Many people believe that spousal support is a thing of the past in Michigan, but the issue is raised in almost every divorce when appropriate. Spousal support is an issue when there is a long-term marriage or where there is a substantial disparity in income between the spouses.
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The court’s authority to award spousal support to either party in a divorce action is established by MCL 552.23(1).

The court may award spousal support as is just and reasonable if the property award is insufficient for the suitable support of either party and any children of the marriage of whom the party has custody. The court must consider “the ability of either party to pay and the character and situation of the parties, and all the other circumstances of the case.” 

​The 14 factors considered in determining if spousal support is just and reasonable: 

1. parties’ past relations and conduct
2. length of the marriage
3. parties’ ability to work
4. source and amount of property awarded to the parties
5. parties’ ages
6. ability to pay spousal support
7. parties’ present situation
8. parties’ needs
9. parties’ health
10. prior standard of living of the parties and whether the parties support others
11. parties’ contributions to the joint estate
12. a party’s fault in causing the divorce
13. how cohabitation affects a party’s financial status
14. general principles of equity

Factors to be considered in determining the amount of spousal support:

1. duration of the marriage
2. the parties’ contribution to the joint estate
3. the parties’ ages
4. the parties’ health
5. the parties’ stations in life
6. the parties’ necessities and circumstances
7. the parties’ earning abilities

​Rehabilitative Spousal Support

Rehabilitative spousal support is temporary spousal support to help the dependent spouse make the transition to self-support and it is what is generally considered by the court. This type of spousal support can be appropriate to:

1. encourage a spouse to seek full-time employment and self-sufficiency
2. allow a spouse to complete an advanced degree or obtain a marketable skill when he or she had worked while the other spouse obtained a degree
3. allow a spouse to adjust to a lifestyle not based on combined incomes
4. allow a spouse to obtain new job skills and enter the workforce

Permanent Spousal Support

Permanent spousal support is not generally awarded by the court, but has been found appropriate when:

1. a long-term marriage with a spouse who has no career or marketable skills
2. a long-term marriage, one spouse with superior earning skills, and the other spouse with questionable earning capacity
3. great discrepancy between incomes and a spouse who devoted most of his or her adult life to homemaker role
4. serious doubt that a spouse could support himself or herself because of a disability

When negotiating spousal support issues, remember that there are no statutorily mandated formulas for spousal support as there are for child support.

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