Grand Rapids Divorce Attorneys

Grand Rapids Divorce Attorneys

If you are facing a divorce, you are facing considerable challenges that relate directly to your parental and financial rights, which makes them exceptionally important challenges. Because your divorce terms will play a significant role in your post-divorce future, having an experienced Grand Rapids divorce attorney in your corner is always well advised. 

Your Divorce Terms

Your divorce will not follow the same course or look exactly like anyone else’s, but the basic terms that must be resolved are the same for every divorcing couple, including (as applicable):

• The division of your marital property
• Your child custody arrangements
• Child support
• Alimony (called spousal support in Michigan)

Each of these that applies to your case represents an important component of your divorce. 

The Division of Your Marital Property

Those assets that you and your spouse acquired as a married couple – regardless of who made the purchase or of whose name happens to be on the lease or title – are considered marital property, which must be divided between you equitably in the event of a divorce. Equitably means fairly in relation to the circumstances involved in your marriage and divorce. Those assets that either of you brought into the marriage with and kept carefully separate throughout will remain your separate property, but this can be a high bar. Those factors that tend to make the division of marital property even more complicated include:

• High assets
• Multiple properties
• Business ownership
• Generally complicated assets

Your Child Custody Arrangements

Child custody arrangements break down into both physical and legal custody. Legal custody concerns itself with who will be making important decisions on behalf of your children, and this responsibility can be either sole or joint. The following categories represent the kinds of decisions involved:

• Decisions about your children’s schooling
• Decisions about your children’s healthcare
• Decisions about your children’s religious upbringing
• Decisions about your children’s extracurricular activities

Child Support

The State of Michigan holds both parents responsible for supporting their children financially, and child support is the tool employed to help ensure that this responsibility is upheld. Child support is based on state calculation guidelines, and even if you share your parenting time fairly evenly, the higher earner among you will likely have a child support responsibility. 

Alimony

Alimony is intended to help balance any divorce-related financial discrepancies experienced by divorcing spouses. Generally, if one spouse experiences a financial need and the other has the means to help offset it, alimony will be awarded. The amount and duration of alimony are typically intended to help the recipient obtain the education and/or experience he or she needs to become more financially independent.  

An Experienced Grand Rapids Divorce Attorney Is on Your Side

The practiced Grand Rapids divorce attorneys at Van Den Heuvel Law Office take immense pride in guiding cases like yours toward favorable resolutions that uphold our clients’ parental and financial rights. For more information about how we can also help you, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.