divorce,

• Michigan Family Law: Are Child Support Payments Tax Deductible?

  No. Child support payments are not included in the taxable income of the spouse receiving said child support and therefore cannot be deducted from the taxable income of the spouse who is making the support payments.

• Michigan Family Law: If Parents are Divorced, which Parent is Entitled to the Tax Exemption for the Children?

  As we prepare to file our income tax returns, divorced or separated parents of minor children often wonder - or fight over - which parent gets to claim the dependency tax exemption for the children. If the parents file a joint return, this is not an issue.

• Michigan Is No Fault for Divorce, But Misconduct is a Factor for Support and Property

  Carol worked for nearly six years doing administrative work at a local insurance company to pay the bills while her husband Bill studied full-time to get his bachelor’s degree in accounting. Carol also put her own college education on hold with the plan that she would go back to college once Bill graduated, and before the couple started a family. Carol dreamed of becoming a teacher, but she agreed to wait on college to avoid student loan debt. Carol was hopeful that the sacrifices she made now would pay off when it was her turn to pursue a college degree.

• My ex-husband is supposed to pick up our child from my house at 6 p.m. on Friday to begin his weekend parenting time, but he is consistently 45 minutes to one hour late? What can I do about this?

  You need to file a parenting time violation with the Friend of the Court (FOC) in your county.  In Kent County, there is no cost to file.  If the FOC determines there is enough evidence to investigate, they will do so and will make a recommendation to the court.  The FOC can recommend anything from loss of parenting time for the violating parent, to a temporary suspension of parenting time, to a permanent change to the parenting time schedule.