion or fraud. Many states provide for mandatory arbitration of cases on a non-binding basis in the hope that these "mini-trials" (proceedings) conducted by experienced attorneys will give the parties a clearer picture of the probable result and lead to acceptance of the arbitrator's decision.

 

 

 

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