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Call Today To Speak With A Divorce Attorney in Birmingham, Michigan | (248) 825-8042

If your marriage is ending, you need more than sympathy. You need clear answers about what happens to your home, your children, and your financial future. An experienced divorce attorney in Birmingham, MI can give you those answers before you make decisions you cannot take back, and Hermiz Law represents Birmingham residents at every stage of that process.

A divorce attorney, also called a divorce lawyer or family law attorney, is legal counsel who represents one spouse through the dissolution of a marriage, including property division, child custody, parenting time, and spousal support. For residents of Birmingham, Michigan, that representation plays out in the Oakland County Circuit Court, Family Division, under Michigan’s no-fault divorce law. This guide explains how a Michigan divorce works for Birmingham residents: the legal grounds and waiting periods, where and how to file, the differences between contested, uncontested, and collaborative divorce, how courts divide marital property, how custody and parenting time are decided, and how spousal support is determined.

Attorney Madana Hermiz brings 14 years of family law experience to divorce cases across Oakland County, including Birmingham. Her recognition, which includes Super Lawyers Rising Star, Top Women Attorneys in Michigan, National Trial Lawyers, and a 10/10 Avvo rating, reflects results in the property division, custody, and support disputes that define these cases. Clients facing divorce in Birmingham get an advocate who knows the Oakland County family court and treats every case with the discretion it demands.

What a Divorce Attorney Does in Birmingham

A divorce attorney in Birmingham advises you on your rights before you file, prepares and files the complaint for divorce, gathers financial evidence through discovery, negotiates settlement terms, and represents you in hearings, mediation, and, when necessary, trial before the Oakland County Circuit Court, Family Division. The same attorney typically handles every connected issue in the case: the division of marital property, child custody and parenting time, child support, and spousal support.

The value of counsel is proportional to what is at stake, and in Birmingham the stakes are often substantial: homes, business interests, retirement accounts, and the daily lives of children. A divorce attorney’s job is to protect those interests while moving the case toward a resolution you can live with long after the judgment enters. For the full scope of the firm’s services beyond divorce, see our Michigan family law overview.

Grounds for Divorce in Michigan

Michigan recognizes a single statutory ground for divorce, and it applies to every filing from Birmingham to Detroit. The plaintiff may offer no other explanation of the grounds in the complaint, and the defendant may admit or deny the allegation without explanation. MCL 552.6. A judgment enters only after evidence is presented in open court that the marriage has broken down as the statute describes.

What Is No-Fault Divorce?

No-fault divorce means a Michigan court grants a divorce without either spouse proving wrongdoing. The only ground is that “there has been a breakdown of the marriage relationship to the extent that the objects of matrimony have been destroyed and there remains no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved.” MCL 552.6. You do not need your spouse’s consent, and your spouse’s denial of the grounds will not prevent the court from entering a judgment.

No-fault refers to the grounds, not to every issue in the case. The conduct of the parties can still enter the analysis when Michigan courts divide property and weigh spousal support, as one factor among many. Our guide to no-fault divorce in Michigan explains where fault re-enters the picture and where it does not.

How Long Does a Michigan Divorce Take?

Michigan sets minimum waiting periods, not maximums. A divorce without minor children cannot be finalized until at least 60 days after the complaint is filed; with minor children, the wait is six months. MCL 552.9f. Courts have no power to shorten the 60-day floor, but the six-month period can be reduced to as few as 60 days on written motion showing unusual hardship or compelling necessity. MCR 3.210(A)(2).

The waiting period sets the earliest date a judgment of divorce can enter, because no proofs or testimony may be taken before it expires and every judgment requires a hearing at which proofs are taken. Contested cases, in which custody, property, or support remain disputed, routinely run past the statutory minimums, and no statute guarantees a completion date.

The waiting period starts the day you file, not the day you decide. If divorce is on the horizon in Birmingham, a confidential consultation with Hermiz Law can help you plan the filing and the months that follow. Call (248) 825-8042.

Filing for Divorce as a Birmingham Resident

Filing a divorce from Birmingham means satisfying Michigan’s residency rules, filing in the correct court, and completing a defined sequence of procedural steps. Each is covered below.

Michigan Residency Requirements

To file for divorce, one of the spouses must have resided in Michigan for at least 180 days, and in the county of filing for at least 10 days, as of the date the complaint is filed. MCL 552.9(1). These requirements are jurisdictional: a Michigan court cannot grant a divorce without them, and a case filed in the wrong county fails for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.

Residence means the place of a permanent home where a person intends to remain; mere physical presence in a county for 10 days is not enough. At the same time, Michigan residency does not require continuous physical presence: a Birmingham resident who spends part of the 180-day period out of state, without intending to abandon their Michigan home, still satisfies the statute. If you have not yet accrued 180 days of Michigan residency and your spouse has not either, the practical answer is usually to wait until one of you meets the requirement before filing.

Only one spouse needs to meet the residency requirements. If your spouse lives out of state, your own Birmingham residency is enough for a Michigan court to dissolve the marriage; resolving property and support against a nonresident spouse additionally requires personal jurisdiction, which Michigan law supplies in defined circumstances, such as where the spouse was domiciled in Michigan when the cause for divorce arose or maintained a Michigan domicile during the marriage. MCL 552.9a; MCL 600.705(7). There is also a narrow exception to the 10-day county rule: it does not apply where the defendant was born in or is a citizen of another country, the parties have minor children, and there is information from which the court could reasonably conclude the children are at risk of being removed to another country. MCL 552.9(2). For a deeper treatment, see our article on Michigan divorce residency requirements.

Where Birmingham Residents File: Oakland County Circuit Court

Birmingham residents file for divorce in the Oakland County Circuit Court, Family Division, Michigan’s 6th Judicial Circuit, located at 1200 N. Telegraph Rd., Pontiac, MI 48341. The Family Division hears all divorce, custody, parenting time, and support matters arising in Oakland County, and most domestic case types can be filed electronically through the MiFILE e-filing system.

The Oakland County Friend of the Court is the circuit court agency that assists the Family Division with custody, parenting time, and support. The Friend of the Court can investigate and make recommendations on those issues and administers and enforces the support obligations imposed in a case, unless the parties properly opt out where the law allows. Its offices sit separately from the main courthouse, at 230 Elizabeth Lake Rd. in Pontiac. Many Birmingham divorces involving children will interact with this office throughout the case.

What Happens After You File in Oakland County?

A Michigan divorce follows a defined procedural sequence after the complaint is filed. For a Birmingham case in the Oakland County Circuit Court, the path generally looks like this:

File the complaint and summons. The complaint alleges only the statutory no-fault ground, and filing is available through MiFILE for most domestic case types.
Provide the required companion documents. If the case involves minor children or a request for child or spousal support, a Verified Statement (SCAO form FOC 23) must be served on the other party and provided to the Friend of the Court. This is a statewide requirement under MCR 3.206(C), not a local Oakland County rule. Cases involving children also require an affidavit under the UCCJEA disclosing the children’s residence history, and the Friend of the Court informational pamphlet must be served with the complaint.
Serve your spouse. The complaint and summons must be formally served under the Michigan Court Rules, and your spouse may answer by admitting or denying the grounds without further explanation.
Exchange financial information. Each party must serve a verified financial information form within 28 days after the defendant’s initial responsive pleading. MCR 3.206.
Resolve the issues. The parties negotiate directly, through counsel, or in mediation; the court may refer any contested issue to mediation by stipulation, on a party’s motion, or on its own motion. MCR 3.216. The Friend of the Court may investigate custody, parenting time, and support.
Wait out the statutory period, then finalize. After the 60-day or six-month waiting period expires, proofs are taken in open court and the judgment of divorce enters.

Birmingham couples who want to settle privately sometimes weigh mediation against the collaborative divorce process. Both are available in Oakland County cases, and they differ in structure:

	Mediation	Collaborative Divorce
Who runs it	A neutral mediator facilitates negotiation; in evaluative mediation the parties may agree to receive a written settlement recommendation. MCR 3.216.	Each spouse retains a collaboratively trained attorney; the team, often with other professionals, works solely toward settlement. MCL 691.1331 et seq.
How it starts	By the parties’ stipulation, a party’s motion, or the court’s own referral of any contested issue.	Only by the parties’ voluntary, signed participation agreement; a court cannot order it.
If it fails	The case simply proceeds in litigation with the same attorneys.	Both collaborative attorneys must withdraw, and the parties retain new counsel to litigate.
If it succeeds	A signed settlement is binding and becomes the basis of the judgment.	The attorneys may appear in court to seek approval of the resulting agreement.

Types of Divorce: Contested, Uncontested, and Collaborative

An uncontested divorce is one in which the spouses agree on every term, including property, custody, parenting time, and support, leaving the court to review and enter the judgment. A contested divorce means at least one issue remains for the court to decide. Collaborative divorce is a structured settlement process under Michigan’s Uniform Collaborative Law Act in which both spouses and their specially retained attorneys commit, by signed participation agreement, to resolving the case without court intervention.

Contested vs. Uncontested Divorce

The difference between a contested and an uncontested divorce is the level of agreement, and that difference drives nearly everything about how the case proceeds:

	Uncontested	Contested	Collaborative
Agreement level	Full agreement on all terms	At least one disputed issue	Commitment to reach full agreement
Court’s role	Reviews terms and takes proofs to enter judgment	Decides the disputed issues after discovery, motions, or trial	Approves the agreement the process produces
Process	Streamlined; judgment after the waiting period	Discovery, negotiation, mediation, hearings, possible trial	Team-based negotiation outside court; litigation stays paused
Timeline effect	Statutory waiting period is often the main constraint	Runs past the statutory minimums as disputes are resolved	Depends on the pace of negotiation; either spouse may end the process before judgment

Michigan also authorizes an action for separate maintenance, often called legal separation, which is filed in the same manner and on the same statutory ground as a divorce. MCL 552.7. The court resolves property and support just as in a divorce, but the parties remain legally married at the end. Couples choose it for reasons ranging from religious conviction to benefits considerations, and our guide to contested vs. uncontested divorce in Michigan covers how each path compares.

The right process can save you months of conflict, and the wrong one can cost you leverage. Hermiz Law helps Birmingham clients choose between negotiation, mediation, collaborative divorce, and litigation based on the facts, not a template. Schedule a confidential consultation to talk through which fits your case.

Property Division Under Michigan Law

What Is Equitable Distribution?

Equitable distribution is Michigan’s standard for dividing marital property in a divorce: the division must be equitable, just, and reasonable, not automatically equal. MCL 552.19. Michigan does not follow community-property rules, and no rigid formula applies. Courts aim for a division that is “roughly congruent,” generally dividing marital property roughly in half unless the factors supply a good reason to depart, and any significant departure must be clearly explained.

The governing framework comes from Sparks v Sparks, 440 Mich 141 (1992). The Sparks factors are: the duration of the marriage; the parties’ contributions to the marital estate; their ages; their health; their life status; their necessities and circumstances; their earning abilities; their past relations and conduct; and general principles of equity. Not every factor applies in every case, and the court need not weigh them equally, but it must make findings on each factor relevant to the case. Fault is one factor among many, never a punitive basis for an unequal award.

Marriage length shapes the analysis. Michigan courts treat contributions to a long marriage as a partnership; in one leading case, a spouse was awarded a share of a family business that had appreciated over a 24-year marriage. In shorter marriages, courts distinguish premarital property from the marital estate and may divide the appreciation that the parties’ active efforts produced during the marriage. Retirement benefits earned during the marriage are marital assets too, divided through specialized court orders discussed in the FAQ below. For the complete framework, see our guide to property division in Michigan divorce.

High-Asset and Business Owner Divorce in Birmingham

Birmingham’s demographics shape its divorces. The city’s median household income is reported at roughly $153,000, far above state and national medians, with a median home value around $712,700 and a homeownership rate of 76.2%. Those are demographic figures, not court statistics, but they mean Birmingham cases are more likely than most to involve business interests, professional practices, substantial real estate, and significant retirement portfolios.

When a business is in the marital estate, valuation becomes the central battleground. Michigan’s partnership approach entitles a non-owner spouse to share in business value built during the marriage, and the interplay between the business’s value and the owner’s income raises the “double-dip” question: whether the same business earnings can be counted for both property division and spousal support. Michigan courts may not apply a bright-line rule either way: in the Loutts litigation, the Court of Appeals rejected an automatic prohibition on double dipping, and later upheld a trial court’s case-specific decision to use the business’s value for property division only. Getting the valuation methodology and the support interaction right is where high-asset cases are won or lost.

Retirement division in high-asset cases carries its own technical layer. Private employer plans governed by ERISA are divided by qualified domestic relations order (QDRO), while Michigan state and local government pensions require an eligible domestic relations order (EDRO) or similar order under Michigan’s public-employee retirement statutes, a distinction that matters for auto-industry executives, public employees, and business owners alike. Prenuptial agreements, common in high-asset marriages, add a further threshold question covered in the FAQ below.

Child Custody and Parenting Time in Birmingham, MI

Custody and parenting time in a Birmingham divorce are governed by the Michigan Child Custody Act of 1970, MCL 722.21 et seq., and decided in the Oakland County Circuit Court’s Family Division, which has exclusive jurisdiction over these questions.

Legal Custody vs. Physical Custody

Legal custody is the authority to make the important decisions affecting a child’s welfare. Physical custody determines where the child lives. Michigan courts may order either or both on a sole or joint basis: joint custody means the child resides alternately with each parent for specific periods, the parents share decision-making authority, or both. MCL 722.26a(7). Many families pair joint legal custody with a primary physical residence.

	Legal Custody	Physical Custody
What it covers	Decision-making authority over the important decisions affecting the child’s welfare	Where the child resides day to day
Joint form	Parents share decision-making authority	Child resides alternately with each parent for specific periods
Key question for the court	Can the parents cooperate and generally agree on important decisions?	Which living arrangement serves the child’s best interests?

When parents agree on joint custody, the court must award it unless it finds on the record, by clear and convincing evidence, that joint custody is not in the child’s best interests. MCL 722.26a(2). When parents cannot agree, the court decides by weighing the statutory best-interest factors along with the parents’ ability to cooperate on important decisions, and the Friend of the Court may investigate and submit a report, which the parties are entitled to review and challenge before the court decides.

Michigan’s Best-Interest Factors

Michigan custody decisions turn on the 12 best-interest factors of MCL 722.23. In condensed form, the court evaluates:

The love, affection, and emotional ties between each parent and the child
Each parent’s capacity to give the child love, affection, and guidance and to continue the child’s education and religious upbringing, if any
Each parent’s capacity to provide food, clothing, medical care, and other material needs
How long the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment and the desirability of maintaining continuity
The permanence, as a family unit, of the existing or proposed custodial home
The moral fitness of the parties
The mental and physical health of the parties
The child’s home, school, and community record
The reasonable preference of the child, if the court considers the child of sufficient age to express one
Each parent’s willingness to facilitate a close, continuing relationship between the child and the other parent
Domestic violence, whether or not directed at or witnessed by the child
Any other factor the court considers relevant

Parenting time, the schedule of time the child spends with each parent, is decided under the same act. Michigan law presumes it is in a child’s best interests to have a strong relationship with both parents, and a child has a right to parenting time with a parent unless clear and convincing evidence on the record shows parenting time would endanger the child’s physical, mental, or emotional health. MCL 722.27a. The statute adds nine parenting-time factors governing the frequency, duration, and type of time ordered, and when parents agree on a schedule, the court must order it absent clear and convincing evidence it is not in the child’s best interests. Our Michigan child custody guide covers custody litigation in full depth.

Custody decisions turn on evidence, not intentions. If custody or parenting time is likely to be disputed in your Birmingham divorce, talk to Hermiz Law before positions harden; a confidential consultation early in the case shapes everything that follows.

Spousal Support in Michigan

Spousal support, commonly called alimony, is money one spouse pays the other during or after a divorce, awarded when the court finds it just and reasonable under the circumstances. MCL 552.23. Michigan has no spousal support formula: the statute prohibits rigid and arbitrary formulas that fail to account for the parties’ unique circumstances and relative positions, so every award is built case by case.

Michigan courts weigh the factors articulated in Loutts v Loutts, fourteen in all, including the length of the marriage, each party’s ability to work and to pay support, the parties’ ages and health, their needs and prior standard of living, contributions to the joint estate, fault in causing the divorce, and general principles of equity. The court must make findings on every factor relevant to the claim, and trial courts hold broad discretion in striking the balance. The full fourteen-factor framework, with how courts apply each factor, is covered in our guide to spousal support in Michigan.

Birmingham Case Profile: Who We Help

Birmingham is an affluent, established community: roughly 21,600 to 22,400 residents with a median age near 41, a median household income around $153,000, and about 76% homeownership. Those numbers describe a demographic profile, not court statistics; no public source reports Birmingham-specific divorce filing volumes or custody patterns. Even so, they shape the issues that dominate local cases in practice.

Business owners. A closely held business is often the largest asset in a Birmingham divorce and the hardest to divide. These cases turn on valuation methodology, the treatment of business value built during the marriage, and structuring an outcome, often a buyout, that divides value without dismantling the enterprise, while navigating the double-dip question where spousal support is also in play.

High-net-worth households. Longer marriages in high-income households accumulate layered estates: multiple real properties, investment portfolios, deferred compensation, and retirement plans that require QDROs or EDROs to divide. Where a prenuptial agreement exists, its enforceability is frequently the first fight, because it can control the entire property framework.

Parents of young children. For Birmingham families, custody, parenting time, and school stability outweigh every financial issue. These cases center on the best-interest factors, workable parenting schedules, and constructive engagement with the Oakland County Friend of the Court.

Hermiz Law serves Birmingham from its office in nearby Troy and represents clients throughout the surrounding Oakland County communities, including Bloomfield Hills and Bingham Farms.

Your case profile shapes your strategy from day one. Whether you own a business, hold substantial retirement assets, or are focused on your children’s stability, Attorney Madana Hermiz builds the case around what matters most in it. Call (248) 825-8042 for a confidential consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What If My Spouse Won’t Sign the Divorce Papers?

You can still get divorced. Michigan’s no-fault law does not require your spouse’s signature, consent, or agreement. The only ground is the breakdown of the marriage, and a spouse’s denial of that ground will not prevent the court from entering a judgment. MCL 552.6. A refusing spouse can make the case contested, and slower, but cannot stop it.

What Happens If My Spouse Doesn’t Respond to the Divorce Complaint?

If your spouse is properly served and does not respond, the case can proceed by default. Even in a default, Michigan requires a court hearing at which proofs are taken before the divorce judgment enters, and the court may require evidence that the proposed judgment’s terms accord with the law. MCR 3.210(B)(5). Your spouse’s silence delays nothing beyond the statutory waiting period; it does not protect them.

What Happens If Assets Are Hidden in a Divorce?

Michigan divorce builds in financial disclosure: each party must serve a verified financial information form early in the case, and the Verified Statement discloses income and employment to the Friend of the Court. MCR 3.206. When concealment is suspected, discovery tools such as interrogatories, requests for production of documents, depositions, and subpoenas are used to trace assets. Concealment can also cost the hiding spouse at division, because the parties’ past relations and conduct is one of the Sparks factors the court weighs.

Can I File If My Spouse Lives Out of State?

Yes. Only one spouse must meet Michigan’s residency requirements (180 days in the state and 10 days in the county), so your Birmingham residency alone lets a Michigan court dissolve the marriage. MCL 552.9. To divide property and order support against a nonresident spouse, the court also needs personal jurisdiction, which Michigan law provides where, among other bases, your spouse was domiciled in Michigan when the cause for divorce arose, is served in Michigan, voluntarily appears, or maintained a Michigan domicile during the marriage. MCL 552.9a; MCL 600.705(7).

Do I Need a Prenuptial Agreement?

It depends on what you bring to the marriage, but if you have one, expect it to matter. Michigan enforces prenuptial agreements that are in writing and signed, entered voluntarily without fraud, mistake, or duress, made with full disclosure, and fair when executed. Enforcement can still be challenged if unforeseeable changed circumstances would make it unconscionable, though the length of the marriage by itself is not such a change. In Birmingham’s high-asset marriages, the agreement’s validity is often the first issue a divorce attorney evaluates.

What Is a QDRO in a Michigan Divorce?

A QDRO, or qualified domestic relations order, is the court order that divides private retirement plan benefits in a divorce, directing the plan to pay a share to the former spouse as an alternate payee. It must identify the participant and alternate payee, the amount or percentage to be paid or how it is determined, the number of payments or period covered, and each plan it applies to. Michigan state and local government pensions are divided instead by an eligible domestic relations order (EDRO) or a similar order under Michigan’s public-employee retirement statutes.

Divorce in Birmingham starts with one protected conversation. Call Hermiz Law at (248) 825-8042 to schedule a confidential consultation with Attorney Madana Hermiz and get answers specific to your case.

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with Hermiz Law. Michigan law changes, and the application of any statute, court rule, or case depends on the specific facts of your situation. Consult a licensed Michigan attorney about your circumstances.

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Troy	Sterling Heights	Rochester Hills
Birmingham	Bloomfield Hills	Royal Oak
Clawson	Berkley	Madison Heights
Warren	Southfield	Farmington Hills
West Bloomfield	Novi	Northville
Plymouth	Livonia	Canton
Dearborn	Dearborn Heights	Westland
Garden City	Redford	Detroit
Grosse Pointe	St. Clair Shores	Roseville
Clinton Township	Shelby Township	Macomb Township
Chesterfield Township	Fraser	Mount Clemens
Oakland County	Wayne County	Macomb County

Divorce Attorney in Birmingham, MI