Family Law Attorney in Kentwood

Whether it’s divorce, child custody, parental relocation, or a high net worth asset dispute, dealing with a family law matter can be overwhelming. Your parental rights, financial future, and personal well-being hang in the balance. This is when you need experienced legal counsel from Kraayeveld Family Law to protect your and your family’s interests.

For over 30 years, our law firm has helped thousands of satisfied clients with their situations, securing favorable results in the courtroom and at the settlement table. We have broad experience in family law matters, with a solid reputation in the legal community as determined and tenacious advocates. We are also known for exceptional client attention and support, including an excellent response system for your calls and emails.

Let the legal team at Kraayeveld Family Law guide you through the legal process and advocate for a fair and favorable resolution to your matter. Contact us today for an initial case review with a Kentwood, MI, family law attorney. Discover how we can help you resolve a legal issue or dispute so that you and your family can move forward.

Why You Need an Attorney for Your Kentwood, MI, Family Law Case

Family disputes can cause significant anxiety and stress. Our firm can manage all the details of your case so you can focus on your life and your loved ones. Let us help you pursue a favorable resolution to your family law claim or dispute by:

• Thoroughly investigating the facts of your case to secure evidence we can use to build compelling arguments in support of your position
• Sitting down with you to discuss your needs, concerns, and goals to craft a tailored legal strategy
• Collaborating with experts as necessary to address complex issues that may arise in your case
• Helping you understand your legal options, including the option for alternative dispute resolution, and preparing you for what to expect at each stage of your case
• Handling communications and negotiations with opposing parties and counsel
• Advocating for you and your loved one’s interests, whether in negotiations or in court

Nothing could make the stakes higher when you have a legal issue involving your family. You have real concerns and important questions that need immediate answers. So, our lawyers and legal support team put a priority on responding to your calls and emails promptly. With our one business day guarantee, we make sure you never wait longer than necessary for us.

What Are the More Common Family Law Matters?

At Kraayeveld Family Law, an experienced Kentwood, MI, family lawyer can help you and your family address and resolve various matters and disputes that may arise. These include the following:

• Contested Divorce – These occur when spouses cannot agree on various issues, such as property division, alimony, child custody, and child support. Our firm can advocate for your rights and interests and guide you through mediation or litigation to pursue the best possible resolution for your family.
• Noncontested Divorce – This means spouses have reached an agreement on all issues in their divorce, whether through a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement or divorce settlement agreement. Our firm can help guide you through the court procedures needed to put your agreement into effect and help you obtain a final divorce decree.
• Child Custody – When parents separate or divorce, our firm helps clients resolve disputes over child custody and parenting time schedules, including establishing and enforcing custody arrangements. We also help couples resolve other issues related to child custody, such as paternity issues.
• Visitation – Our firm represents parents in disputes over parenting time or visitation. These include motions to modify or enforce the parenting time schedule, seek visitation, or impose conditions on visitation, such as supervision by a trusted family member or neutral third party.
• Child Support – Michigan law requires parents to provide financial support to their children, even when separated or divorced from the child’s other parent. Our firm can help you resolve disputes over calculating child support amounts, enforcing child support orders, or modifying child support in response to changed circumstances like loss of employment or disability.
• Parental Relocation – When a parent (especially the parent of primary residence) seeks to relocate far away or out of Michigan, the relocating parent may need consent from their child’s other parent or the court. Our firm helps parents resolve disputes over relocation and the resulting modification of custody and parenting time schedules.
• School Choice – A Michigan family law attorney from Kraayeveld Family Law can help you resolve disputes with your ex over your child’s education, including school choice and how to divide tuition and other educational expenses.
• Guardianship Litigation – When a child’s parents cannot care for the child, families can seek guardianship to ensure that a trusted loved one has the authority to provide care, supervision, and support for the child.
• Spousal Support – Alimony can cause considerable tension and legal disputes in divorce or post-divorce proceedings. We help clients litigate and establish alimony awards and pursue modification or enforcement post-award.
• Grandparent Rights – Our firm represents grandparents who seek to preserve their relationship with their grandchildren in the face of parental unfitness or the death of their child.
• Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements – We help clients with a high net worth or are entering a later-in-life second marriage negotiate prenuptial agreements before marriage or postnuptial agreements after marriage. Our firm also advocates for our client’s rights and interests in disputes or litigation over the validity and enforceability of pre- and postnuptial agreements or interpretation of agreement provisions.
• Asset Division – In divorce, Spouses must divide their marital assets. Our firm assists clients with all aspects of asset division, including inventorying and valuing the marital estate, resolving questions of marital vs. separate property, uncovering hidden assets, and pursuing an equitable division of marital assets and debts.
• Parental Alienation – When you’ve become the victim of parental alienation implemented by your ex, let a Kentwood, MI, family attorney from Kraayeveld Family Law advocate for your rights to help you restore and preserve your relationship with your children.
• Domestic Violence – Our firm helps clients manage the traumatic issue of domestic violence, including pursuing and enforcing protection orders or seeking divorce.
• Annulment – In Michigan, courts may annul a marriage in limited circumstances, such as bigamy, lack of competence or age of consent, or marriage agreed to under fraud or duress. An annulment has the legal effect of making it so that the marriage never occurred.
• Appeals – If the trial judge committed a legal or procedural error that influenced the case’s outcome, you may have grounds to appeal the ruling. Matters that could be appealed include divorce, custody, and parental alienation.

If I Am Getting Divorced, Will My Spouse and I Each Need to Pay for an Attorney?

There are instances where spouses who have decided to divorce can or may reach an agreement over outstanding issues. These could include property division, alimony, child support, and child custody. The spouses may want to save money, then, by hiring only one attorney to help them with the legal issues and procedures in their divorce.

However, under Michigan’s rules of professional conduct, an attorney cannot represent both spouses in a divorce. Because spouses have legally adverse positions in divorce, an attorney will have a conflict of interest if they represent both of them. While an attorney can help you and your spouse mediate a divorce settlement, they cannot provide legal advice to both of you.

When you and your spouse have separate counsel, you can rest assured that you have a legal advisor who will look out and advocate for your interests as you and your spouse work to resolve the outstanding issues in your divorce. Although hiring separate counsel will increase the cost of divorce, having a dedicated advocate in your corner will help you obtain a fair and favorable resolution.

What Are Family Law Matters That May Require an Appeal?

An appeal does not allow a litigant to reargue their case before a new judge. Instead, appellate courts can only correct procedural or legal errors made by the family court. In most cases, appellate courts defer to factual and credibility determinations made by the trial court that have support in the record.

However, you may have grounds for an appeal if your case involved errors such as:

• The court refusing to consider or overlooking material evidence
• The court misapplying the law or using the wrong legal standard or precedent
• The court improperly excluding or admitting evidence
• The court misapplying procedural rules, which affected the outcome of the case
• The court denying a litigant due process

What Property/Asset Division Issues Often Arise in a High Net Worth Divorce in Michigan?

High net worth divorces involve more complex financial issues than other divorces. High net worth couples must resolve the division of high-value or complex assets, such as:

High net worth divorces can involve issues such as appraising high-value or unique assets, dividing the value of potentially indivisible assets like business ownership interests, or dividing retirement benefits, or uncovering concealed assets. Other issues can arise with calculating child support, as the state guidelines may not provide a simple formula for high-income parents.

Contact Our Kentwood, MI, Family Law Attorneys Today

When you have a family law case, turn to Kraayeveld Family Law for the legal help you need to protect your and your loved ones’ rights, interests, and future. For 30-plus years, our team has dedicated their careers to providing zealous advocacy to clients. Your concerns are our concerns, and we will fight for the best results.

Contact Kraayeveld Family Law today for a confidential consultation. Let a family law attorney in Kentwood, MI, discuss your legal options and explain how we can help you pursue a favorable resolution.