What Michigan Courts Consider When Setting Alimony Obligations

Michigan courts do not let you straightforward avoid alimony by refusing to pay or hiding income

If you are facing a potential alimony obligation in Michigan, the most direct path is not to avoid paying — it is to understand what a court actually considers when deciding whether you owe it at all, and how much. Michigan courts use a specific list of factors, and your situation may fall into one that results in no alimony order or a much lower one than you fear. The court's decision depends on facts about your marriage, your income, your spouse's income, and your ability to become self-supporting — not on what you want the outcome to be.

If you are already ordered to pay alimony, attempting to hide income or straightforward not paying will result in contempt of court charges, wage garnishment, driver's license suspension, and potential jail time. The only legal ways to reduce or eliminate an alimony obligation are to show changed circumstances, to have the order modified by a court, or to demonstrate that the original order was based on incorrect information about your finances.

Key Takeaways

• Michigan courts consider 17 specific factors when deciding alimony, including the length of your marriage, both spouses' incomes, and whether the lower-earning spouse can become self-supporting.
• Marriages under five years typically result in no alimony order unless there are children or a significant income gap.
• If your income has genuinely decreased or your spouse's income has increased since the order was entered, you can petition the court for modification with proof of the change.
• Hiding income, quitting your job, or refusing to pay will trigger enforcement action including wage garnishment and contempt charges, not reduce your obligation.
• The court must state in writing which factors it considered and why, so if an order seems wrong, you have grounds to challenge it on appeal.

The 17 factors Michigan courts actually use

Michigan courts do not have a formula for alimony the way they do for child support. Instead, MCL 552.23 lists 17 factors a judge must consider. Understanding these factors matters because they determine whether you owe anything at all. If your situation does not fit the factors that support alimony, the court should say no.

The factors include: the length of the marriage, the ability of each spouse to work, the source and amount of property each spouse received in the divorce, the standard of living during the marriage, the present situation of each spouse, the ability of the spouse seeking alimony to become self-supporting, the age and health of each spouse, the conduct of the parties, the earning ability of each spouse, the role each played in building marital property, the tax consequences to each spouse, the cost of the spouse seeking alimony becoming self-supporting, and any other relevant factor. A judge must write down which factors she considered and why — this written explanation is your evidence if you later want to appeal or modify the order.

Short marriages — typically under five years — often result in no alimony because the court finds the lower-earning spouse can become self-supporting without it. If you were married for two years and both spouses worked, the court is unlikely to order alimony even if one spouse earned less. If you were married for 20 years and one spouse left the workforce to raise children, the court is much more likely to order it.

When Michigan courts order no alimony at all

You do not automatically owe alimony in Michigan. The court must find that alimony is actually necessary. This means the spouse seeking it cannot reasonably become self-supporting without it. If your spouse has a college degree, job skills, and a realistic path to earning enough to live on, the court may find no alimony is warranted.

Courts also consider whether the lower-earning spouse chose not to work or could not work. If your spouse deliberately quit a job or refused to look for work during the marriage, the court may reduce or deny alimony. If your spouse is unable to work due to age, health, or a disability that existed during the marriage, the court is more likely to order it.

The length of the marriage matters significantly. Michigan courts sometimes use a rough guideline: alimony duration should not exceed one year for every three years of marriage, though this is not a rule — it is a starting point judges consider. A three-year marriage may result in no alimony. A 15-year marriage may result in alimony lasting five years or longer.

How to challenge an alimony order through modification

If you already have an alimony order and your circumstances have changed, you can petition the court to modify it. MCL 552.32 allows modification when there has been a "substantial and continuing change in circumstances." This is the legal path — not avoiding payment, but proving to the court that the original order no longer fits your situation.

A substantial change means something significant has happened since the order was entered. Examples include: you lost your job or had your hours cut, your income dropped by 10 percent or more, your spouse's income increased significantly, you became disabled or seriously ill, or you retired. You will need documentation: recent pay stubs, a letter from your employer, tax returns, medical records, or proof of job loss. The court will not take your word for it.

You file a motion to modify alimony in the same court that entered the original order. You must serve your ex-spouse with the motion and your supporting documents. Your ex-spouse can respond and present their own evidence. The judge will decide whether the change is real and substantial enough to warrant modifying the order. If approved, the modification can reduce your payment, extend the end date, or in some cases eliminate the obligation entirely.

Do not straightforward stop paying while you wait for a modification hearing. Continue paying the current amount. If the modification is approved, the court may order your ex-spouse to refund the overpayment, but if you stop paying before the hearing, you will be in contempt and owe penalties on top of the original amount.

What happens if you try to hide income or refuse to pay

Michigan enforces alimony orders aggressively. If you do not pay, your ex-spouse can file a motion for contempt of court. The court can then order wage garnishment — your employer is instructed to send a portion of your paycheck directly to your ex-spouse. The garnishment continues until the order is satisfied or modified.

If you are self-employed or paid in cash, the court can place a lien on your property, freeze your bank accounts, or suspend your driver's license. If you are found in contempt and the court believes you have the ability to pay but are refusing, you can be jailed. Jail is not a permanent sentence — it is meant to coerce you into paying — but you remain in jail until you pay or the court releases you.

Hiding income by working under the table, transferring money to someone else's account, or deliberately quitting a job to reduce your income are all actions the court can penalize. If the court suspects you are hiding income, it can order you to produce tax returns, bank statements, and other financial records. If you refuse or lie, that is perjury and contempt, both criminal matters.

How to present your financial situation honestly to the court

The strongest position you can take is to present your actual financial situation clearly and completely. When you are first facing an alimony case, you will file a financial disclosure statement listing your income, expenses, assets, and debts. Be accurate. If you understate your income or overstate your expenses, and the court discovers it later, you lose credibility and the judge is more likely to order higher alimony as punishment for dishonesty.

If your expenses are genuinely high — you have significant debt, medical bills, or support obligations to children — document them. Bring receipts, statements, and proof. The court considers your actual ability to pay, not just your gross income. If you earn $60,000 a year but have $30,000 in annual medical expenses and support two children from a previous relationship, the court will factor that in.

If you believe the alimony amount the court is proposing is unreasonable based on the factors in MCL 552.23, tell your attorney and ask them to argue those factors at the hearing. The judge must explain her reasoning in writing. If she does not address a factor that should have reduced alimony, that is grounds for appeal.

When to appeal an alimony order

If the court entered an alimony order and you believe it was wrong, you have the right to appeal to the Michigan Court of Appeals. You must file the appeal within 21 days of the order. An appeal does not retry the case — the appeals court reviews whether the trial judge abused her discretion or made a legal error.

An abuse of discretion means the judge ignored one of the 17 factors, applied the wrong legal standard, or made a decision so unreasonable that no reasonable judge would have made it. If the judge ordered alimony in a three-year marriage where both spouses worked and neither had children, and she did not explain why, that might be an abuse of discretion. If the judge ordered alimony but did not address your documented medical expenses that reduce your ability to pay, that is a failure to consider a required factor.

Appeals are expensive and take time — usually six months to a year. You will need an attorney. But if the order is genuinely wrong, an appeal can overturn it or send it back to the trial court for reconsideration. This is a legitimate legal remedy, unlike hiding income or refusing to pay.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I avoid alimony by getting remarried?

Remarriage does not automatically end alimony in Michigan, but it can be grounds for modification. If your new spouse's income affects your ability to pay, you can petition for modification with proof of your changed circumstances. The court will consider whether your new spouse's income is actually available to you or whether it is separate property. straightforward getting remarried alone is not enough — you need to show a real change in your financial situation.

What if my spouse makes more money than me now?

A significant increase in your spouse's income is a substantial change in circumstances that supports modification. You will need recent tax returns or pay stubs showing the increase. File a motion to modify with this documentation. The court may reduce your alimony obligation or eliminate it entirely, depending on how much your spouse now earns and whether alimony is still necessary for them to maintain the standard of living from the marriage.

Can I reduce alimony by taking a lower-paying job?

Not intentionally. If you deliberately take a lower-paying job to reduce your alimony obligation, the court can impute income to you — meaning it will calculate alimony based on what you could earn, not what you actually earn. You must show that the job change was necessary, not a strategy to avoid alimony. If you were laid off and found a new job at lower pay, that is legitimate. If you quit a $70,000 job to take a $40,000 job specifically to lower alimony, the court will see through it.

How long does alimony last in Michigan?

Michigan law does not set a fixed duration. The court decides based on the factors in MCL 552.23. For short marriages, alimony might last one to three years. For long marriages, it might last many years or be permanent. The judge must state the duration in the order. If circumstances change significantly, you can petition for modification or termination before the end date.

What if I cannot afford the alimony amount the court ordered?

Do not straightforward stop paying. Instead, file a motion to modify alimony when ready, with documentation of your current income and expenses. Bring recent pay stubs, proof of job loss or reduced hours, medical bills, or other evidence of why you cannot afford the amount. The court may reduce the payment, extend the duration, or find that modification is not warranted. But you must ask the court — you cannot decide on your own to pay less.