The Michigan Supreme Court determined that DHHS “has an affirmative duty to make reasonable efforts to reunify a family before seeking termination of parental rights.”

Under the equitable parent doctrine, a would-be equitable parent of a child born or adopted in same-sex marriage may seek custody and parent time.

A trial court’s order reducing an award of spousal support must be vacated because the reduced award was inequitable in light of all the circumstances, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.

The trial court improperly denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s medical malpractice claim based on the applicable statute of limitations.

The trial court properly dismissed this action for no-fault survivor’s loss benefits, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.

The plaintiff in this child-custody case is not a “natural parent” under the equitable parent doctrine and did not establish the necessary elements for third-person standing under the Child Custody Act.

The Trial Court erred when it compelled Appellant to provide a DNA sample to establish that Appellee was the biological son of decedent.

The Michigan Supreme Court has ruled that the trial court improperly took jurisdiction of children & placed them in foster care because there was insufficient evidence of “educational neglect”.

The trial court properly assumed jurisdiction over the respondents’ children and placed them in foster care because a preponderance of the evidence demonstrated educational neglect.

The trial court did not make any of the required valuation findings and, therefore, it could not be determined whether the trial court equitably divided the marital estate.

The court awarded Defendant-Wife half of the marital interest in Plaintiff-Husband’s retirement benefits and pension via a QDRO through his employment with General Motors.

The defendant raised the issue of ineffective assistance of counsel. The court wrote that to prove it, the defendant must show that counsel’s performance fell below objective standards.

Ineffective assistance of counsel is an incredibly difficult burden for a criminal defendant to prove.

The COA issued another published opinion in a grandparenting time case. Geering v Robinson, issued June 13, 2017 (Docket 335794). In that case, the parents had divorced.

The Court of Appeal, on reconsideration, in Chesser v Radisson Plaza Hotel, left one Speaker without a leg to stand on, which is not surprising given the current state of premise liability in Michigan.

The Court of Appeals released a published opinion addressing spousal support and attorney fees in divorce cases in Myland v Myland.