Family Law Articles

9. Communicate with your attorney by e-mail, but don't do it every hour or with every thought. Try to cover several issues or questions at once. Do not abuse email.

8. Call your attorney, but do not do it every day. Save up your questions and ideas.

10. Look for ways to resolve as many issues as possible.

9. Use the collaborative divorce process which is where you have independent attorneys, but do not file until the entire divorce has been settled.  This is an excellent win-win situation for everyone.

8. See if you marriage can be saved through marriage counseling.  An independent marriage counselor can often see things that you and your spouse cannot, and may be able to help you through a rough patch, and help save your marriage.  

• Counseling
• Choosing an attorney
• Role of the attorney
• Filing for divorce
• Ex-parte or temporary orders
• Children and who will have custody
  • Legal
  • Physical

We are presently going through some very rough economic times. A lot of people are thinking about a divorce, but cannot afford it. There are others who want a divorce, but are looking for ways to keep costs to a minimum, especially with regard to attorney fees. Here at Family Law of Michigan, we are prepared to work with people who are looking for a cost effective way of resolving marital problems.

9. Find out as much about your financials as possible before you file a divorce, so that there will be no surprises.

8. Try to find out as much as possible about your job security and if you aren’t employed, see what your options are for employment.

8. Make sure you have a thorough understanding of the Child Custody Act and the Twelve Factors of the Best Interests of the Child Statute. Try to be as objective as possible, and weigh yourself and the other parent step-by-step through the twelve factors to determine whether or not you have a legitimate case for full custody or shared custody.

9. Before taking any legal action, communicate with your spouse.

8. See if the marriage can be saved through counseling.

7. Try to resolve as many issues as possible, first of all through mediation, or using the collaborative process, which is where you each have independent attorneys, but you do not file until everything is settled. There is an article on collaborative law elsewhere on this site that explains the collaborative process in more detail, but it is a win-win situation for everyone.

8. Stay out of court as much as possible because court appearances are costly, not only financially, but also from an emotional standpoint. Judges will not know you or your case unless you are in a situation where you are in court every week on motions or hearings, and often the judge will be getting a very negative impression of you.

7. Make sure that you and your attorney are well prepared before you go to court. Floundering around in court can create a bad impression, and is also costly.

Domestic violence is on the rise, especially with people losing their jobs, losing their incomes, and facing a drastic reduction in lifestyle as is happening too frequently in ‘09. The following are nine issues to consider with regard to domestic violence:

9. Domestic violence consists of physical abuse, and if there is physical abuse, call the police at once.

8. Domestic violence includes using economic abuse. This can include preventing someone from getting, keeping, or leaving a job, damaging someone’s credit rating, making a spouse ask for money, destroying checkbooks, credit cards, money or property, giving a spouse an allowance. Domestic violence can include using coercion or threats. Threats are statements which promise negative consequences for certain behaviors or actions; for example, I’ll kill you if you ever leave me.”