Going through a divorce is a trying time for anyone. There are a lot of aspects that need to be taken care of, one of which is the division of property. It is common for divorcing couples to decide how they divide property; however if they can’t agree they are able to take their dispute to the courts.

If a divorcing couple can’t decide how they are going to divide their property and it does end up at court then the courts will divide their property under one of two basic schemes, which are community property or equitable distribution. In the state of Michigan, division of property cases will be handled in an equitable distribution way. In equitable distribution states the courts consider a range of factors such as the following:

• Length of marriage
• Amount and source of income
• Liabilities
• Earning potential
• Marital responsibilities
• Health
• Ability to care for self
• Your skills and employment
• Your estate

In an equitable distribution state, such as Michigan, all of the marital property is divided in an equitable fashion according to the court. So what exactly does this mean? Dividing property in an equitable way is dividing the property in a way that is fair not necessarily equal, which is done with the above in mind. To automatically believe the marital property would be divided 50-50 would be a wrong assumption in any equitable distribution state.

When you are in the process of dividing your property you need to separate the property into marital property and separate property. Separate property are generally things that aren’t considered to be marital property, such as items that were accumulated while cohabitating prior to marriage, property that is received as an inheritance by one spouse and increases in the value as the result of passive appreciation i.e. interest. These separate pieces of property aren’t generally divided when a marriage breaks up, however despite these general rules separate property can be distributed as part of a property division in a divorce if the marital property that needs to be divided is insufficient.

Once the assets have been divided into separate and marital the court will assign a monetary value on the marital property and the separate property. It will then distribute the marital assets between the two parties in an equitable fashion. Equitable does not mean equal, but rather what is deemed by the Circuit Court to be fair.

Marital property isn’t just about who gets to live in the house or apartment owned by the divorced couple; it also involves what shares of value each spouse will have in the property and who is entitled to vehicles. Also you may have a joint business, which will also be classed as marital property and again needs to be divided.

When you are declaring marital and separate property all assets must be brought to light as repeatedly trying to hide assets from each other and the court will result in contempt of court to which the court is required to take action against.

The end result of property division should be one that is most fair to each spouse. It is done so that neither spouse will face hardship after the marriage has broken down. My advice to you when it comes to property division is to involve an attorney in the proceedings as they will be able to guide you through the process and ensure that the division of property is done fairly.

Jannelle Zawaideh is a divorce attorney in Oakland County Michigan and a divorce attorney in Michigan. If you are looking for a divorce lawyer in Wayne County call for a FREE Consultation.

Article Source: divorce-in-michigan”>Dividing Your Property After a divorce in Michigan – ArticleSpan.com

There are a number of different types of custody arrangements that can be made in a divorce, family law, or child custody case. The types of custody orders can impact the effects of divorce on children.

First, we’ll look at actual custody. In California, there are two components to custody: legal custody and physical custody.

Physical custody is the type of custody order that says who is going to have the child and at what time. Most of the time, the courts grant Joint

Physical custody with primary either to mom or dad. Sometimes, though, sole physical custody will be granted to one party and visitation may or may not be granted to the other.

There are many kinds of physical custody arrangements. For instance, in a 50/50 split, each parent may have the children on alternating weekends.

An 80/20 split is more common with one parent having primary custody and the other parent seeing the kids one evening a week and having the kids every other weekend.

Legal custody is the ability to make decisions for the child. This includes everything from choosing the school they attend to the authority to cut their hair. Again, in most cases, joint legal custody is granted and both parents have the ability to make decisions. This means that if they disagree on issues like what religion the child will be raised in, they must go to court to settle it.

In a limited number of cases, the Judge will decide that one party should have sole legal custody. Usually in these cases, there has been so much disharmony between the parents that it is in the children’s best interest to have just one parent making decisions for the children. In other cases, one parent has made bizarre decisions and the best route is for the other parent to have all the decision making power.

The next type of custody order involves visitation. Unsupervised visitation is the standard route and generally includes overnight visits if appropriate. In the vast majority of cases, unsupervised visitation is ordered. There has to be a specific reason for the courts to order anything other than unsupervised visitation.

In cases where there are allegations or proof of abuse (sexual, physical, or emotional), supervised visitation may be ordered. Supervised visitation requires that a monitor be present during the entire visit. Sometimes a relative or friend of the non-custodial parent qualifies as a monitor.
Other times a neutral, professional monitor must be hired.

Then there are cases where no visitation is allowed because the court determines that any contact with the party would be harmful to the child.

The court assumes that a generous amount of time spent with both parents will minimize the impact of the effects of divorce on children. The various types of deviation from the general assumption allows for custody orders to take into account that this assumption is not always correct.

Child custody and visitation decisions are never easy for a Judge to make. But, when a family is being torn apart, the court has to make the decisions it feels are in the best interests of the children.

Go to custody.com” target=”_blank”>Long Beach Child custody for more information on Child custody issues in California. ** By: Chris Stanley

Article Source: custody-explained”>Child custody Explained – ArticleSpan.com

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Because a wedding is seen as the ultimate expression of two people’s love for one another, it would be easy to think that conversely a divorce would be the opposite – a lasting monument to the antipathy built up over the course of a marriage. However, it is a fact that many divorces in this day and age are amicable arrangements between two grown adults who accept that things just have not worked out between them and, with a tinge of regret, go their separate ways. This happens, especially as the changes in society over the years have seen divorce becoming far less stigmatized, and thus divorce itself is not reserved for the couples who have grown to hate one another.

An amicable divorce can take many different shapes, but one central tenet of this type is that the agreement will take the form of a “no fault divorce”. The accepted implication is that both parties in the relationship have come to the conclusion that they are not suited to living together for the rest of their lives, and would both be better served by a quick, clean separation. However, even in many “no fault” cases there are still issues of property to be resolved. A couple separating amicably may both have part ownership of the house in which they live. How this will be split – and indeed what will happen to the house – is one subject that can require the input of lawyers to a no-fault divorce case.

The reasons for a couple separating in a no-fault divorce are, as the name suggests, typically arrived at without rancor or blame. Grounds given in the official records range from incompatibility to irretrievable breakdown, and also include irreconcilable differences. A no-fault divorce will often happen when a couple marry after a short engagement, and realize over time that they are too fundamentally different to ever benefit from the marriage as one would expect. Ironically, it is the marriages that last longer, the real “love matches”, that tend to end (if they must end at all) in the angriest divorces, as these are the cases where both parties have invested a lot of themselves in the marriage, and their hopes have been commensurately high.

If a marriage has been active for long enough for a couple to have had children and accumulated a lot of co-owned property, then if the couple choose to divorce they may come to an uncontested divorce. It is believed that 95% of divorces in the United States are uncontested. This happens where both parties come to an agreement – by themselves or with the aid of lawyers or mediators – on how assets will be divided, and what will be done where children are concerned. This kind of divorce makes sense for both parties, as it negates the need to spend lots of time and money going over old ground in a courtroom. It is also an example of where lawyers can put their minds to work looking for a consensus rather than a way to expose the other party.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational and entertainment purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter.

LegalBuffet.com is a complete online resource that compares the legal services offered by various online companies. Find the best company for your divorce-services/” target=”_blank”>uncontested divorce needs at divorce-services/” target=”_blank”>http://legalbuffet.com/divorce-services /.

Article Source: divorce“>Is There Really Such a Thing as Amicable divorce? – ArticleSpan.com

Ask any solicitor their advice on a do it yourself divorce and they will nearly always warn against it – why, because they want your business, its as simple as that. If I want to re-decorate a room in my house, weed my garden, fix a loose slate on my roof etc.. I have the option of employing somebody to do it, or doing a bit of DIY myself. So why not with a divorce?

Gone are the days when solicitors shrouded this, and many other subjects, in a cloak of mystery – the internet has ruined this for them. Anybody can now look up and research topics of a legal, or any other kind for that matter, and take the initiative themselves. Before the explosion of the internet we were really forced to use these ‘professionals’.

divorce is a relatively simple process if you are thinking of doing it yourself providing the following rule applies. You and your partner MUST consent and be in agreement on ALL matters – If you envisage disputes regarding children, property or financial matters then a DIY divorce is not for you, and I would recommend professional legal help.
The only exception to this rule is where you and your partner have been separated for 5 years or more in which case consent is not required.

The DIY divorce process will certainly be quicker and far less expensive than using a solicitor. At the time of writing a typical family lawyer would be charging £1000 for a divorce. £340 of this are standard court costs* that need to be paid regardless, so basically a solicitors fee would be £660. Compare this to the online, DIY divorce option where typical sites are charging between £25 – £100, and you can soon see the saving is significant.

There are basically only 3 steps to divorce;
1) Your divorce petition – this is simply a form you need to complete and submit to your local county court ( £300 court fee* )

2) The application for your ‘decree nisi’ – the completion of the first stage of divorce

3) The application for your ‘decree absolute’ – you apply for this 6 weeks and 1 day after the issue of your decree nisi. ( £40.00 court fee* )
Thats it you are now divorced.

As long as you both agree and consent the process is straightforward, simple and cheap. It is also fully legal and you do not need a solicitor at any stage nor will either of you have to attend court.

One point to note is that financial matters should be resolved at the point of divorce also by using a ‘Clean Break Order’ – just another form. This formally agrees all financial settlements before the court. This is important as, contrary to popular belief, even when you are divorced your spouse may still have a claim to your finances until the day they die or marry again.

If you are in a position where you are considering divorce and both parties are in general agreement I would certainly consider the DIY option. There are plenty of useful sites that will give you the background information you need. The sites that sell DIY divorce packs will nearly always provide help and support via telephone and/or email normally at no extra cost.

*In some circumstances you may not even have to pay court fees, there is a fee exemption form available to see if you are eligible for this.

Kevin Dockerty has sucessfully run a UK DIY divorce site for a number of years and has 1000’s of satisfied customers. Take a look at Kevin’s divorce.co.uk” target=”_blank”>Do It Yourself divorce site

Article Source: divorce-and-why-not”>Do it Yourself divorce – And Why Not ! – ArticleSpan.com

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