Tag: Alimony

THE WRONG WAYS TO TRY TO LOWER SUPPORT PAYMENTS

Are you the payer of child and/or spousal support and wish your payment(s) were less and lower? Thinking about quitting or reducing your employment/working hours and that will do the trick? Not so quick. In Michigan, there is a legal principle called the imputation of income. Obviously, the Courts cannot force someone to physically go to work and make money. That said, the Court can calculate your income to an amount it believes is fair, reasonable and/or justified. For example, you make $100,000.00 per year and quit your job. If you go to Court saying I cannot pay support, the Court will say, “Too bad, if you don’t want to work at that job, thats on you, but, you don’t get to quit, not work and have an income of $0.” Similarly, if you elect to work less than you can/should, the court can impute you at a higher income for support calculation purposes. What does all of this mean? If you want to attempt to lower your support payments, speak with a family lawyer about (1) negotiating directly with your spouse or (2) assessing the filing and success of a Motion to Modify Support before the Court and the Friend of the Court. If you have any questions on this or any other divorce issue, please contact us today.

THE DONT’S OF SOCIAL MEDIA WHILE DIVORCING

For better or worse, we live in an era where social media in not just prevalent, it is ubiquitous. Despite many positives, social media, unfortunately, provides permanent evidence of what people do, say, feel, believe, and experience in their day-to-day lives. Often times, it is not mere rainbows, ice cream cones, and backyard soccer games.

Ideally, my clients would delete social media before they file for divorce, keep it inactive the entirety of the divorce proceeding, and, maybe reclaim their profiles a few years later. But, oh well.

If, after this, you feel compelled to continue actively using your social media profiles during your divorce, my professional and personal advice would be:

  1. DO NOT post any pictures, stories, tweets, or comments of you with other potential dates, romantic partners, paramours, or suitors.
  2. DO NOT post anything controversial (and, yes, for these purposes, we’re going old dinner party rules in leaving sex, religion, and politics in the don’t post silo).
  3. DO NOT post anything about your current spouse or the divorce. The only exception here is if you and your current spouse expressly agree to make a brief, joint post/announcement on social media to friends, family, and others. Nothing more.
  4. DO NOT post anything related to drinking (even social drinking), drugs or excessive partying or nighttime misadventures (even if legal).
  5. DO NOT post about your shared children in any way that could appear as slighting, boxing out, or in any way putting the children in the middle of the divorce.

Let me be clear – my advice is not meant to infringe upon your right to live your life freely and independently. It is, rather, to ensure you do not provide ammunition to your soon-to-be-ex and their attorney to make a mountain out of a mole hill for any little thing; I assure you they will be looking. This is also for the benefit of your children – do you want them (or their friends) seeing anything about you or your soon-to-be-ex regarding this private, sensitive, and ongoing family matter? Of course not.

Post something political – Your current spouse may argue you will try to radicalize/politicize the child.

Post with another man/woman – Your current spouse will say “Who is this? Were you with them during our marriage?” or “I can’t trust them with the kids, who knows who they even hang out with or bring around.”

Post something about your current spouse or the divorce they don’t like – Your current spouse and their lawyer will argue you are bad-mouthing and harming their reputation.

Post at 1:00AM holding drinks at a bar? Current spouse’s lawyer will argue you are more concerned with partying and being out than creating a suitable home life for your children.

Does all this sound far-fetched, ridiculous, or sensational? Welcome to the world of family law and divorce.

Living (or at least appearing to live) a private, uneventful life during your divorce will, I promise, save you from a great deal of headaches and scrutiny.

If you have any questions on this or any other family law and divorce issues, please contact us.

CO-PARENTING IN THE AGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Does your ex let your minor child broadcast all day long on TikTok or Instagram and you don’t like it? Do you and your co-parent view social media usage for your kids differently? Well, then, you’re like many parents, including Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. Co-parents should strive to be on the same page when it comes to age appropriate social media usage. If you disagree, perhaps talk with a family therapist or co-parenting counselor. If that doesn’t work, you may have to go to Court if it is such a hot button issue. If you have any questions about this or any other family law issue, please contact us.

GRANDPARENTING TIME

The prospect and notion of grandparenting time has become a hot-topic in the realm of family law in recent years. What rights do grandparents have to time with their grandchildren? Well, in Michigan, it really depends. In certain situations (i.e. a pending or entered divorce, the death of a parent/child and/or parents who are married and do not live together), then grandparents have more defined rights. If there is merely a dispute between parent and grandparent, grandparents have a major up-hill battle to climb. For more information on this or any other family law/divorce topic, please contact us.