Even though Michigan is a "no-fault" state for divorce, "fault" of a party can be considered by the court when it divides assets and debts during a divorce proceeding.
In an unpublished decision, the Court of Appeals rejected defendant husband’s contentions that the trial court had improperly awarded Wife 83% of the marital assets to punish him for his extra-marital affairs. The Court said that a claimed $94,000 “debt” did not appear to be valid, that the husband’s conduct did warrant a disproportionate award in plaintiff’s favor, and that its review of the record didn’t support his contention that his fault was given undue or disproportionate weight when it divided the marital estate between the parties. [Woude-Leerentveld v Leerentveld, Docket No. 241502 Decided April 5, 2005]
Under Sparks v Sparks, 440 Mich 141, 159-160 (1992), Michigan Courts are bound to consider the following when dividing marital assets between divorcing parties:
- the duration of the marriage
- the contributions of the parties to
the marital estate - each party’s age
- each party’s health
- each party’s life status
- the necessities,
circumstances, and earning abilities of each party - the past relations and conduct of the parties
- general principles of equity
- any other factor relevant to the
particular case, including consideration of the interruption of the
personal career or education of either party.
A division of property
in a divorce case need not be equal; however, it must be equitable and
“roughly congruent. The court’s role in dividing the property in a divorce action is to
achieve equity, not to punish one of the parties.
While Michigan has been a "No-Fault" state since 1972, it is
apparent that to some extent, Michigan courts will continue to use
fault as a factor when considering whether to give one spouse more that
half of the marital assets.
To contact Laurel Fink with your questions or to view her Family Law website click here.