Legal Information: Michigan

Divorce

Updated: 
December 15, 2021

What are the residency requirements to file for divorce in Michigan?

To be granted a divorce in Michigan, you or your spouse must have lived in Michigan for at least 180 days immediately before filing your complaint for divorce. In addition, you or your spouse must have lived in the county where the complaint is filed for 10 days immediately before filing.1 If you or your spouse has not lived in the county that you are filing in for at least 10 days, you can still file for divorce in that county (or in any county) if all of the following are true:

  1. your spouse was born in, or is a citizen of, a country other than the United States;
  2. you and your spouse have a child under 18 years old; and
  3. the judge believes that your child is at risk of being taken out of the United States by your spouse and held in another country.2

1 M.C.L.A. § 552.9(1)
2 M.C.L.A. § 552.9(2)

Legal Information

WomensLaw serves and supports all survivors, no matter their sex or gender.

© 2008–2021 WomensLaw.org is a project of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, Inc. All rights reserved. This website is funded in part through a grant from the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this website (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided). NNEDV is a 501©(3) non-profit organization; EIN 52-1973408.