Blog
Free Child Support Calculator
The Department of Health and Human Services provides a free Child Support Calculator on the Web. This calculator is available to anyone to access and plug numbers in the numerous variables to determine an appropriate Child Support amount. In determining the support...
Changes to the 2017 Child Support Formula Including How to Treat a Parent that has No Income
The Michigan Child Support Manual has undergone a significant modification in 2017, which encompasses major changes since the 2013 edition. The following are some of the areas that have undergone significant modification. A. INCOME Numerous changes, some minor and...
Domestic Asset Protection Trusts
One question I get asked fairly often is: “Can I put my assets in a trust and shelter them from my creditors”? Until recently, my response has been “probably not” unless you want to put them in an “off-shore” entity or place them in trust in another state (such as...
Bye-Bye Dower
Several months ago I wrote about dower rights in Michigan. At that time, I pointed out that Michigan remained one of the few, if not only, state in the country to retain, for married women alone, what are called “dower” rights. Dower is defined as the wife’s...
Legal Expense in a Divorce Can Be Tax Deductible
The issue of the possibility of deductibility of a portion of legal expenses incurred in a divorce is frequently overlooked. In nearly every matter clients pay their attorneys to provide tax advice related to the possibility of settling or if necessary trying a case....
Power of Attorney for Care of a Child
A client recently asked if she could place her child in someone’s care for several months while she worked on a mission without seeking Guardianship or some other form of Court protection for the child in case of an emergency. Michigan law does provide a method for...
Divorce Planning
A frequently asked question when contemplating divorce is: “What kinds of things should I be doing if I am planning to file a divorce?” Our advice would include considering the following and more: It is always wise to obtain marriage counseling whether it is from a...
Do I Really Have to Sign My Will?
The primary purpose of a Will is to indicate the disposition you would like to make of your property at the time of your death. In order to make sure your wishes are carried out, the Will must be filed with the County Probate Court and “probated.” In probate, the...
Legal Separation
Clients frequently contact our offices seeking assistance in obtaining a “Legal Separation”. This is not a simple question because there is really no such terminology in the legal system in Michigan. If a couple wishes to be separated by the law there are several...
Budget / Living Expenses
A question your Divorce Attorney is likely to ask (as well as a Judge) is how much money do you need? This brings the concept of budgeting that we all wish to ignore to the front. To assist you in formulating a budget we would start with something like the following...
Are You Entitled to a State Real Estate Transfer Tax (SRETT) Refund?
When real property (land as well as houses and buildings physically attached thereto) is sold in the State of Michigan, the State collects a “transfer” tax at the rate of $7.50 per $1,000 of value. This tax is typically paid by the seller and collected by the closing...
Tax Exemptions and Child Support
A client recently asked if he could claim the tax exemptions for the children since he was current on his child support. The answer to this question is generally no, but court orders will frequently allow payers of support to claim the children (or some of them) as...