Divorce
Our divorce lawyers will handle all of the complex issues related to your divorce and focus on getting you the best outcome.
Grand Rapids, MI (616) 243-3331
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Divorce
Divorce is an emotional time for your immediate family and has many complex issues. We are ready to assist you with understanding the divorce process and important issues to resolve.
While many say “there are no winners in divorce”, it is our goal to ensure our clients will not be losers in divorce.
Child Support
Child support is determined by the Michigan Child Support Guidelines. These guidelines use a mathematical formula which considers a number of factors when calculating child support.
We will assist you in understanding the different factors used in preparing your case file. The primary factors used are:
- Income of both parents
- Number of children
- Number of overnights with each parent
- Day Care expenses
Annulment
Annulments in Michigan are less common than divorce due to the fact you must prove the inability or grounds the marriage should have occurred in the first place. A common misconception is that the “length of marriage” is not grounds by itself for the courts to grant an annulment.
Grounds for an Annulment (partial list)
- Age - one or both parties under age
- Related - parties are too closely related
- Mental Health - party was legally incapable
- Bigamy - one party was married already
- Consent - one party forced to get marry
- Improper Ceremony - person lack legal authority
CAROLYN GASTON & ASSOCIATES, P.C. can assist you in determining if a Legal Annulment makes sense in your particular situation. The court must decide that the grounds for an annulment are proven and there was never a legal marriage. The court will still award property settlements, child support, child custody, and parenting time depending upon your case.
Spousal Support Factors
- Length of the marriage
- Earning abilities / ability to work
- Past relations and conduct
- Obligor's ability to pay alimony
- Discrepancy between incomes
- Asset & Property awards
- Health of the parties
- Source & amount of property awarded
- Ages of the parties
- Prior standard of living
- Responsibility for support of others
- General principals of equity
Alimony
Alimony or Spousal Support is paid by one ex-spouse to the other based on a number of considerations. The goal of the courts is to assess the income and needs of both parties to ensure the divorce will not impoverish either one.
We can assist you in determining if Alimony should be pursued in your case. The courts will consider some of these factors in deciding if spousal support is warranted:
Prenuptial Agreement
A Prenuptial Agreement is a contract entered into by the parties before they marry. It can set up what will happen to your assets should you die or get divorced.
CAROLYN GASTON & ASSOCIATES, P.C. can assist you in designing such a contract and give you peach of mind.
Committed to helping our clients succeed
Other practice areas
Child Custody
We assist families with child custody disputes, guardianships, paternity actions, parenting time, and more. Call us at (616) 243-3331.
Child Neglect
Michigan's CPS is reponsible for investigating any allegation of child neglect. We can assist in these matters. Call us at (616) 243-3331.