Michigan divorce laws let you end a marriage without proving anyone did anything wrong, but they set firm requirements on where you file, how long you wait, and how the court handles children, property, and support. You must have lived in Michigan for at least 180 days before filing, and the case cannot be finalized for at least 60 days after filing — six months if you have children under 18.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 552.9f – Judgment of Divorce; Waiting Period Everything else — custody, child support, property division, spousal support — runs on rules that a judge applies to the facts of your case.
Who Can File and Where
Either you or your spouse must have lived in Michigan for at least 180 days before a divorce complaint can be filed. On top of that, the person filing must have lived in the county where the complaint is submitted for at least 10 days.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 552.9 – Judgment of Divorce; Residency Requirement You file in the circuit court for that county.
After filing, your spouse must be served with a summons. Served in person, your spouse has 21 days to file a written response. Served by mail or outside Michigan, the deadline is 28 days. If your spouse ignores the summons entirely, the court can enter a default judgment, meaning the judge can grant the divorce and issue orders without your spouse’s input.3Michigan Courts. Instructions for Answer (Civil)
How Long a Michigan Divorce Takes
The court cannot take testimony or finalize anything for at least 60 days after filing. With minor children, that waiting period extends to six months from the filing date.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 552.9f – Judgment of Divorce; Waiting Period The court can shorten the six-month period in some cases, but the standard timeline applies to most divorces with children. These waiting periods are a floor, not a ceiling. Contested cases regularly take longer.
No-Fault Grounds
Michigan does not recognize fault-based grounds. The complaint must state that the marriage has broken down to the point where the relationship cannot reasonably be preserved, and nothing more — the statute specifically prohibits including any further explanation.4Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 552.6 – Complaint for Divorce; Filing; Grounds You do not need to accuse your spouse of anything, and your spouse cannot block the divorce by disagreeing.
Fault is not entirely irrelevant, though. It plays no role in whether the divorce is granted, but a spouse’s misconduct during the marriage can influence how a judge divides property and whether spousal support is awarded. Judges weigh each party’s behavior alongside the other factors; conduct alone will not drive those decisions.
Child Custody
Michigan courts decide custody based on the child’s best interests, with no built-in preference for either parent. The statute lists specific factors a judge must evaluate, including the emotional bond between each parent and the child, each parent’s ability to provide love, guidance, and stability, the child’s ties to school and community, and each parent’s willingness to support the child’s relationship with the other parent.5Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 722.23 – Child Custody Act of 1970
Custody has two parts. Legal custody covers major decisions about education, health care, and religious upbringing. Physical custody determines where the child lives day to day. Both can be sole or joint. Joint legal custody is common and means both parents share decision-making authority. Joint physical custody arrangements, where the child spends significant time with each parent, are regularly ordered when the circumstances support it.
Child Support
Michigan courts set child support by applying a statewide formula developed by the Friend of the Court Bureau. The formula accounts for each parent’s income, the number of overnights the child spends with each parent, childcare costs, health insurance expenses, and other factors. Judges must use the formula unless doing so would be unjust or inappropriate in a particular case.6Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 552.605 – Child Support Order; Deviation From Formula
If a judge deviates from the formula, the order must spell out the calculated formula amount, explain how the order differs, and state why the formula result would be unfair.6Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 552.605 – Child Support Order; Deviation From Formula The parties can agree to a different amount, but the judge still has to make those same findings before approving it. Most orders follow the formula closely.
Support payments are typically collected through income withholding, where the paying parent’s employer deducts the amount directly from their paycheck. The Friend of the Court monitors payments and can take enforcement action when a parent falls behind by more than a month.7Michigan Courts. Friend of the Court Model Handbook
How Property Gets Divided
Michigan divides marital property under an equitable distribution model. Equitable does not necessarily mean equal, though a roughly even split is the typical starting point. The goal is a fair outcome based on the circumstances.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 552.9 – Judgment of Divorce; Residency Requirement
The court first determines what counts as marital versus separate property. Assets acquired during the marriage are generally marital. Assets one spouse owned before the marriage, or received as a gift or inheritance during the marriage, are generally separate. When the court divides marital property, it weighs factors drawn from caselaw, including:
- The length of the marriage
- Each spouse’s contributions to the marital estate, including homemaking and childcare
- Each spouse’s age, health, and earning ability
- The financial needs of each party
- Which spouse was more at fault for the breakdown of the marriage
- Any other factor the court considers relevant to fairness
Marital debt is divided the same way. Each spouse gets a fair share, which usually means roughly half. Complex assets like businesses or real estate may need professional appraisals. If an asset cannot be practically split, the court can order it sold or adjust the other spouse’s share to compensate.
Spousal Support
Spousal support in Michigan is not automatic, and there is no formula. Every award is decided case by case. A judge considers the length of the marriage, each spouse’s ability to work and earn income, the property each spouse received in the division, the ages and health of both spouses, each spouse’s contributions to the marriage (including homemaking and raising children), and the conduct of each party during the marriage.
Fault matters here, but only as one factor among many. A judge will consider which spouse bears more responsibility for the breakdown, and fault alone will not justify an award. The overall goal is preventing a sharp disparity in living standards where one spouse would be left significantly worse off than the other.
Spousal support can be temporary (during the divorce proceedings), rehabilitative (lasting long enough for the recipient to become self-supporting), or permanent (typically reserved for long marriages where one spouse cannot become financially independent). The court retains authority to modify the amount or duration later if circumstances change substantially.8Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 552.28 – Alimony; Revision of Judgment
The Friend of the Court
One feature of Michigan divorce that surprises many people is the Friend of the Court (FOC). Every county has an FOC office attached to the circuit court’s family division, and it plays a central role in any divorce involving children. If you have minor children, you will almost certainly interact with the FOC.
Its responsibilities include:7Michigan Courts. Friend of the Court Model Handbook
- Investigating custody and parenting time when parents cannot agree, then filing a written recommendation with the court. Both parents receive a copy.
- Calculating child support using the Michigan Child Support Formula and reviewing existing orders when a parent’s income changes.
- Running mediation and dispute resolution meetings before contested hearings.
- Enforcing support obligations through income withholding, tax intercepts, license suspension, passport denial, property liens, and contempt proceedings.
The FOC is not your advocate. It works for the court. Understanding its role early saves confusion when you receive investigation requests or mediation notices that feel unexpected.
Filing Fees
As of 2025, Michigan’s base civil filing fee for a divorce is $150. With minor children, you also pay an $80 custody and parenting time fee and a $40 support fee, bringing the total to $270. An additional $25 electronic filing fee applies in many courts.9Michigan Courts. Circuit Court Fee and Assessments Table Those are court fees only. They do not include the cost of a process server to deliver the summons or any attorney fees. If you cannot afford the filing fees, you can ask the court to waive them by filing a fee waiver request.
Changing Orders After the Divorce
Life changes after divorce, and Michigan law allows court orders to be updated when circumstances shift enough to justify it. The rules differ depending on what you want to modify.
Custody
To change a custody order, you must show either proper cause or a genuine change in circumstances, and the modification must serve the child’s best interests. If you are asking the court to change the child’s established custodial environment (where the child has been living and looking to that parent for daily needs), you face a higher bar: clear and convincing evidence that the change is in the child’s best interest.10Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 722.27 – Custody Orders; Modification That standard is deliberately tough. The longer a child has been in one home, the harder it is to justify uprooting them.
Support
Either party can petition to revise spousal support or child support. For spousal support, the court has broad discretion to change the amount or payment terms based on current circumstances.8Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 552.28 – Alimony; Revision of Judgment For child support, the FOC periodically reviews orders and can initiate a review when a parent’s income changes significantly.7Michigan Courts. Friend of the Court Model Handbook You file a motion with the same circuit court that issued the original order.
Separate Maintenance Instead of Divorce
Michigan does not have a “legal separation” in the traditional sense, but it offers something functionally similar called separate maintenance. A separate maintenance action lets a couple live apart, divide property, and establish custody and support orders without ending the marriage.11Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 552.7 – Action for Separate Maintenance It is sometimes chosen for religious reasons or to preserve eligibility for a spouse’s health insurance or other benefits tied to marital status.
The process mirrors divorce: you file a complaint in circuit court on the same grounds, and the court can issue orders covering everything from property division to child custody. The critical difference is that separate maintenance does not end the marriage, so neither spouse can remarry. If the other spouse wants a divorce instead, they can file a counterclaim, and if the court finds the marriage has broken down irreparably, it will grant the divorce rather than separate maintenance.11Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 552.7 – Action for Separate Maintenance Separate maintenance only works if both parties are willing. One spouse who files for divorce overrides the other’s preference for separation.
Restoring Your Former Name
If you changed your name when you married, the divorce judgment itself can include an order restoring your birth name or any surname you legally used before the marriage.12Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 552.391 – Divorced Woman; Change of Name Handling it that way is far simpler than filing a separate name-change petition afterward. If you want your name restored, make sure the request is in the divorce complaint or raised before the judgment is entered.