Michigan has enacted a no fault divorce law, pursuant to which residents of Michigan can obtain a divorce without establishing that the other party did something wrong. A trial court can grant a divorce if it finds that "There has been a breakdown in the marriage relationship to the extent that the objects of matrimony have been destroyed and there remains no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved."

To file for divorce in Michigan, the plaintiff must have been a resident of Michigan for at least 180 days, and must have resided in the county where the divorce complaint was filed for at least ten days prior to filing.

If the other spouse resides in another state, the Michigan court will be able to grant a valid divorce, but may be limited in its ability to divide property or determine custody and child support. However, it is possible for a spouse who lives in another state to consent to having all divorce-related issues decided by the Michigan court.

Under normal circumstances, a trial court in Michigan must observe a sixty day "cooling off" period before granting a divorce. While it is possible for a trial court to find circumstances which justify waiving this period, in most cases the full waiting period will be observed. The waiting period is longer in cases involving child custody.

The first consideration for a court in evaluating the division of the marital estate is the determination of which portions of the estate constitute the parties' separate property, and which is part of the marital estate. By way of example, inheritances are usually considered to be the separate property of the spouse who received the inheritance. Similarly, a business or asset owned prior to the marriage may be considered to be a separate asset, depending upon how it was treated during the marriage. At times, an item of property might be deemed to be "separate property", while the appreciation or interest earned by the asset is considered to be a marital asset. At other times, a parties separate property at the onset of the marriage may be deemed to have merged into the marital estate. Also, a trial court may invade one spouse's separate property when necessary to provide for the adequate post-divorce support of the other spouse.

Yes. In Michigan both parents are responsible for the support of their children and the court will likely order a payment except in the unusual circumstance where both parents have exactly the same income and spend the same amount of time with the children.

Michigan has a Child Support Guideline which considers both parent's incomes, the number of children involved, and how much time each parent spends with the children. It also takes into account various custodial arrangements, such as split custody, and shared economic responsibility.

Yes. Provided the court agrees to it and states what child support should be and the reason for the variance from the support guideline.

Michigan has a Child Support Guideline that is periodically updated which takes into account the total available income of each parent. Child support is calculated based on the income of both parents and the number of children.

Child support generally is paid until the child turns age 18. If a child has not yet finished high school, support will be ordered up to age 19 1/2, provided that the child is enrolled in high school on a full time basis, and has a reasonable expectation of graduating. It stops at graduation past age 18.

An award of spousal support is ordinarily made within the context of the division of the parties' property and assets. Under appropriate circumstances, a trial court may provide for temporary spousal support while a divorce case is pending, or may order support to be paid retroactive to the date the complaint for divorce was filed. A spousal support award may take into consideration the amount of marital estate, and whether one of the spouses will have to liquidate assets awarded in the divorce in order to maintain a reasonable lifestyle. Where one spouse has sufficient income to preserve his or her share of the property settlement and the other does not, spousal support may be appropriate.