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Jordan Dizik
Super Lawyers honoree every year since 2015 and a 3× DBusiness Top Lawyer in family law. Jordan handles Oakland County divorce and custody matters at every level of complexity, including high-asset estates.
A rough range for alimony based on the difference in incomes and the length of the marriage. It runs entirely in your browser: nothing you type is sent to us or stored.
Your actual spousal support, if any, will probably be different from this range, possibly by a lot, and it may be zero. Michigan judges decide spousal support case by case, weighing many factors this tool cannot see: health, age, earning capacity, the property each spouse receives, the standard of living, conduct, and more.
The range below uses a simple rule of thumb some practitioners use as a starting point for negotiation: 15% to 20% of the annual income difference, for one third to one half of the length of the marriage. It is not the law, courts are not bound by it, and many cases end far outside it. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Rough estimate only, based on gross income and a negotiation rule of thumb, not Michigan law. A free, confidential consultation can tell you how the factors that actually decide spousal support are likely to apply to you.
Michigan's divorce statute, MCL 552.23, lets the court award spousal support after considering "the ability of either party to pay and the character and situation of the parties, and all the other circumstances of the case." There is no table and no equation. Instead, judges weigh factors developed by Michigan's appellate courts.
Commonly cited factors include the past relations and conduct of the parties, the length of the marriage, each spouse's ability to work, the property each receives in the divorce, ages, each spouse's ability to pay, present situation and needs, health, the standard of living during the marriage, whether either spouse supports others, contributions to the marital estate, and general principles of equity. No single factor controls.
Percent-of-difference and fraction-of-marriage rules are shorthand that lawyers and mediators sometimes use to frame a negotiation. They ignore exactly the facts that decide real cases: whether the lower earner can return to work and how quickly, health, the property split, and the lifestyle the marriage supported. A 15-year marriage with a spouse who left a career to raise children is a very different case from a 15-year marriage of two professionals.
Spousal support in a Michigan judgment is generally modifiable when circumstances change, unless the parties agree to make it non-modifiable. That one term can matter more than the monthly amount, and it is usually decided in settlement. Read more: Spousal Support in Michigan
Child support in Michigan does follow a formula. If you have children together, start with our Michigan child support calculator.
Super Lawyers honoree every year since 2015 and a 3× DBusiness Top Lawyer in family law. Jordan handles Oakland County divorce and custody matters at every level of complexity, including high-asset estates.
Whether you expect to pay or to receive support, the outcome turns on facts and strategy, not a formula. A free, confidential consultation can show you where your case is likely to land.
Call (248) 712-1462Consultations are confidential. Evening and weekend appointments available.