One of the key responsibilities of a divorce lawyer in Shelby Township MI is to deal with the equitable division of assets. During a marriage, a common arrangement is that one spouse goes out and works for the family income while the other stays at home and manages the home affairs. Legally, it is a partnership that is considered equal in all things, even though the responsibilities are divided. During the time that this partnership is established, the marriage partners garner all sorts of things that they hold in common, including homes, cars, and bank accounts. These must be fairly divided between each partner during the divorce.
Your divorce lawyer in Shelby Township MI can advise you of the particular requirements of your state. Some states require an across the board 50% division of assets. This can happen even if the marriage only lasted a day. Other states take into account existing assets brought to the marriage, and do not consider those part of the properties that must be divided. In addition to current assets, one spouse may be entitled to a share of future assets and revenue. This comes in the form of alimony and child support.
Alimony can come to the spouse that earns less money than the other does. The idea is to rectify the situation where one spouse has developed his or her career while the other took care of essentially everything else. Breaking this partnership would leave the first spouse in good financial shape and the second spouse without work and without a developed carrier. Awarding alimony gives the second spouse a chance to establish his or her own career.
The amount of alimony is often awarded according to the number of years of marriage. It continues until the recipient re-marries. For both parties, splitting a paycheck to provide for two households instead of one is a tremendous burden. It is often the reason why some couples decide they cannot afford to get divorced. It is a complicated situation that is best handled by a divorce lawyer in Shelby Township MI.
Child support is also paid, if the spouse with the lessor income is awarded the children. The amount is determined with the needs of the children in mind.
The problem is that although alimony and child support may be specified in the divorce papers, it is often not paid. The spouse receiving these payments should work closely with their attorney to consider options like garnering paychecks in order to ensure payment.
