Custody battles can be extremely difficult especially if you aren’t married to the mother, there is a presumption of custody in favor of the mother. If you want to try and assert custody, then you should focus on your strengths and what you bring to the table to help your child. Many people think in order to win a custody battle you need to tear up the mother and make her look bad. You will get much more traction with … Read More →

If the child is a lot younger, such as 4 or 5 years old, you should try to encourage & teach your child that this is what the judge ordered and these are the rules that need to be followed. In situations where the child is a teenager, the attitude of the court in terms of forcing the child to go might be a little different. Once the child is older, some courts may give a little more preference and … Read More →

If you are being falsely accused of child abuse, you have to make sure to get ahead of this where it doesn’t look like you and the other parent are fighting regarding the safety of the child. If your ex calls you and questions you about abuse, your response should be there has been no abuse and if you think there has been abuse, you should take the child to the doctor to examine potential injuries. This should be done … Read More →

This is a very interesting situation especially when the parents are not married. This involves one parent worried about starting legal proceedings and making things worse. If you feel scared of the other parent, this can be perceived as weakness, you will be walked all over and you will never get more parenting time. You need to immediately contact a skilled attorney and file a petition for joint custody as well as a request for immediate parenting time. If the … Read More →

There are a number of things you must do in order to give yourself the best chance to gain custody of your child. The primary thing to do is to make sure you are involved with your children. Be involved in their lives by knowing what allergies they may have, taking them to doctors appointments, being involved in the child’s school, etc. If you are not involved in your child’s life, the court will question why all of the sudden … Read More →

This usually comes about in a non-marital union and the assumption is that the mother gets those parental rights. This leaves the father of the child needing to file a petition seeking custodial rights. The law firm that the father retains will draft the petitions so that they are filed in the circuit court where the child resides. After the case is randomly assigned to a family court judge, & the judge will issue a summons as well. After both … Read More →

In the event that you have two Michigan residents who both have intentions of moving to separate states once their divorce is final can create a level of uncertainty. There are technical rules regarding the continuation of jurisdiction as it relates to children when both parties are gone. You need to be aware if there is going to be a movement outside the state of Michigan by both parents, then there will be implications as it relates to parenting time … Read More →

Joint legal custody, how does it work? There are two types of custody in Michigan, The first is legal custody and the other is physical custody. Legal custody is when a parent is chosen to make important decisions for the child which includes school, health care, and other important factors that will directly impact the child’s life. Physical custody is the right to have possession and control over the child. In other words, physical custody is who the child lives … Read More →

It is becoming more and more common for both parents to live in different states or even different countries. This leads many people to question the custody process and how would one go about handling this successfully. As long as the child has lived in Michigan for the required amount of time, then Michigan will have jurisdiction over your case, even if you are living out of the state. This means that you can apply to the state of Michigan … Read More →