Divorce can be a challenging experience, but having the right legal team on your side can make a tremendous difference. The Smith Law Offices, P.C., understands the emotional and financial stress that often comes with the end of a marriage. We’re here to help clients meet the challenges they’re facing and begin building a bright future for their families and themselves.
Our experienced divorce attorneys proudly represent clients in Plymouth and throughout Wayne County seeking a fair and reasonable outcome to their divorce. Your best interests are our highest priority. Contact The Smith Law Offices, P.C., today to learn more.
Michigan law allows individuals to file for divorce without an attorney, but doing so comes with significant risks. When your family, finances, and future hang in the balance, you want to take every measure possible to protect yourself. Hiring a skilled divorce attorney is one of the most critical measures you can take. Here’s how your attorney from The Smith Law Offices, P.C., can help.
Protecting Your Legal Rights
A poorly handled divorce case can be devastating for you and your family. Without the help of an experienced attorney, you may forfeit hard-earned assets and lose essential rights that could otherwise have been protected. Whether you’re fighting for child custody, ownership of a business, or a fair spousal support determination, you want a trusted attorney to help you do it.
Offering Local Knowledge
Court systems can vary widely in how they approach divorce and family law. Working with a divorce lawyer with extensive experience with the Plymouth, Wayne County, court system provides a valuable advantage when building your case.
Providing Critical Support
Divorce is far more than a legal matter. It’s often deeply personal, stressful, and emotionally draining. A skilled divorce lawyer offers not only aggressive advocacy, but also compassion and understanding during an extremely difficult time.
Negotiating and Litigating
Divorces have the potential to become contentious, and the stakes are often extremely high. You want a seasoned attorney by your side negotiating terms and fighting for your rights. Should the case need to go to court, experienced representation is even more essential.
While every divorce case is unique, many of them involve a typical range of concerns. Our Plymouth divorce attorneys regularly assist clients with the following challenges:
Child Custody
The most contentious divorces generally arise when children are involved. Michigan courts prioritize the child’s best interests when determining child custody, and the key factors are most often each parent’s ability to provide a stable home, emotional bonds with the child, and the child’s school and community ties.
We help clients in Plymouth protect their parental rights by building strong, evidence-based arguments to achieve their desired outcome.
Visitation
Courts often grant visitation rights even when a parent does not maintain custody. Establishing a fair and realistic schedule can be difficult, particularly when the other parent does not want to cooperate. Our lawyers can help you determine and enforce a schedule that works for everybody and prioritizes your child’s needs.
Child Support
Michigan courts determine child support through the Michigan Child Support Formula. This formula factors in both parents’ incomes, the number of overnights the child spends with each parent, childcare costs, and healthcare costs. We can help you fight for fair and accurate child support calculations and enforce a child support determination when the other parent fails to pay.
Spousal Support
In Michigan divorces, spousal support is not automatic. Courts will grant it based on several factors, including the length of the marriage, the age and health of each spouse, each party’s ability to support themselves, and the standard of living during the marriage. Whether you’re seeking fair spousal support or protecting yourself from an unreasonable determination, our attorneys can help.
Property Division
Asset division in Michigan divorces follows an “equitable distribution” system. That means that marital property is divided fairly, but not necessarily equally. It doesn’t need to be a high-asset divorce for this aspect of the proceedings to become complicated and difficult. We can help you properly value your marital assets and advocate for a settlement that protects your finances and your future.
You must meet the following legal and residency requirements to file for divorce in Plymouth, Michigan:
Our divorce attorneys can help you avoid roadblocks and errors related to these requirements, making your divorce a faster, smoother process altogether.
Michigan recognizes two main categories of divorce: contested and uncontested. The category your case falls into can significantly impact the proceedings of the divorce and how long it might take for the divorce to be finalized. Here are the differences between the two.
Uncontested Divorce
When both spouses agree on all the major terms of the divorce, it’s considered uncontested. Those terms include property division, child custody, child support, and spousal support. These divorces are typically less stressful, less costly, and faster. However, you should always have an attorney review your agreement to safeguard your rights.
Contested Divorce
If you and your spouse can’t agree on one or more major terms, the case is considered contested. These divorces are generally more involved, more expensive, and often contentious. Contested divorces typically require formal discovery and court motions, and possibly a trial. It’s critical to have a trusted divorce attorney at your side when facing a contested divorce.
Under Michigan law, all marital property must be divided equitably. That includes:
Anything acquired during the marriage qualifies as marital property, while inheritances or assets owned before marriage are considered separate property and may be excluded from property division.
However, in some cases, separate property can be considered marital if combined with shared assets or used for mutual benefit. For example, using inheritance money to remodel the Plymouth home you and your spouse jointly own could mean that separate property is classified as marital.
Dividing assets equitably requires careful consideration. Our firm works closely with financial experts, appraisers, and accountants to identify and value all assets so they can be divided fairly.
Whether you’re considering divorce or you’ve already been served papers, you need a seasoned attorney to protect your rights. The team at The Smith Law Offices, P.C., can lead you through this often tumultuous and challenging process and fight for the fair and reasonable outcome you deserve. You don’t have to face this alone. Contact us today for your free consultation.
