Birmingham Alimony And Spousal Support Attorney
Divorce can rearrange your finances faster than you expect. One spouse may have stepped back from a career to raise children. One may have carried the household on a single income for years. At Cannon Law PLC, I bring a background I built inside Michigan state government, including service as an Assistant Attorney General, to alimony cases in Birmingham and throughout Oakland County. That experience shapes how I prepare a case and how I argue it.
Call 248-929-9750 to talk through where your finances stand.
What Is Alimony In Michigan?
Alimony is financial support that a judge may order one spouse to pay the other during or after a divorce. Michigan usually calls it spousal support, and the terms mean the same thing. It may last temporarily while the case is pending, continue for a set period afterward, or, in longer marriages, continue indefinitely.
Support is not automatic. Whether it applies, how much and for how long all depend on the facts of your marriage.
How Courts Decide Alimony
A judge looks at the whole financial picture rather than a formula. Michigan courts weigh a list of fairness factors, and no single one controls. Preparation matters here: The spouse who documents the household finances clearly is the spouse who is understood clearly.
- Length of the marriage: A judge analyzes a 25-year marriage differently than one of four years.
- Education and work history: The court looks at each spouse’s training, credentials and time spent in or out of the workforce.
- Income and earning ability: The court compares current earnings against what each spouse could reasonably earn.
- Age and health: Conditions that limit work matter, as does proximity to retirement.
- Standard of living and needs: Judges consider the lifestyle the couple established together and what each spouse needs to meet real expenses.
- Contributions to the marriage: Raising children or supporting a spouse’s career counts, even without a pay stub.
- Fault in the breakdown: Michigan judges may consider each spouse’s conduct in ending the marriage, though it counts as one factor among many rather than a penalty.
- Ability to pay: Support has to work against real obligations.
Taxes come up early. For divorces finalized after 2018, the payer cannot deduct spousal support and the recipient does not report it as income, which changes the negotiation. Most disputes settle before trial, but you should prepare for one. Also, support ties into how the court splits the marital estate, so these talks run alongside dividing your marital property.
Can Alimony Be Changed After Divorce?
A layoff, a retirement or a serious illness can raise whether an existing order still fits. Michigan allows modification in some situations, and your judgment’s language matters. Handle changes through the proper process. An informal arrangement does not alter a court order, and unpaid amounts accumulate, so speak with a family law lawyer first.
Know Where You Stand Before The Numbers Are Set
Alimony follows you for years. I take a limited number of divorce cases in Birmingham and Oakland County, so I know your finances myself before I argue them and your case gets prepared rather than processed. Call 248-929-9750 to speak with a lawyer directly, or fill out my online contact form.