How can I start the divorce process in Michigan?
Anna Tsaturova
Michigan managing attorney at Marble Law
Key Takeaways
- To start the divorce process in Michigan, you need to file the required paperwork, including a complaint for divorce and summons.
- Then you need to serve your spouse with the divorce papers.
- After that, you and your spouse exchange information relevant to the divorce.
The first step in the divorce process in Michigan is completing the summons, a complaint, and other required papers for divorce.
- The summons informs your spouse that you’re filing for divorce.
- The complaint includes basic facts and personal information regarding the divorcing spouses (such as the names of the parties and their minor children, details about your marriage, and your property and debts), as well as a statement that there’s been a breakdown in the marriage.
Once completed, you file the paperwork with the circuit court of the county where either spouse has been residing for a minimum of 10 days.
Serving the papers
The next step is serving the divorce papers. This officially notifies your spouse of the divorce proceedings and gives them the opportunity to respond.
In Michigan, divorce papers must be served to the defendant by a third party who is at least 18 years old and isn’t a party to the case.
Service can be made by personal delivery or by mailing a copy to the defendant’s last known address along with a notice of filing. Mailing can only be done via certified mail delivery, and only the defendant can sign for receipt of the documents.
If the defendant is avoiding service, the court may allow service by publication in a newspaper.
In Michigan, the respondent has 21 or 28 days to reply to the divorce complaint once they’ve been served. (It’s 21 days if personal service is used and 28 days if the papers are mailed.) If they don’t respond within the allotted time period, the filing spouse may be able to obtain a default judgment, which means the divorce is granted on the terms requested by the filing spouse without the respondent’s input.
Discovery
The term “discovery” refers to the phase of the divorce process when each party (and their attorneys) gathers relevant evidence and facts. During this step, the parties exchange information about finances, child-related concerns and other issues relevant to the divorce case.
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Agreement or trial
What happens next depends on your situation.
If you and your spouse can work together, you may be able to write a divorce settlement agreement. This legally binding document sets out the terms and conditions of a separation and resolves any outstanding issues such as property division, spousal support and child custody and support.
The agreement is a way for the parties to negotiate the terms of the divorce themselves, without going to trial, giving them more control over the outcome. If the parties aren’t able to reach an agreement on their own, typically the court orders them to try mediation. During this legal process, a neutral mediator facilitates communication between the parties and helps them reach a mutually acceptable agreement on the issues in their divorce.
However, if the parties aren’t able to reach an agreement, most often they need to go to trial to settle their divorce.
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