Family Law in Michigan and Ohio

Helping Clients With All Types of Family Matters

• Divorce - The legal termination of a marriage.
• Custody - The legal allocation of parental rights and responsibilities to one or both parents, depending upon the circumstances of your case. The standard that both Michigan and Ohio use in determining custody matters is the Best Interest of the Child Factors.
• Interstate and International Custody - These jurisdictional issues of custody often arise when one parent moves to a different state or country and custody of a minor child is interfered with or needs to be decided.
• Paternity - Paternity issues arise when a child is born and there are questions as to who the biological father is. Paternity is important to establish as it effects who has legal rights over the child and who can be held responsible for child support.
• Adoption (MI ONLY) - Adoption is the legal process where a person assumes the parenting of a non-biological child. Through adoption, all legal rights and responsibilities of the child are transferred from the biological parent(s) to the adoptive parent(s).
• Grandparent Rights - What rights are available to grandparents when a parent does not allow contact with the child and grandparents.
• Dissolution (OH ONLY) - In Ohio, rather than obtaining a divorce, you may choose to opt for a dissolution of your marriage instead. In order to qualify for a dissolution, you and your spouse must agree on each and every issue relating to the marriage, and there cannot be any children born of the marriage that are not the husband’s biological children.
• Separate Maintenance (MI ONLY) - Separate maintenance is like a divorce, in that the court decides issues of property division, debt division, child support, custody, parenting time, and spousal support, but at the end of the case the parties remain married.
• Litigation - Litigation is the process of taking legal action in the form of a lawsuit, in which the issues are decided in court. Not all cases are litigated, as some may settle in mediation or otherwise before trial occurs.
• Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements - A prenuptial agreement is a contract a couple enters into prior to marriage that determines all of the terms of a divorce in the event that one occurs later on. A postnuptial agreement is the same thing as a prenuptial agreement, the only difference is that it is entered into after the marriage takes place. Issues with enforcement of either of them can arise if they were entered into and parties to the contracts are now seeking a divorce.
• Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) - The UCCJEA is an act that governs state court’s abilities to make and modify child custody determinations regarding child custody and visitation.
• Personal Protection Orders (PPO) (MI ONLY) - In Michigan, you may get a domestic relationship PPO Order if you can show to a Judge that the abuser is likely to assault, threaten, harass, or stalk you. You must also show that you and the abuser have a domestic relationship, such as they are your current or ex-partner or spouse. You also can apply to get a non-domestic PPO Order in Michigan to restrain someone whom you do not have a domestic relationship with from assaulting, threatening, harassing, or stalking you.
• Civil Protection Orders (CPO) (OH ONLY) - In Ohio, you may ask the court to grant you a CPO Order directing an individual to not have contact with you or be near you. CPOs are generally granted when you can show that domestic violence has occurred such as physical harm and verbal threats of physical harm perpetrated by a current or ex-partner or spouse. The main purpose of a CPO is to protect victims of domestic violence.
• Change of Domicile/Relocation - Moving to a different state or country can cause issues in divorces and custody cases, such as which court has jurisdiction to preside over the matter.
• Registration and Enforcement of Foreign Custody Support Orders - Sometimes it becomes necessary to register a custody or parenting time order (provisions in a divorce judgment included) when a parent moves to Michigan. There is a particular process which must be followed and notice must be provided to the other parent. Although custody orders can be enforced without being registered, it is helpful to register the order(s) from the foreign state or country in the event that Michigan becomes the home state of the minor children and a party wishes to petition the court to modify the foreign order. There are very specific rules governing when Michigan can modify a foreign custody or parenting time order, and sometimes it is necessary to work with an attorney in the issuing state if a parent wishes to modify a custody or parenting time order from a different state or country. Our legal team is able to assist you with these complicated interstate issues.
• Post Judgment Modifications - Post judgment modifications occur after a court has already entered a final order on the record, and circumstances in one or both of the parties lives occur warranting modification. These modifications may be in relation to child support, child custody, visitation, or spousal support.
• Child Support - Issues of who is paying child support and in what amount often arise when parties divorce, or a child is born to parties who are not married. These issues are determined based off of both parent’s incomes and which party has custody. Support is also an issue that is subject to change based on changes in one parent’s income. 
• Spousal Support/Alimony - Spousal support or alimony may be awarded in cases involving divorce, dissolution, legal separation, or annulment of marriages. The court may order one spouse to pay the other spouse an amount per month for a term of years.
• Cohabitation Agreements - Cohabitation Agreements are contracts that may be entered into by two parties who are not legally married but who live together as a married couple would. These Agreements can define the parties rights and responsibilities if they were to ever decide to not live together, such as who is responsible for paying for the property, who has to move out upon ending cohabitation, how much time the parties have to move out, who gets what property, etc.