Bloomfield Hills Michigan Family Law Blog

When can I modify my spousal support?

On behalf of The Law Firm of Hauer & Snover posted in alimony/spousal support on Friday, March 27, 2020.

Surging or exploding stock portfolios can have a huge impact on your financial outlook. During a boom, you may feel your pockets swelling. And when the markets bust, they can leave you feeling hollowed out. But can any of these changes to your assets lead to changes in your spousal support?

The short answer is “maybe.” It won’t be enough for you to feel differently. But if the appreciation or depreciation of your assets leads to a real change in circumstances, you might have reason to petition for a modification.

How do Michigan’s courts measure your love for your child?

On behalf of The Law Firm of Hauer & Snover posted in High-Asset Divorce on Tuesday, March 10, 2020.

By now, you’ve probably learned that Michigan’s courts aim to award child custody according to your child’s best interests. And you may have learned about the different factors the court reviews. But as it reviews them, how does the court judge these factors?

How does the court measure the “love, affection, and other emotional ties” you have with your child? This is, after all, the first factor the law cites in determining your child’s best interests. And the next? It’s your “capacity” to show love and affection and raise your child well. How can the court judge these things?

10 crazy places people hide assets during divorce

On behalf of The Law Firm of Hauer & Snover posted in High-Asset Divorce on Wednesday, February 26, 2020.

Some people are greedy. They know it’s illegal to try to hide their assets and disguise their wealth during divorce. But they do it anyway because they want to keep more than their fair share.

If you’re headed toward divorce and suspect your spouse may be hiding some of his or her assets, you’ll want to work with an attorney who knows how to find them. Experience matters because there’s no shortage of crazy places people try to hide their wealth. Here are some of the craziest.

5 things to know about business valuation in divorce

On behalf of The Law Firm of Hauer & Snover posted in High-Asset Divorce on Wednesday, February 12, 2020.

If you or your spouse own a business—either solely or with partners—there’s a good chance the value of that business will matter in your divorce. Even if you have a prenup that will keep the business intact, you may need to determine how much its value increased since you got married.

Valuing the business is a key step in any business owner’s divorce. Businesses can be sizable assets, often more valuable than their owners’ homes, vehicles and stock portfolios. And it’s critical that you put the right price tag on the portion of the business that’s rightfully a part of the marital estate.

How can I challenge an unfair prenup?

On behalf of The Law Firm of Hauer & Snover posted in High-Asset Divorce on Friday, January 24, 2020.

No one gets married with a plan to get divorced. Even if you hired a lawyer and sat down to sign a prenup, you may not have taken it seriously. It may have just been a thing your fiancé wanted. But you were going to stay married forever, right?

Unfortunately, things don’t always go according to plan, and you may now be staring at divorce. And worse yet? After putting years of your life into your marriage, trying to make it work, you might have to challenge the draconian terms of a prenup you signed when you never dreamed they would affect you.

Can you stop your ex from taking your child out of state?

On behalf of The Law Firm of Hauer & Snover posted in High-Asset Divorce on Monday, January 20, 2020.

Custody battles are often the bitterest and most troubling parts of a divorce. And the sad fact is that they don't always stop after the divorce has been finalized. Life continues, and if your ex has primary custody, you may someday find yourself faced with the possibility of seeing your child relocated hundreds of miles away from home.

New jobs. New romances. Family commitments. There are all kinds of reasons that people want to move, but divorced parents can't just move wherever they want. Michigan law says that parents need to agree to any relocation that would take the child out of state or more than 100 miles from your home. And if you don't agree to the move? You may have to challenge it.

When is divorce mediation a bad idea?

On behalf of The Law Firm of Hauer & Snover posted in Property Distribution on Thursday, January 16, 2020.

Divorce attorneys will often advise clients to mediate their disputes. The process has its advantages when it works, but it won’t always work. There are many cases in which mediation might simply cost you more money before your divorce lands in the courtroom—as it was always going to.

How can you know if this is going to be the case? It’s not always wise to predict the future, but there are several common signs that mediation won’t work for you.

Avoid these common divorce mistakes

On behalf of The Law Firm of Hauer & Snover posted in Property Distribution on Wednesday, December 18, 2019.

Divorce is rarely easy. The fact is it may be one of the hardest things you'll ever endure. It can be stressful, depressing and expensive. But it doesn't have to be fully as bad as people commonly make it.

Plenty of divorces turn into horror stories, but yours doesn't have to be one of them. You can reduce your stress and improve your outcome by setting clear goals and reasonable expectations. When it comes to property division, you can be mindful. With the right steps, you can avoid these common pitfalls:

10 tips for a successful prenup

On behalf of The Law Firm of Hauer & Snover posted in High-Asset Divorce on Tuesday, December 10, 2019.

"Prenup" may no longer be a dirty word. Long considered a cynical contract--and one exclusive to the ultra-rich--the prenuptial agreement has recently become more popular.

As we addressed in an earlier post, the prenup's rise in popularity owes largely to the different ways that millennials look at marriage. They're marrying later in life. They're accumulating more assets before they marry. And they're more likely to have seen their parents get divorced. As a result, they're more likely to see prenups as a solid contingency plan. So here are 10 tips for making a plan that works.

6 financial considerations for high asset divorces

On behalf of The Law Firm of Hauer & Snover posted in High-Asset Divorce on Friday, November 15, 2019.

Marriage can make things complicated. It can complicate and ruin the relationship you and your spouse once shared. And it can complicate your finances.

It's often hard to see how much marriage blends things until you file for divorce. Then you find that nearly everything you earned or bought has become marital property. It's hard to get your things unstuck. Accordingly, property division requires clear and careful thinking, especially in high asset divorces.