Family Law Attorney in Wyoming

Have you found yourself in a legal dispute over a family matter? The stakes are high, and you deserve seasoned legal counsel to help you assert your rights, preserve your relationships, and protect your family’s future. With Kraayeveld Family Law, you get over 30 years of broad experience in family law matters, from divorce to child custody and from high net worth asset disputes to prenuptial agreement/enforcement.

We are dedicated to fighting for and preserving your and your family’s best interests. The courts and our opponents know us as determined and tenacious advocates for our clients. With us in your corner, you will receive professional and personal attention, prompt responsiveness when you reach out with questions, and comprehensive representation throughout your case.

Discover how a Michigan family law attorney can help you navigate the claims process and pursue a favorable resolution to your case. Contact Kraayeveld Family Law today to schedule an initial family law claim review and consultation.

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

When a legal dispute has put your rights and relationship with family members at stake, you need an experienced family law attorney to protect yourself and advocate for your interests. Let a Wyoming, MI, family lawyer from Kraayeveld Family Law guide you through your family law case by:

• Thoroughly investigating your case to obtain the evidence we need to argue on your behalf
• Sitting down with you to discuss your goals, needs, and concerns to develop a tailored legal strategy
• Preparing you for what to expect at each stage of your case and advising you on the steps you can take to improve your position
• Collaborating with experts as necessary to address complex issues that may arise in your case
• Handling communications and negotiations with opposing counsel and parties
• Advising you during settlement negotiations or mediation
• Advocating on your behalf in court when litigation becomes necessary to pursue a favorable result

Our legal team has dedicated their careers to providing zealous legal advocacy for our clients. In doing so, we know how much clients need care and support to see things through. A family law dispute is one of the most trying moments in your life. It can bring uncertainty, anxiety, and stress, and you have crucial questions that need immediate answers. So, we make responsiveness a priority. Our one-business-day guarantee on your calls and emails means you will never have to wait longer than necessary for us to speak with you about your case.

What Are the More Common Family Law Matters?

A Wyoming, MI, family lawyer with Kraayeveld Family Law can help you resolve all kinds of family law matters, including:

• Contested Divorce – A contested divorce occurs when a couple has not reached an agreement or settlement for all the issues in their divorce matter.
• Noncontested Divorce – A divorce proceeding is noncontested if the spouses agree on all the issues in their case.
• Child Custody – Our firm represents separated or divorced parents seeking to resolve a custody arrangement for their family. We also handle child custody cases involving preliminary legal disputes, such as paternity issues.
• Visitation – We assist parents in disputes over parenting time and visitation. These include pursuing motions to enforce scheduled parenting time or obtain make-up time when co-parents wrongfully withhold custody.
• Child Support – Our firm can work hard to secure your child the financial support they deserve from their parents, including by filing petitions for child support or motions to enforce or modify child support. Alternatively, if you are ordered to pay more support that you can afford, we can request an amendment to lower the amount of support.
• Parental Relocation – We help parents resolve disputes over relocation, including proposed relocations more than 100 miles away or relocations out of Michigan.
• School Choice – Our attorneys can help you address disputes with your ex over your child’s education, such as choosing between public and private schools and splitting educational and extracurricular expenses.
• Guardianship Litigation – If you are a guardian of a minor child and a parent wants to terminate the guardianship, we can assist with the litigation for your continued guardianship of the minor child.
• Spousal Support – Our firm represents spouses in disputes over alimony, including litigation to establish an initial support order or motions to modify, terminate, or enforce alimony orders.
• Grandparent Rights – We assist parents and grandparents in disputes over grandparent visitation rights, including in families where parents have separated, one parent has died, or both parents agree on withholding the children from their grandparents.
• Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements – Our firm guides spouses through all aspects of the prenuptial agreement process, from negotiating and drafting an agreement to enforcing or challenging an agreement during divorce. These agreements commonly come into play in a high net worth marriage or a later-in-life second marriage.
• Asset Division – Our firm advocates for clients undertaking property division in divorce, helping them receive a fair share of the marital estate. We handle complex issues in asset division, such as disputes over classifying assets as marital or separate property and claims of concealing assets or income.
• Parental Alienation – We can help a parent protect their rights and relationships with their children if they’ve become the victim of parental alienation efforts by their ex.
• Domestic Violence – Our firm represents clients involved in domestic violence cases, including petitions for orders of protection or court proceedings to resolve alleged violations of protection orders.
• Annulment – In Michigan, a court may annul a marriage in limited circumstances, including when the marriage was procured by fraud or duress, a marriage in which one or both spouses lacked the legal or mental capacity to enter the marriage, or in cases of bigamy. An annulment has the legal effect of making it as though the marriage never occurred.
• Appeals – Did the judge in your case commit a legal or procedural error that influenced the outcome? If so, you could have grounds to appeal the ruling. Family law matters commonly brought up on appeal include divorce, child custody, and parental alienation.

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

Unfortunately, divorce can become an expensive process due to expenses such as court filing fees, costs to bring an expert into your case, and attorney fees. As a result, couples who are going through an amicable split might feel tempted to hire a single lawyer to save money.

However, ethical rules for attorneys prohibit lawyers from representing both spouses in a divorce. Even if you and your spouse have reached agreements on all the issues in your divorce, you and your spouse have adverse positions in your divorce case. As a result, an attorney representing both you and your spouse would be a conflict of interest.

Hiring separate legal counsel in your divorce will ensure you have an experienced advisor looking out for your interests only. With your own attorney, you can rest assured that any settlement or consent order represents a fair and favorable outcome for you.

What Are Family Law Matters That May Require an Appeal?

If the family court rules against you in a divorce, child custody, or guardianship proceeding, you might consider filing an appeal. This does not mean you can reargue your case before a different court in hopes of a more favorable result. Instead, an appeal requires you to show that the first court committed a procedural or legal error that affected the case’s outcome.

Appeals courts defer to the factual and credibility determinations made by family courts, which have in-depth experience in family law and the chance to observe litigants and witnesses. An appellate court may reverse a family court’s decision for errors such as:

• Refusing to hear evidence or witness testimony or overlooking material facts
• Applying the wrong legal standard or precedent or misapplying the law to the facts
• Depriving a litigant of due process, such as failing to provide a litigant with legal counsel or not affording them sufficient opportunity to prepare and present their case
• Erroneously admitting or excluding evidence
• Misapplying procedural rules

Hiring a Wyoming, MI, family attorney can give you the best chance of success on appeal. Your lawyer can review the family court proceedings to identify errors you might raise on appeal, then present a compelling argument to the appeals court on your behalf.

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

A high net worth divorce is a divorce where one or both spouses earn high incomes or own substantial or complex assets. Many disputes in high net worth divorces arise during property division as each spouse seeks to receive their “fair” share of the marital estate.

Couples in high net worth divorces may need to divide assets such as:

Common conflicts that may arise in a high net worth divorce include:

• Classifying Assets – Spouses might dispute whether an asset qualifies as marital property subject to division or separate property that a spouse has a right to take with them in divorce. Couples may also dispute whether some of the value of an asset, such as investments or business ownership interests, qualifies as a separate asset while the other portion of value qualifies as a marital asset.
• Valuation of Assets – Couples might require expert appraisers to help them value complex assets, such as business ownership interests, real estate, or jewelry and artwork.
• Handling Indivisible Assets – Courts may not be able to divide certain assets like business ownership interests due to corporate governing documents precluding the division or transfer of such assets. As a result, couples may have to resolve disputes by granting one spouse a more significant portion of other assets to compensate for the value of the non-divisible asset.
• Concealment of Assets – One spouse might accuse the other of attempting to hide assets or income to gain an advantage in property division or alimony litigation.

Contact Our Wyoming, MI, Family Law Attorneys Today

Do you have a family dispute that needs resolving, such as divorce, child custody, support, or domestic violence? Then get the legal help you need to protect your rights and interests.

Contact Kraayeveld Family Law today for a confidential consultation with a Wyoming, MI, family attorney. Discover how we can advocate for a favorable resolution and help you start the next chapter of your life.