We accept cases in 9 counties: Oakland, Macomb, Wayne, Washtenaw, Livingston, Monroe, Genesee, Lapeer and St. Clair
Reaching the decision to file for divorce and end your relationship may have taken you a long time to do. The Law Firm of Victoria, P.C. can help when you're ready. We are a firm dedicated to representing clients in divorce and other family law matters.
Going through a divorce is not easy, but your divorce attorneys will guide you through the legal process, making it less stressful and smoother while preserving your legal rights.
Our family law firm can help you prepare for your future and help you deal with all financial matters during and after the divorce.
Schedule an initial consultation with a divorce attorney from The Law Firm of Victoria, and tell us about your Michigan divorce. It’s time for you to be in control of your present and your future, so let’s get started now. Call our family law attorney today.
Protecting Your Interests in a Michigan Divorce
If you are about to begin your Michigan divorce, it is crucial to take all the necessary steps to protect your financial interests. It is much easier to reach a fair settlement when you are fully aware of your financial situation and have clear goals regarding property division.
The first step is to know and understand what your financial interests are. Identify and list all the assets you own. To do so, put together a file that includes pay stubs, bank and investment accounts, and the following:
Gather any documents you have regarding the above assets and make a list of everything you own and everything you owe to better plan the final property division.
Create a Financial Support Team
Depending on your situation during the Michigan divorce process, you may want to have a financial team by your side. This may include an accountant and a financial advisor as well as your divorce attorney from The Law Firm of Victoria. Being prepared in this sense is particularly important in cases where there are high-value assets.
When you are financially protected during the Michigan divorce, you can take the time to avoid making emotional, rushed decisions that may have an impact on your future and be better equipped to face whatever comes next.
What Is the Michigan Divorce Process?
These are the jurisdictional requirements for a Michigan divorce:
File The Complaint
The family law divorce process gets started as soon as you file the complaint.
Service The Process
The person who files the complaint is known as the plaintiff, and they must put the defendant on legal notice of the complaint for divorce. The court will define a process through which your spouse must be served, generally through an outside process server.
Receive An Answer to The Complaint
The defendant has 21 days after being served with the lawsuit to answer the complaint. The answer must specifically admit or deny the lawsuit. Failure to answer the complaint in a timely manner has consequences such as loss of property, child custody, or other family law rights.
Discovery
Discovery is the formal process of exchanging information under oath between both parties. Both family law divorce attorneys will verify all facts and discover any new information. They may make use of interrogatories, which are questions submitted under oath, subpoenas, which are court orders that compel the production of documents, and depositions, which are testimonies taken under oath.
Court Appearance
This court appearance is generally called a status or case management conference. It includes a schedule of the dates required to conclude the case. When there are children in the picture, your first conference will be an Early Intervention Conference where issues such as child custody and support and parenting time will be given dates when these family law issues should be resolved. Your divorce attorneys will be able to help you with this and every other step in your divorce process.
Mediation, Arbitration, and Settlement
In a mediation process, a neutral third party will listen to what the spouses have to say and attempt to facilitate a resolution. This is not a mandatory step but can yield promising results. Couples may also go for arbitration and if neither is successful, the court will schedule a trial to settle the case. The judge will then decide on any issues still unresolved through family law.
FAQ
What Is a Collaborative Divorce?
As opposed to a traditional divorce, which may be contentious, couples may decide on a collaborative divorce which aims to complete the divorce process by having both spouses resolve all issues. If this is achieved, there would be no need to go to court and ask a judge to decide.
However, what the spouses think they will be able to accomplish through civil cooperation and what happens in real life, may not always coincide, and fights and disagreements may occur. This is why working with family law divorce attorneys may ultimately be the best way to finalize the divorce process.
What Is a Judgment of Divorce?
A divorce decree is a signed court order that states that the marriage is now dissolved. It explains the terms of the divorce as they relate to the issues that you and your spouse raised during the proceedings. In general, they contain three topics addressed by the judge:
Issues related to parenting and child custody,
How marital property and debt will be divided.
Financial support, which may cover both alimony and child support.
How Can Our Divorce Lawyers Help You?
Working with a family law attorney from The Law Firm of Victoria is crucial when you are going through a divorce. The process may drain you mentally, and emotionally, which is why working with a family law specialist will help you end your divorce process in the best way possible.
Even when you have the best legal team by your side, you will still need to play an essential role in the proceedings. Every item, every point, and every decision will involve you and how you see your life developing in the future.
Call our divorce attorneys today; we are ready to help you prepare for the new phase of your life.
We Are Committed to Providing Thorough & Competent Legal Representation
We Have Free, Weekly and Completely Confidential Seminars
We Offer Private, Discreet, and Confidential Consultations
We Have Represented and Counseled Over 15,000 People
Our Attorneys Have Over 100 Years of Combined Experience
We Represent Clients in Divorce & Other Family Law Matters
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I appreciate your kindness, professionalism and patience. You are truly a blessing.”
Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I appreciate your kindness, professionalism and patience. You are truly a blessing. My life and my children’s lives are better because of you. Thanks a million!
P.O.
“You have been a great help for me and have opened my eyes to a lot of new information and I am very thankful for you and the Law Firm of Victoria.”
I thank you again for all your help and support and I am hopeful this time we will figure things out and I will not have to call you in the future. You have been a great help for me and have opened my eyes to a lot of new information and I am very thankful for you and the Law Firm of Victoria.
A.L.
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I want to thank all of you who gave so unselfishly to help me get my dignity back. Thank you for your efforts to make my life better than it had been for a long time. I enjoyed spending time with you and watching you use your expertise to reach a settlement I could accept. You fought to the very end for the best possible conclusion. Thank you for all you accomplished for me.
