By Susan Buckner, J.D. | Legally reviewed by Susan Buckner, J.D. | Last reviewed June 18, 2024
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Michigan is one of many equitable distribution states. If a couple separates, Michigan divorce courts consider everything acquired during marriage marital property. Marital property belongs to both spouses, and courts divide it fairly, but not always 50/50. A few states, such as Texas and Louisiana, are community property states. In these states, spouses divide property equally.
Each state has its own rules describing marital property and separate property. In Michigan, marital property can include assets such as real estate and retirement accounts, as well as debts and liabilities. Marital property also becomes important when one spouse dies and the surviving spouse inherits the property.
Note: State laws are subject to change through the passage of new legislation, court rulings (including federal decisions), ballot initiatives, and other means. FindLaw strives to provide the most current information available. You should consult an attorney or conduct your own legal research to verify the state law(s) before making any legal decision.
In Michigan, marital property is all property acquired during the marriage. In a divorce case, the name on the property or bank account is less important than when the spouses acquired it. For instance, a joint bank account is marital property, but a separate bank account might be marital property if both spouses used it.
Marital property can include:
Michigan courts are less concerned with the source of the property than with its use during the marriage. For instance, one spouse may have purchased a car before marriage, but the other may have used it. In this case, the car might become marital property.
Separate property is everything acquired before the marriage and kept separate during it. Separate property isn’t divided during a divorce or legal separation. It can include:
Spouses can make their own arrangements to divide assets before a divorce. Judges will accept a valid prenuptial or postnuptial agreement as long as the property division is fair to both parties.
Michigan law requires courts to determine a fair division of marital property.
"Fair" under Michigan law means each spouse receives an equitable division of marital property. It may work out to about half of the property, but judges have the discretion to make a different property settlement if necessary. Judges may consider the following:
For instance, the spouse awarded primary child custody may receive the marital home, regardless of other factors, in the best interests of the children. In short-term marriages, judges often return the parties to their premarital status as much as possible and then divide the marital assets. In long-term marriages or marriages where one party has significantly altered their status to accommodate the marriage, parties are more likely to receive personal property and other awards as compensation.
Marital debt and liabilities are part of your marital property. Judges divide debts in the same way as assets. Judges keep the debt with the property where possible. So, a car with a three-year lease goes to the person who can pay the lease. Credit card debts and similar debts get divided equally unless one person is responsible for most of the bill.
In cases where one person caused the entire debt to the detriment of the marriage (gambling debts or illicit affairs), the judge may assign the entire debt to that partner.
Only three states (Arkansas, Kentucky, and Ohio) still have "dower and curtesy" laws. These somewhat archaic laws give a widow or widower a life estate in the marital property if their spouse dies intestate (without a will). Other laws have superseded the need for dower and curtesy, and most states have abolished them.
Michigan abolished curtesy (the husband's right to the wife's property) in the early 20th century. Dower (the wife's right to the husband's property) ended with the Public Act 378 of 2016. The law went into effect on January 1, 2017.
Michigan's dower laws are still part of the state statutes as of 2024 (Michigan Compiled Laws Section 558.1). Dower and curtesy are not part of the community property law (Section 557.214). A spouse whose "husband" (the law is gender-specific) died before 2017 can still claim dower rights under state statute.
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