Family Law Blog

When tensions are high during a divorce or custody battle, it might be best to communicate with your spouse by email.  This avoids angry face-to-face encounters or arguments on the phone, where you have more opportunities to push each other's buttons. Emails permit you to consider the message and take some time to provide a thoughtful response, if you take that opportunity.

Remember, whatever you say to your spouse might be read by a judge one day, who will be making decisions about whether you share in custody of your child, how much child support you may pay, what portion of the property you will receive and whether you will pay or receive spousal support.  Before you hit the "send" button, consider whether this communication really sends a positive message to your spouse and represents the image that you want to present to outsiders.

An inheritance typically starts out as the property of the individual who inherited it.  That seems logical enough.  With married couples, however, an individual inheritance quickly can be transformed from "separate property" (that is, property belonging only to one spouse) into marital property.  Often the transformation of an inheritance from separate property to marital property is a very happy and intentional form of sharing between two people within a marriage.  In other instances though, a spouse who inherited money or property may be very surprised to discover that "their" individual inheritance unintentionally has become shared property.

If you are getting your divorce advice from your friends who have been through a divorce, your minister or priest, or your bartender, you will probably hear one of two "truths".  First, that you need to get the meanest, "baddest" lawyer you can find to take the errant spouse to the cleaners.  Or, alternatively, that hiring a lawyer is a waste of your money and that you can do it yourself.

While these friendly advisors mean well, if you really want to know how much legal help you need or whether adversarial legal process will be required in order to obtain an effective settlement of your divorce or parenting dispute, you are better off going to a reputable family law attorney.

June is when the State Bar of Michigan hosts its annual dual leadership forum for incoming bar leaders and continuing legal education institute at Mackinac Island's historic Grand Hotel1. Having attended the forum about nine times now, it has become a true tradition for me, like pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. This year, I participated on a panel that spoke about law-related education. It was delightful to pass along the testimonials from our local attorneys who participated in our Constitution Day project last year. To the lawyers who returned their surveys about their experience with that project, thank you very much. Your comments have likely inspired bar leaders in other communities to take up the worthy cause of educating our future generation of leaders about their rights and responsibilities as citizens of our community.

Many couples are searching for creative ways to reduce the costs of their divorce cases.  The notion of a "cheap online divorce" has become increasingly popular, as evidenced by its popularity as an Internet search term. Couples are becoming comfortable with the notion that they are capable of handling their own divorce settlements.  The popularity of the idea of "friendly" or "peaceful" divorce is another testament to this trend.  Especially in light of current economic conditions, it only makes sense.  Negotiated divorce settlements save money and, most importantly of all, spare couples and their children from suffering through the distress of a litigated court battle.  

If you are going through a divorce or child custody action and child protective services “CPS” becomes involved, there are several things you should know and do. First, let your divorce lawyer know that CPS has become involved. Ask your lawyer to be present for any interviews you may be asked to have with CPS and ask your lawyer to help you fill out any forms they may request to insure that CPS is getting accurate, complete and relevant information about you and your children.

The caseworker assigned to the job may interview your children. There is an interview protocol that they should follow. Make sure your lawyer knows about the protocol, which is posted on the Department of Human Services website. A poorly conducted interview of the children can do a great deal of damage in your custody proceeding. Both parents may also be interviewed, as well as collateral sources. Home visits may also take place.

Because mediation and collaborative practice typically are far more affordable processes for handling divorce, they often are mistaken for "budget" options.   Yes:  almost always mediation and collaborative will save money for a divorcing couple.   But cost is only one side-benefit of handling your divorce using out-of-court options.

Protecting yourself, your family and your assets in a careful, thoughtful manner is the most important reason for selecting mediation or collaborative divorce.  The wish to "do the right thing" while going through a divorce is not just about pinching pennies.  Increasingly, celebrities - for whom cost is probably not much of an object - are choosing to protect themselves and their relationships using out-of-court divorce options.

We have all learned from the recent economic downturn that someone’s financial position can change in a heartbeat.  This knowledge has added serious stress to our lives.  In some cases, we appreciate our family and the support they can provide more.  In other cases, the family cannot continue in its current configuration and couples divorce.

When a husband or wife is considering divorce, it is important for them to decide early whether they want to spend their family resources battling with their spouse or whether they wish to conserve the resources to find comprehensive problem resolution that will serve their family well now and in the future. 

Many parents worry about the negative impact their divorce will have on their children.  This is a valid concern since children can get lost in the conflict between their parents.

Considerable research that includes longitudinal studies of divorced families has shown that the single best determinant of how well children whose parents divorced will do is the level of conflict between the parents.  Parents who can set aside their personal differences and work for the benefit of their children will raise health, well-adjusted young adults.  Parents who continue to fight will probably rear troubled children.