the smart law group

divorce

Divorce is a new start

Filing for divorce is the first step to creating the life that you want for your future.

Divorce is not something that happens in one day. But it IS something that change your life for the better. You just have to take the first step.

It took time to get to where you are now, it will take time to take the necessary steps to create your new future. Starting a divorce is easy, but properly separating and equitably dividing property and determining things like custody, parenting time and support can be challenging.

But knowing what your rights will be after divorce is vitally important. Even a “friendly” divorce involves a wide range of legal concerns that must be properly stated and written into a final agreement called a Judgment of Divorce, which must be signed by a Judge.

Your divorce is different than any other. Hopefully, this is the only divorce you will ever experience. No matter what, every divorce-case requires smart decisions to be made in your best interest to protect you and your future. This is why we do what we do at The Smart Law Group.

What Does a Divorce Attorney DO?

A good divorce attorney is someone who protects YOU during the process of divorce. Our sole focus is to fight for your best interests whether it’s a “contested” divorce or a “friendly” divorce.

Your Smart Law Group attorney will handle all aspects of your divorce case, from initial consultation through trial, if necessary. Your Smart Law Group attorney will work to get you the best resolution and settlement possible through negotiations or mediation.

When necessary, your Smart Law Group divorce attorney will take your case to trial to go after the results you need.

What Happens During a Divorce?

Whether you’re filing for divorce in Farmington Hills, Livonia or anywhere in Wayne County and beyond, the process is the same. And it’s important to know what the steps are:

Steps to Divorcing Your Spouse

Step 1: All divorce cases start with the filing of a Complaint for Divorce.

The Complaint for Divorce is “served” on the other spouse who typically files a response to the Complaint.

After the case is filed with the Court, the Complaint for Divorce is “served” on the other spouse who typically files an answer to the Complaint.

Some divorce cases require Orders from the Court at the beginning of a new case to make sure that:

This first step ensures that the basic issues are addressed to attempt to maintain some stability during the divorce process. Any Order at the beginning of a case stays in effect while the case is ongoing, but is subject to change with an agreement or a later Order of the Court.

Step 2: Information Exchange

After the case is started, information is exchanged between the spouses through their attorneys.

This information gathering and exchange will include disclosure of all of the financial information for both parties including:

Basic personal information
Employment Information
Asset information, including real estate, financial accounts, pension/retirement accounts, and vehicles, including the values
Income from both parties
Tax Returns
Debt information, including mortgages, loans, and credit cards, including the balances

Step 3: Settlement Negotiations

The vast majority of divorces are settled through negotiations, or with the help of mediation, which is a
form of negotiation.

In many “friendly” divorces this is a relatively straight-forward process where one party presents a
settlement proposal to the other party, which often leads to further discussion to settle a case.

Sometimes there are child related issues that cannot be agreed upon and the Friend of the Court
investigates certain issues and makes recommendations to resolve those issues. In some cases,
evaluations outside of the Court system are obtained to assist reaching an agreement on child related
issues.

Also, sometimes motions are filed with the Court to resolve issues that cannot be agreed upon while case is
pending, even though the parties are still trying to settle the case. Motions are requests made to the
Court that some action be taken before trial.

In almost every case, there will be a pre-trial hearing with the Judge. That may also be called a status
conference, settlement conference, or final conference.

If the case is not settled by that hearing date, the Judge will schedule various dates and deadlines for each side to accomplish certain tasks in an effort to get the case settled, along with a final trial date. If no settlement can be reached, most Courts will require everyone to go to mediation, with a neutral mediator, with the goal of reaching a settlement.

If an agreement cannot be reached, either between the parties or with mediation, a trial will take place and a Judge will decide all the issues that cannot be agreed upon by the spouses. The vast majority of cases are settled, but a lot can happen between the start of a divorce case and a settlement, or a trial.