What timeframes are important for divorce? This is the typical Michigan divorce timeline. The court will consider a six-month schedule if there are children involved in the divorce. The court wants you to consider matters because they might have an impact on the children. Of course, the court has the authority to adjust this schedule.
Click here to watch the video on the Michigan Divorce Timeline
The court will have different concerns if you are divorcing without children. Your divorce lawsuit must be resolved within 60 days. Even if you’ve already sold off some of your assets, the court will nonetheless follow the deadlines.
There are additional timeframes, such as summonses, which have a mandatory 90-day duration. This indicates that a time frame is required for serving the summons. Without a legitimate summons, a case cannot be initiated. If the summons runs out of time, the court must reissue it. In order for certain divorce-related actions to proceed, these deadlines must be met.
The 60-Day Timeline
In Michigan, the required waiting period is 60 days if there are no children involved in the divorce.
The divorce is likely invalid if the judgment is entered in less than sixty days. A court may waive the six-month waiting time under Michigan law, but not the sixty-day one. In instances of “exceptional hardship or such compelling necessity as shall appeal to the conscience of the court,” the six-month waiting period may be extended but never to fewer than sixty days.
After the filing of the complaint, the other party is given some time to respond.
The defendant has 21 days (or 28 days if served by mail or outside of the state) following the filing and service of the complaint and summons to file a response of admission or denial of each allegation in the complaint.
The time set to respond should already constitute almost half of your waiting period.
Once the answer is appropriately submitted, the case becomes contested. An order of default could be issued if the defendant fails to submit an answer. The case then turns into an uncontested divorce. A defaulted defendant may, however, choose to hire a lawyer and ask the court to overturn the default at any point until the case is resolved.
You can add the amount of time contributed by the issuance of temporary orders, discovery, negotiations, and a lot more key processes leading to the first court appearance. In essence, the 60-day waiting period is basically consumed by the first few stages of the divorce process.
The 6-Month Timeline
If there are small children involved in the divorce, there is often a six-month waiting period. There is a lot of pressure on Michigan’s courts to resolve divorce cases within a year of the filing date. Six months are the “normal” waiting period for a divorce including children once the complaint is filed, or when the lawsuit first begins. The majority of child custody disputes that go to trial last more than six months but are often resolved in less than a year.
The six-month waiting period has exclusions.
A court may waive the six-month waiting time under Michigan statute, but not the sixty-day one. The six-month waiting period can be shortened but never less than sixty days in cases of “unusual hardship or such compelling necessity as shall appeal to the conscience of the court. In reality, most of the judges will waive the six-month waiting period if there is a reason to do so and they are made aware that it is a collaborative divorce case.
An alternative to the protracted legal fights characterizing typical divorce litigation is collaborative divorce. Both parties to a collaborative divorce agree to work with qualified professionals to end their marriage outside of court.
The collaborative law process is you and your spouse appearing in court and asking the judge to approve the agreement you formed together. This can help you avoid the inconvenience, cost, and unpredictability of a divorce trial while maintaining your privacy.
What’s With the Waiting
The waiting period for a divorce in Michigan is mandated by Michigan Compiled Laws 552.9f. A Michigan divorce without a minor child is permitted by MCL 552.9f, but it cannot be granted until 60 days have passed since the bill of complaint was filed.
A Michigan divorce with a minor child (under the age of 18) cannot be finalized “until the expiration of 6 months from the day the bill of complaint is filed,” according to the same statute, MCL 552.9f.
Simply put, the statutory waiting period in Michigan is 60 days for divorces without minor children and 6 months for divorces including minor children.
Now what’s with all this waiting for.
It’s been a policy of the state to preserve the institution of marriage as much as possible and to protect the unity of the family subsequently serving the interest of children. The waiting period provides opportunities for several key moments to happen.
A moment for second chances.
A divorce filing can usually follow an explosive dispute and is done out of haste and rage. A waiting period gives combative partners some time to calm down and decide if this is really what they want.
Once a divorce complaint is filed in court, the looming reality of separation can trigger couples to begin talking about their issues in a new way. Or the spouse who requested the divorce might leave the household and discover that living alone is not what they had envisioned.
The couple has time to consider the possibility of reconciliation while waiting.
Preparing for post-divorce parenting.
A new living situation necessitates a new approach to daycare, school systems, and visitation. Parents may decide they would rather make amends and give their marriage another try than to end it as they learn to co-parent in different homes.
If the parents are unable to come to an agreement, there will need to be a trial when both sides will present their evidence, and the court will decide who gets to keep the child. The judge may request that a custody investigator with specialized training evaluate each parent’s capacity to care for the children before trial.
It may take months to decide whether a custody arrangement is in the “best interests of the child” as provided for in the Child Custody Act.
Navigating your financial maze.
Few people actually recover financially from divorce better than they would have if they had stayed married. The couple’s expenses virtually double compared to when they were cohabitating as one household becomes two households.
It might take some time to gather all the relevant paperwork, add everything up, and determine how to effectively divide one person’s debts and assets from the other’s because married couples generally combine their finances.
Just a few examples include checking accounts, investment accounts, insurance plans, bank loans, and credit cards. An appraisal is required for tangible assets like real estate, vehicles, and other goods. Either spouse—or both—must locate new housing.
For high asset divorce, the parties may have to hire specialists to do discovery and valuation of assets. For those with a considerable number of years of work, there will be retirement or pension to consider.
Federal law requires a separate document known as a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) or an Eligible Domestic Relations Order (EDRO) when there is a government pension if either party has retirement benefits in the form of a traditionally classified pension plan, 401K, or other type of retirement plan.
Typically, these records are added after the divorce judgment has been granted. It might be difficult to get the parties to agree on the precise language and have the language verified by the plan administrator because each pension plan administrator has their own terminology that they require in a QDRO or EDRO. Many Michigan divorce attorneys consult a QDRO expert to create these documents.
A moment for mapping settlement.
The initial divorce hearing for couples without children is typically scheduled by Michigan courts at least 60 days after the divorce complaint is filed.
Before the first court hearing, couples with a limited number of disputes can frequently come to an agreement on the terms of their divorce. By then, the 60-day waiting period has elapsed, the divorce can be finalized at that initial hearing.
In the event a settlement cannot be reached by the first court date, the parties have at least had time to identify their differences in opinion, determine how much more time they will need to reach a resolution, and consider whether a mediator may be necessary.
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Goldman & Associates Law Firm is here to with information about Child Custody and Divorce in the State of Michigan.