Child Custody, Parenting Time, Child Support
If you have children, the most important issue in your divorce is who will have custody of your children. There are various forms of custody, including sole legal custody, joint legal custody, sole physical custody and joint physical custody. Obviously your children need to have a loving and close relationship with both parents, unless one parent is abusive or unfit to be a parent. It is in the best interests of your children for you and your spouse to work together to come up with a parenting schedule that is agreeable to both the parents and the children and to continue working together as a team to raise your children. If this is not feasible, a trial is necessary. In Michigan, the law is gender neutral and only looks to the best interests of the child in deciding custody issues. There are money factors that the Court will consider in deciding who should have custody of the children. It is essential to have an attorney present all of the relevant and important issues to assist you in receiving a fair custody and parenting time schedule. It is essential to obtain the custody arrangements you desire in the beginning of the case. It is very difficult to change custody once the custodial environment is established.

Child support is determined by the Michigan Child Support Guidelines. This formula takes into account both parents income, who is claiming the children on their taxes, whether either party has other children from a prior relationship and the amount of time spent with each parent. The courts will not consider factors such as either parties' debts or the income of the parties' new spouse. The Court can deviate from the guidelines for substantial and compelling reasons. It is important to have an attorney advocate for your position in determining the amount of child support that you will either receive or pay. Child Custody, parenting time and child support issues can often change after a divorce is over with. These are issues which can be addressed after the divorce judgment is filed.