Legal Question in Family Law in Michigan

Re: Separation

Michigan is a "no fault" divorce state. "Abandonment" is a fault-based legal ground for divorce that a person used to have to cite as a reason for wanting a divorce in a complaint for divorce when it was a fault-based state (like you hear 'irreconcilable differences' used in celebrity divorces because California is a fault-based state). If you couldn't allege a reason for the failure of the marriage, a divorce would not be granted. Now, you don't need a legal reason, you just have to allege that there has been a breakdown of the marital relationship(...).

So, to answer your question, no, it would not be abandonment.

The term "no fault" can be misleading though, because even though you don't need to allege fault for wanting a divorce, fault can affect the equitable division of marital property. The reason for this distinction is too complicated to address in an e-mail. So something like infidelity or addiction that might have led to a break-up may contribute to a 60/40% split of assets, if there are any.

Nevertheless, the simple act of moving out during a trial separation to avoid discord in the home would not affect a person's rights to equitable division of marital property and custody matters. Custody is based on many other factors again to lengthy to enumerate in this e-mail.

Feel free to contact me with additional questions. If you decide to proceed in a divorce or legal separation, my rates for are very reasonable.