Before Dec. 6, 2018 Michigan had been going through a cannabis prohibition that has seen over 200,000 people arrested over the past ten years. It stands as the first amongst Midwestern states to legalize marijuana for recreational use, with the Proposal 1 ballot gaining over 360,000 signatures and 56% voter approval.
However, the legalization effort has raised a series of questions, particularly over regulation of the plant in advance to its complete legal available on the market in 2020.
Divorces are rarely easy. Even when amicable, they require a significant amount of legwork to ensure clarity and closure. Teams like Fowler and Williams can help ensure that, but some preparation on your end is always wise, as well.
For that reason, we’re taking a closer look at the Michigan divorce process, including preparations to be made if children are involved in the divorce. By understanding the process and what is expected of you, you can better expect what comes next and ensure you’re ready for it.
With the recent passing of Proposal 1 on November 6, 2018, it’s no surprise that enterprising individuals are looking at how to open a dispensary in Michigan. The proposal has legalized the use of recreational marijuana, possession up to certain amounts, and has paved the way for legal recreational and medical dispensaries to open.
As emotionally challenging as they can be, there’s no reason to make a divorce more contentious or fraught than it needs to be. Preparation is key, and this divorce in Michigan checklist can ensure that you’re prepared for any eventuality, ensuring cases with minor children involved, or where a spouse does not answer a complaint. To prevent cases from being dismissed over a lack of process, here’s what you need to do.
Statistics show that nearly 55% of marriages in the United States end in divorce at the present time, and those numbers have been steadily increasing for the past forty years. When you are involved in the divorce process, every divorce can appear to be “high conflict.” However, just because a divorce case requires some litigation, or the parties have disagreements about issues, does not mean a case is “high conflict.” Most divorces have manageable conflict that the parties can, with time, work through and have a mutually civil understanding. However, there are some cases that go beyond the pale. There is extensive litigation, both during and after the divorce, and the parties are unable to agree on anything, either regarding property distribution or custody and parenting time. These cases are commonly called “high conflict” and there are not a lot of family law practitioners who will take these kinds of cases. However, with proper counsel, and patience, high conflict cases can be ratcheted down, and appropriate boundaries to avoid conflict can be established.
Many times, clients come to our office, desperate to get out of a bad marriage, but thinking that there isn’t really any property to divide. In some cases, they’ll tell us that they don’t have any property, other than the marital home and their joint bank accounts. However, with a few questions, it often becomes clear that there is substantially more property to divide than litigants first realize. For example, are there retirement accounts? Are there pensions? Does one party, the other, or both, own a business? Does one of the litigants receive options or other perquisites as part of their employment? If any of those things are true, then you may be looking at a more complicated division of property than you first realized, but that may not be a bad thing. However, it is important to realize what counts as property and what doesn’t, which is why it is important for you to make sure that you have the right legal guidance.
