Brian Dickerson: A new Michigan divorce statute, tailored for one?
Is some unhappily married (but politically well-connected) Michigander trying to avoid a costly property settlement by rewriting the state's divorce laws?
That's what judges and family lawyers throughout the state are asking after discovering that some of Lansing's most influential political fixers are greasing the skids for two bills that would dramatically alter the rules for dividing assets in high-stakes divorces.
Under current Michigan law, any appreciation in the value of one spouse's business is treated as marital property if it occurs during the marriage, and each partner is entitled to half if the marriage breaks up. If a spouse's $1-million business grows into a $50-million business over the course of a 25-year marriage, for example, the divorcing partner would be entitled to half the $49-million increase.
But two bills introduced last month by state Rep. John Walsh, R-Livonia, would tip the scales in favor of the working spouse, making it harder for the stay-at-home partner to claim a share in the family business and limiting a judge's discretion to award business assets to her or him.
Diana Raimi, a veteran divorce lawyer and property law expert assigned to analyze the legislation for the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, said she was amazed when lobbyists described the initiative as an effort to codify and clarify Michigan's marital property laws.
"It reads like a special-interest, targeted remedy for one person trying to head off a particular set of difficulties in court," Raimi said Wednesday afternoon. Together, she added, the bills proposed by Walsh "amount to the most anti-family piece of legislation I've seen in my 33 years of practice."
Wexford County Probate Judge Kenneth Tacoma, who heads the Michigan Probate Judges Association, said judges who preside over divorce cases were blindsided by Walsh's bills. Tacoma said his organization, along with the association that represents Michigan's circuit court judges, will formally oppose it.
"We think it represents a pretty radical change in the law," Tacoma said.
Who gains?Exactly who's behind the proposed rewrite of Michigan's marital property laws remains a mystery. But the campaign already involves some of the state's most expensive and influential players.
Richard McLellan, a veteran elections law lawyer best known for work on behalf of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and his political ties to former Gov. John Engler, said Wednesday that he encouraged Walsh to introduce the bills earlier this year after being approached by "a group of lawyers and others" whom he declined to identify.
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Wednesday, I asked McLellan whether it wasn't customary to consult the divorce lawyers and family court judges before proposing substantive changes in Michigan divorce law. "But the bar can be a graveyard for good ideas," McLellan added.
Since the beginning of the year, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette's office has received 21 counterfeit check complaints. "We have received numerous reports from attorneys who have received fake checks related to a retainer to handle a divorce
Florida Bar Association spokeswoman Amaura Canty has the best solution: Contact a family law attorney who practices in New York as well as Florida. The FBA lists none in Brevard County, according to its representatives, but you can call its offices in
The issue of joint custody of the boys sent the divorce complaint Mrs. Skelton filed Sept. 13 into Tuesday's proceedings after Mr. Skelton backed out of a signed agreement he had made with David McFarland, Mrs. Skelton's attorney.
“I have always been a social justice activist,” she said, “and representing fathers in family law blends with my civil rights and social justice background. Through the American Divorce Association for Men (ADAM), the attorneys at Sterling Law Office
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