I Need a Divorce and I Do Not Have Minor Children

Michigan divorce law only requires that you or your spouse live here. However, if your spouse has never lived in Michigan, the court may have limited jurisdiction in your case. Limited jurisdiction means the court can grant your divorce, but might not be able to do other things like divide your property or order child support. If you think Michigan has limited jurisdiction in your case, you should talk to an attorney.

Yes. As long as your marriage is valid in the place that you were married, and you or your spouse has lived in Michigan for six months, you can get divorced here.

Not usually. Although tribal courts have the authority to hear and decide tribal members' divorces, tribal members normally choose to file their case in a Michigan state court. However, if all of the parties to a divorce (spouses and minor children) live on a reservation, you must file your divorce in tribal court.

Maybe. An annulment is a court decision that a valid marriage did not occur. You can only get an annulment in certain situations. The grounds for annulment are bigamy, incompetence, you or your spouse were too young for marriage, or you and your spouse are closely related. You may also get an annulment if your spouse used force or fraud to get your agreement to marry.

No. Michigan is a “no-fault” divorce state. This means that you don’t have to prove cheating, abandonment, cruelty, or anything else to get a divorce. You can get a divorce even if you are the person who did something that made your marriage end. The only ground for divorce in Michigan is that “there has been a breakdown of the marriage relationship to the extent that the objects of matrimony have been destroyed and there remains no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved.” This means that there has been a serious, permanent, marital breakdown. It means that it is very unlikely that you and your spouse can work things out.

If you and your spouse disagree over any of the major issues in your divorce, such as property or debt division, child custody, child support, or alimony, you have a contested divorce case. If you have a contested divorce, you should hire a lawyer or at least talk to one.
Your divorce is uncontested if you and your spouse agree on all of the divorce issues or if your spouse doesn’t participate. Usually you can handle an uncontested divorce yourself, but you might need a lawyer if the issues in your case are complicated.

Start your divorce case by filing a summons and complaint for divorce in the circuit court in the county where either you or your spouse has lived for at least the last ten days. You can generate these forms by using our Automated Divorce Interview. If you file for divorce, you are called the plaintiff and your spouse is called the defendant.

When you are the Plaintiff, there are several ways to serve the initial divorce papers on your spouse. Choose the way that makes the most sense in your case. This will depend on things like whether you can pay someone to serve the papers, whether you have a friend or relative who will serve the papers, whether it is safe for a friend or relative to serve the papers, and how difficult you think it will be to serve the papers. You cannot serve the papers yourself. Service can be completed in the following ways:

• Personal service by a police officer or sheriff’s deputy
• Personal service by a private process server
• Personal service by a friend or relative
• Service by certified mail, return receipt requested.

For more information about serving divorce papers on your spouse, see the How to Serve Divorce Papers article.

Having a spouse on active military duty can complicate your divorce case. It may be difficult to find and serve papers on a service member stationed overseas. There are also state and federal laws that give people on active duty extra protections in civil cases. If your spouse is on active duty and has not answered your divorce complaint, a default judgment can’t be entered until the court appoints an attorney to represent your spouse. If you are filing for divorce and your spouse is on active military duty, you should hire a lawyer.

It doesn’t matter. Your spouse can’t stop you from getting a divorce. Michigan is a “no-fault” divorce state. This means you don’t have to prove cheating, abandonment, abuse, or anything else to get divorced. Even if your spouse shows up in court and says “I don’t want a divorce,” you will be able to get one. If your spouse doesn’t file an answer or participate in the case, you can still get a divorce.

In a divorce without minor children, the following things are decided:

• The end (dissolution) of your marriage
• Decisions about how to divide your marital property and debt
• Whether one spouse should pay spousal support (alimony) to the other spouse

Domestic relations mediation is a process that the court can use to help resolve contested issues in a divorce case. The mediator is a neutral person who helps you and your spouse work out an agreement in your case. You could be referred to mediation if you and your spouse agree to it or if the judge orders it. You and your spouse will pay the mediator a fee.
If any issues remain unresolved at the end of mediation, you and your spouse can ask the mediator to make a written recommendation to the judge about how to solve those issues. However, if both parties don’t agree to have the mediator make a recommendation, the court can’t order mediation.
Some cases are not appropriate for mediation. Your case might be excused from mediation for any of the following reasons:

• You or your spouse has a personal protection order against the other spouse
• Your children have been abused or neglected
• There has been domestic violence in your relationship, unless you both have attorneys at the mediation sessions
• You or your spouse are not able to negotiate for yourself at the mediation, unless you both have attorneys at the mediation sessions
• There is reason to believe that the health or safety of one or both of you will be put at risk by mediation

Domestic violence is serious and can impact the issues in your divorce. If there has been verbal, emotional or physical abuse in your marriage, you should talk to a lawyer. Your local legal aid office or other agency may be able to help you. To learn more about domestic violence and to contact helpful organizations, please see the Domestic Violence and Divorce toolkits for divorce with or without children.

If you change your mind about wanting a divorce, you can file a form to dismiss your case anytime before the Judgment of Divorce is entered. However, your case will continue if your spouse filed a counter-claim for divorce against you and wants the divorce to continue. If you dismiss your divorce case and later want to go through with it, you must file a new case and your waiting period will start over. Also, any orders that were entered in the first case will no longer be valid and will not be restored automatically if you file another divorce case in the future.

The division of property and debts must be equitable (fair) in each case. This usually means a 50/50 split, where each spouse gets an equal share. To decide what is fair in your case, the court may consider the following factors:

• How long you have been married
• Both spouses’ contributions to the marital estate (income and other contributions, such as being the primary parent)
• The ages of both spouses
• The health of both spouses
• The life status of both spouses (property division may attempt to maintain standard of living)
• Each spouse’s needs and circumstances (this could include one parent having primary custody of the children)
• Both spouses’ earning abilities (spouse who earns less may be given more than half of the property)
• Both parties’ past relations and conduct (who is at fault)
• General principals of fairness

All of the property and debts that you acquired during your marriage will be divided. Property that one of you had before your marriage can also be divided if necessary to create a fair division. A fair division of property and debts does not always mean a 50/50 split. There may be reasons, such as who is at fault in the break-up of the marriage, to divide the property 60/40 or some other way.
During a divorce the parties normally try to divide all of their marital property and debt in a way that is equal. If the parties can’t agree how to divide their property and debt, the court will decide on a fair division.

Yes, if the following statements are true about the agreement:

• It is in writing and signed by you and your spouse;
• It was entered into voluntarily without fraud, mistake, or bullying, and with full disclosure; and
• It was fair when you signed it, and circumstances have not changed so much that enforcement would be unfair.

If you signed a prenuptial agreement and are filing for divorce, you should talk to a lawyer.

Spousal support (alimony) is not common. You and your spouse can agree that you should get spousal support as part of your divorce. However, if you don’t agree, the court must decide the issue in a trial. To decide whether your spouse must pay spousal support, the court will consider:

• How long you have been married
• Your ability to work
• The amount and type of marital property you are getting in the divorce
• Your age
• Your spouse’s ability to pay support
• Your present situation and needs
• The health of you and your spouse
• Your standard of living
• Whether your spouse is responsible for your support
• Fault
• General principles of fairness

No. If you or your spouse has children from a prior relationship, do not include them in your divorce. Only minor children that you and your spouse have together are included in your divorce. This includes stepchildren who were legally adopted by one spouse. If you are expecting a child when the divorce is filed, include information about the pregnancy in your divorce complaint. If a child was born while you were married, but there is a dispute about whether the husband is the father, your divorce may be too complicated to do yourself and you should talk to an attorney.

No. Although Michigan law requires parents to provide health insurance for their children, there are no such laws for a spouse. However, the court may require your spouse to maintain your health insurance during the divorce process.
Additionally, under COBRA (a federal law) your spouse's employer must allow you to be covered by its health insurer for three years after your divorce. However, you must pay the premiums, which will probably be more expensive than when you were covered as a spouse. Also, COBRA doesn’t apply to very small companies (those that have less than 20 employees).