Legal Question in Family Law in Michigan

Re: prior owned house

There are a few ways the courts could deal with this. Typically, though, a spouse in entitled to half of the increase in value of the property during the marriage. With the market as it is, some families are finding that the value of their homes has decreased to the point that there is no real equity. Once the formula is determined, you may either sell the house or buy her out if you can afford to.

Good luck.

Re: prior owned house

Short answer: No. You won�t necessarily have to sell your house in a divorce. Second, the purpose of property division upon divorce is to divide the property of the spouses so that each gets what equitably ought to be his or hers. Finally, the court has the power to award a party part or total ownership in a piece of property (e.g., a car) if it appears from the evidence in the case that the party contributed to the acquisition, improvement, or accumulation of the property. That said, your Attorney can make the argument that you should get the house if, say, your contribution substantially outweigh your spouse�s (e.g., she disappeared for two years while you maintained the property and all expenses).