Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Michigan

Return of the Security Deposit

The contract between the landlord and tenant is the lease. Unless the landlord is a party to a lawsuit wherein the judge orders the landlord to do something different, then the landlord should follow the terms of the lease. If the lease names both the husband and wife and states that they both are providing the security deposit, then any security deposit refund should be made in a check which is jointly payable to both the husband and the wife. The divorce judgment applies to the husband and wife, not to those with whom they do business. For instance, the court might tell the husband to pay all credit card debts of the wife on accounts which are only in her name, but she still is liable to the credit company if the husband does not pay; she cannot avoid the debt by telling the credit card company that the court has ordered her former husband to pay. Similarly, the landlord is not bound by the judgment of divorce, if the landlord was not named as a plaintiff or defendant in the case, and the landlord must abide by its contract (i.e., the lease) with the husband and wife. You should meet with an attorney to discuss your particular circumstances and to review the lease requirements, inasmuch as this is simply a statement of the prevailing law and does not constitute advice concerning your particular circumstances.