Family Law Attorney Canton MI

If you have a family law concern, it involves your family, which makes it a very important concern. If this is the situation you find yourself in, reaching out to an experienced family law attorney in Canton, Michigan, is in your and your family’s best interests. 

Common Family Law Claims

Family law is an important and broad area of the law that helps families resolve the legal issues they face. While family law claims can take nearly limitless forms, the majority of family law claims fall into the following common classifications:

• Divorce (generally), including same-sex divorce
• The division of marital assets
• Child custody and parenting time
• Child support 
• Spousal support (commonly called alimony)
• Paternity
• Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements
• Annulments
• Grandparents’ rights
• Post-judgment modifications

Divorce Concerns

Many family law concerns are also specific elements of divorce (although they can also arise outside of the divorce process). For example, if you and your ex share children but were never married, the following family law matters may pertain:

• Your child custody arrangements
• Child support

Your Child Custody Arrangements

In Michigan, the law addresses both legal custody and physical custody (often called parenting time), and child custody issues frequently arise outside of the divorce process itself (including the need for post-judgment modifications). Legal custody refers to who will be making important decisions for your children, including:

• Decisions about their health care
• Decisions about their education
• Decisions about their religious upbringing

Physical custody – which is called parenting time – on the other hand, determines how you and your children’s other parent will divide your time between your children. Often one parent will become the primary custodial parent, and the children will live with him or her the majority of the time, while the other parent has a visitation schedule. Parents can also, however, split their time more equally. If you and your children’s other parent are unable to negotiate parenting time arrangements between yourselves, the court will do so for you, and its rulings are always based on the involved children’s best interests.  

Child Support

Child support payments are intended to help ensure that both parents uphold their financial responsibilities to their children, and they are calculated in accordance with state guidelines. If one parent is the primary custodial parent, the parent with the visitation schedule will generally pay child support to him or her. It is important to note, however, that even when parents split their time equally, the higher earner will generally have a child support obligation (because child support is calculated in relation to each parent’s ability to pay). 

Reach out to an Experienced Family Law Attorney in Canton, Michigan, for the Legal Guidance You Need

If you are facing a family law concern, the compassionate Canton, MI family law attorneys at the Law Offices of Robbins & Licavoli are on your side and are well-positioned to help. For more information about what we can do for you, please do not hesitate to contact us today.