Michigan Child Custody Lawyers
Let our Lawyers Answer Your Michigan Child Custody Agreement Questions
Few things are more stressful, overwhelming, and emotionally taxing than going through a divorce or custody proceeding that directly impacts your minor children. After all, the future well-being and happiness of your family is most critically at stake.
With everything that’s on the line, you deserve proven legal guidance that’s experienced and attentive to you and your family’s needs. The Michigan child custody lawyers at Friedman Law Firm provide all this and more.
We work closely with our clients to protect the legal rights of both the parent and the child, providing legal insight that clearly explains the process to help you make informed decisions every step of the way.
Michigan Child Custody Law Basics
To help you take steps to create the best outcome possible for you and your children, you need a clear understanding of the different aspects of child custody in Michigan.
The basic idea of “child custody” has to do with the rights and responsibilities of each parent and child in a family and can determine the amount of time a child will spend with each parent. It also outlines each parent’s decision-making abilities.
Only parents who are legally married when the child is born can have the courts decide custody. Otherwise, an unmarried mother is automatically the legal parent, with a biological father needing to take specific steps to establish paternal rights before he can even participate in discussions concerning custody, parenting time, and child support.
There are often two types of child custody: “legal” and “physical” custody. Here’s what they mean:
Physical custody
Although physical custody has no real definition, it most often refers to the parenting time arrangement with the other parent.
Legal custody
Legal custody refers to the right a parent has to make decisions for the child. These include decisions surrounding the child’s education, elective medical care, and what religion the child will practice.
Legal custody may be awarded as either “sole” or “joint”. Sole legal custody allows one parent the exclusive ability to decide school-related issues, elective medical procedures, and choice of religious practice. Thus, if the parents share “joint legal custody,” they equally have standing to make these decisions regardless of the amount of parenting time they are provided.
Michigan courts focus on the best interest of the child when determining custody, with their decisions aiming to strengthen children’s ties with their parents and not weaken them. However, if a child’s physical, mental, or emotional health is affected, an alternate determination may be made.
Factors Courts Consider When Determining Michigan Child Custody
With how complex each child custody case may be, there are many factors that Michigan courts take into consideration to enable them to make the best decisions for both the child and parents.
The factors that the courts follow in making every custody decision are established in the “best interests of the child” section 722.23 of the Michigan Child Custody Act. These are:
- The love, affection, and other emotional ties existing between the parties involved and the child
- The capacity and disposition of the parties involved to give the child love, affection, and guidance and the continuation of the education and raising of the child in his or her religion or creed, if any
- The capacity and disposition of the parties involved to provide the child with food, clothing, medical care, or other remedial care recognized and permitted under the laws of this state in place of medical care, and other material needs
- The length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment, and the desirability of maintaining continuity
- The permanence, as a family unit, of the existing or proposed custodial home or homes
- The moral fitness of the parties involved
- The mental and physical health of the parties involved
- The home, school, and community record of the child
- The reasonable preference of the child, if the court considers the child to be of sufficient age to express preference
- The willingness and ability of each of the parties to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing parent-child relationship between the child and the other parent or the child and the parents
- Domestic violence, regardless of whether the violence was directed at or witnessed by the child
- Any other factor considered by the court to be of relevance to a particular child custody dispute
While each factor will be examined by the court, there may be certain factors that play a more significant role compared to other cases.
If you need help understanding these legal factors and how they impact your situation, our knowledgeable lawyers are ready to help.
Modifying Michigan Child Custody Orders
When children under the age of 18 are involved in a divorce, three issues are ultimately addressed: custody, parenting time, and child support. Once this determination is made, an order is entered by which the parties will be expected to follow indefinitely.
However, as life happens and time passes, the original custody order may need to be modified.
For example, as the children’s needs remain front and central, perhaps their needs have changed, and the current parenting order no longer fits. In addition, other circumstances regarding the parents may have changed and/or there is a compelling reason to modify the existing court order.
As a result, either parent can file a motion to modify custody, parenting time, or child support based upon a substantial change of circumstances.
Prior to filing such a motion, we are here to discuss your situation and help determine if there is an appropriate change of circumstances to warrant the filing of a motion.
Situations That Require Modification of Michigan Child Custody Orders
Hundreds of requests for modification are made in Michigan courts every year. Common situations that prompt parents to seek revised orders include:
- Remarriage by a party
- Financial circumstances of a parent have changed
- Parent’s work schedule is entirely different
- Parent isn’t using their court-ordered parenting time
- Children aren’t doing well in school
- Children’s needs aren’t being met by a parent
As common as these scenarios may seem, each scenario requires careful legal consideration. Our lawyers will take the time to fully understand the various changes in circumstances, assist in gathering appropriate documentation to support your claim, and thoroughly ensure that you are making the right call before we either file your motion or help defend the motion filed against you.
How to Change Existing Child Custody Orders
An existing child custody order in Michigan remains in effect until or unless it is changed at a later time. That means these orders are not permanent. There may come a time when a change is needed with a custody order, in which case you will need to take specific steps.
We always recommend that you try and get the other parent to agree with the change. If both parents are agreeable to the change, this makes the process much easier as we can simply draft a stipulated order.
However, if there remains a dispute and you still wish to obtain a modification to your existing order, you will need to file a motion to modify custody. As it is your motion, you will be considered the petitioner, and the other side will be the respondent.
The respondent will have options and may wish to file an answer to the motion before the court hearing. If you are the respondent, be mindful that courts have deadlines, and your answer must be filed in a timely manner.
Once the matter is before your referee or judge, they will determine if the reason behind your motion is significant enough to consider a change in custody. They will likely require evidence of a change in circumstances that necessitates a change to the custody order. The court will also consider whether the change in custody order will be in the child’s best interests.
If it’s time to change an order, we advise that you act quickly and contact us. It is not uncommon for someone to wait too long before circumstances change again such that the time to file has already passed.
As to a change in your child support, it is critical to note that the date that you file your motion triggers as the implementation date. Therefore, if you lost your job (whether you are trying to increase your child support payment payments, or trying to reduce your obligation), the court will not retroactively change an existing order. Thus, failing to act could cost you money, fees, and timely financial relief.
While the steps above may sound manageable on your own, we strongly recommend having an experienced child custody attorney to ensure every document, deadline, and requirement is met at each step of the process.
Change of Domicile and How it Affects Child Custody
As we’ve discussed the issue of joint legal custody, there are other specific requirements that accompany this designation. Specifically, this determination prohibits either parent from moving out of the state or moving further than 100 miles within the state of Michigan without permission from the court.
Thus, if a parent wishes to relocate beyond these limitations and the other parent is against this relocation, they must file for a change of domicile.
As with any legal issue, the facts and circumstances of your unique situation should be discussed with our experienced and knowledgeable attorneys. We can help you out with this daunting situation as we strategize and develop your desire to relocate, or your opposition to the other parent’s relocation.
Even though these are very challenging cases, we’ve successfully assisted clients on both ends of this dispute.
Factors Considered in Michigan Change of Domicile Cases
Even though parents with joint legal custody aren’t permitted to move over 100 miles and/or out of state, there are always situations where the Michigan courts have allowed such a great relocation.
These situations and decisions are not taken lightly by the court, as such a new residence has the potential to drastically alter the current custody and parenting time.
The applicable Michigan law relating to these issues is provided in Section 722.31 of the Child Custody Act of 1970, which provides these factors to consider:
- Whether the legal residence change has the capacity to improve the quality of life for both the child and the relocating parent
- The degree to which each parent has complied with, and utilized his or her time under, a court order governing parenting time with the child, and whether the parent’s plan to change the child’s legal residence is inspired by that parent’s desire to defeat or frustrate the parenting time schedule
- The degree to which the court is satisfied that, if the court permits the legal residence change, it is possible to order a modification of the parenting time schedule and other arrangements governing the child’s schedule in a manner that can provide an adequate basis for preserving and fostering the parental relationship between the child and each parent, and whether each parent is likely to comply with the modification
- The extent to which the parent opposing the legal residence change is motivated by a desire to secure a financial advantage with respect to a support obligation
- Domestic violence, regardless of whether the violence was directed against or witnessed by the child
While these factors are the key to these disputes, our attorneys will critically assess each factor in your case. We’ve seen it all before and will use our experience to help shape your application of these factors, while also considering a range of other meaningful and related arguments.
Our Michigan Family Law Lawyers Understand Different Child Custody Situations
Whether you are seeking or contesting the modification of existing custody orders, Friedman Law Firm has the knowledge, insight, and experience it takes to help you achieve the outcome you and your family deserve while reducing stress.
Our lawyers understand that each case is different. We will listen carefully to our facts and circumstances. We will then provide you with the legal insight as we merge the applicable law to your situation.
Our Michigan Child Custody Attorneys Can Help
Even though the same laws and statutes are used in the courts with each case, Michigan custody agreements are not one size fits all.
Knowing how delicate, detailed, or complex your custody case may be, our child custody attorneys will help you decide on the arrangement that suits your child’s best interests, and then fight to make your request a reality. For help with your Michigan child custody case, contact Friedman Law Firm today.
Contact Michigan Child Custody Lawyers for Help Today
You deserve legal help that understands your unique situation, your family’s needs, and Michigan child custody law. Our child custody lawyers provide all this and more.
To schedule your no-cost consultation, use our contact form or call us at 248-932-0900. We look forward to speaking with you in-person, by phone, or virtually.