Bloomfield Family Law Blog

If you and your spouse have been struggling to keep your marriage together and finally decided that doing so is no longer possible, you now have to decide how to let others know of your choice and the changes that will be ensuing. For parents of children who are three, four or even five years old, this requires a good understanding of your child's developmental as well as individual personality needs. 

As explained by Today's Parent, a preschool-aged child will have a limited ability to completely grasp the magnitude of a divorce. They will not understand, nor do they need to understand, the challenges you are facing at this time. Instead, their focus will be on the practicalities of their day-to-day lives. When you talk with your youngster about your divorce, it will be important for you to reassure them what they will experience every day. This entails who will read them a bedtime story, who will take them to school and pick them up and other similar things.

On the one hand, the Michigan court system recognizes that life's circumstances are subject to change and it sometimes becomes necessary for one divorced parent to relocate to another city or state. On the other hand, the best interests of the child or children inform every decision that the courts make in regard to whatever post-divorce issues arise. We at the law office of Lisa Stern know that you do not want to lose contact with your children just because of a change of circumstances, nor do you wish to be noncompliant with your divorce orders. It may help to lessen the confusion and difficulty of a parental relocation if you understand the factors that the court takes into consideration when approving parental relocation. 

You must be able to demonstrate to the court that you have a legitimate reason for relocating. The court is unlikely to approve the relocation request if it has reason to believe that your motive in seeking it is to spite the other parent or to try to secure a financial advantage over him or her. The expectation is that you will be able to demonstrate how the move will improve the child's quality of life as well as your own. 

As a couple in Michigan who has decided that divorce is the right thing for you, you may also be wondering how to deal with your assets. The more assets you have, the more potentially complex your divorce could become.

Findlaw has some legal guidance for people who are handling high asset divorces, along with their related hurdles. The first tip is to determine exactly where your assets lie and how much you have. This is important for the division process. All assets will be divided between marital property, separate property and community property. Some of these items will have to be divided. Others you may be able to keep for yourself.

Emotions often play a large part in the initial formation of divorce agreements. Sometimes, the parties involved in these negotiations and court proceedings seem to be unable to abandon an adversarial stance. At the Law Offices of Lisa Stern, we understand that it sometimes takes some time after the divorce is finalized for people to realize that some of the terms they fought for were not actually in the best interest of their families.

Fortunately, Michigan courts allow a certain level of modification for various aspects of divorces. Please read on to find a brief discussion of how you and your ex could come together for the best interests of your children or to minimize further court costs.