Recent Blog Posts
Understanding Child Custody in Michigan
Under Michigan law, custody, parenting time, and other divorce-related decisions about the children must be in the children’s best interests. Most parents agree with this broad principle, but they disagree on specific points. “The devil,” as they say, “is in the details.” Additionally, some parents confuse concepts like the best interests of the children… Read More »
Bond and Jail Issues in Waterford & Clarkston
Prompt pretrial release is a very important component of an effective criminal defense. If the defendant remains incarcerated, the presumption of innocence essentially becomes a presumption of guilt. People who are in jail cannot participate effectively in their own defense. An attorney-client partnership is more difficult if the accused sits in jail pending resolution… Read More »
What You Need to Know About Parental Alienation
In many divorce cases, an insidious process occurs –sometimes subtly, other times blatantly- whereby one parent alienates the other parent from their children. The alienating parent, the mother in many cases, tries to create an emotional disruption between the child and the targeted parent; usually the noncustodial father. Family therapists refer to this dynamic… Read More »
The Three Types of Adoption in Waterford & Clarkston
Since they give us a chance to build families up, most Waterford & Clarkston adoption attorneys love doing adoptions. The final court dates are often joyous occasions. Many Waterford & Clarkston judges allow families to decorate the courtroom and throw parties. But adoptions are also highly technical matters which require a great deal of… Read More »
Classification, Valuation, and Resolution Issues in Divorce Business Valuation Matters
Millions of Michiganders own small businesses. In fact, almost 90 percent of the business in the Wolverine State have fewer than 20 employees. Millions of other people have side businesses and ongoing freelance gigs. They are Uber drivers, website designers, salespeople, and the list goes on. Typically, the money these endeavors produce is a… Read More »
Queen of Soul Dies Intestate
Like Prince, Bob Marley, Princess Diana and Pablo Picasso before her, Detroit’s Aretha Franklin died intestate last month. Here in Michigan, dying “intestate” means that you die without a will, trust, or other estate planning instruments. What happens when you die without an Estate Plan? If you die and have not put an estate… Read More »
Planning the Unplannable: Estate Planning and Suicide
Ernest Hemingway once wrote, “Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.” Recently, the deaths of Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade have shocked the world; like Hemingway, the two stars committed suicide. Bourdain, the star of… Read More »
Child Support When You’re a Superstar Multi-Millionaire
Miguel Cabrera’s season-ending injury is but one of the troubles the superstar millionaire is facing as the MLB’s All Star break fast approaches. The two-time American League MVP is embroiled in a legal battle with his one-time mistress over child support for their two children. High-Income Child Support Payors The baseball superstar has an… Read More »
Life Insurance and Revocation Upon Divorce
Last month, the SCOTUS heard oral argument on an interesting issue arising in most divorce cases. Life insurance policies are, by statute, automatically revoked between spouses upon a divorce here in Michigan and many other states. The case at the Supreme Court comes from Minnesota and involves the Husband’s designation of his ex-wife as… Read More »
Digital Divorce Platforms
Over the past few years, we’ve noted some flashy digital divorce platforms transitioning from beta to the marketplace. These platforms digitize the administrative aspects of divorce and reduce -sometimes even eliminate- the lawyers’ role. In January, California celebrity divorce lawyer Laura Wasser rolled-out her latest product: an on-line divorce site. It’s Over Easy claims… Read More »
