When your marriage feels unworkable, your first instinct may be to file for divorce.
Yet Michigan offers a distinct alternative—separate maintenance, the state’s version of “legal separation.” Understanding how these two paths diverge can help you choose the strategy that best protects your finances, your children, and your future. In this blog, you will get a detailed overview of how each option works and why one might fit your goals better than the other.
1. What Michigan Calls “Legal Separation”
Michigan does not use the phrase legal separation in its statutes. Instead, the Legislature created an action called separate maintenance under MCL 552.7. It mirrors a divorce case in nearly every procedural step—filing, service, discovery, mediation, and trial—but when the judgment is entered, you remain legally married.
Key Facts About Separate Maintenance
- Marital status: You are still married at the end of the case.
- Issues resolved: The court can divide property and debt, set child custody and parenting‑time schedules, order child support, and award spousal support—identical to divorce.
- Grounds: The same “no‑fault” ground (the marriage has broken down and cannot be preserved) applies.
- Counterclaim trap: If your spouse wants a divorce instead, they can file a counterclaim. The judge must grant the divorce once that counterclaim is proved, effectively overriding your request for separate maintenance.
2. Divorce in a Nutshell
A divorce (dissolution of marriage) permanently ends your legal status as a married person. Once the judgment is signed, you’re free to remarry, and future earnings or debts belong solely to each party. Michigan is strictly “no‑fault” on the question of whether a divorce may be granted, but a judge may still weigh fault when dividing property or awarding spousal support.
3. Head‑to‑Head Comparison Between Separate Maintenance & Divorce in Michigan
In Separate Maintenance, you and your spouse remain legally married. When it comes to certain financial and property matters, this can make a big difference. For example, if you are on your spouse’s health insurance (or vice versa), you may have the option to maintain the situation as is, even if your plan has married-only coverage. If your health insurance is provided by your employer, you would need to confirm this with your HR department.
Other financial matters, such as Social Security Spousal Benefits would likely remain intact, because from a legal perspective, you and your spouse are still married. This is also most likely true of a military pension and survivor benefits, which is a unique consideration when you or your spouse are members of the armed services.
When you are retired and seeking a divorce, pension benefits are also a major consideration. It would be dependent upon your service provider and company as to how these rules apply, so be sure to request clear documentation as to what your plan allows.
A divorce, on the other hand does enable you to remarry if you choose. However, it will most likely sever any spousal benefits you would be entitled to if you remained married. Always be sure to inquire about your spousal benefits before making any decisions about divorce or separate maintenance.
4. Why You Might Choose Separate Maintenance Over Divorce
Faith‑Based Reservations
If your religion strictly prohibits divorce, separate maintenance offers a court‑sanctioned way to live separately, allocate money, and protect children while honoring your beliefs.
Health‑Insurance Lifeline
Many employer health plans allow a spouse to stay covered after separate maintenance but not after divorce. If you rely on your partner’s insurance—and can’t afford COBRA premiums—this can be decisive.
Cooling‑Off Period
Filing gives you a legally enforceable plan for parenting time, support, and bills while you decide whether reconciliation is realistic.
Asset‑Protection Bridge
Because property and debt are divided, creditors can’t chase you for a spouse’s new obligations, yet you bypass the finality of divorce.
5. Why You Might Proceed Straight to Divorce
Freedom to Remarry
Separate maintenance keeps you legally tied to your spouse. If you plan to remarry—or simply want the option—divorce is mandatory.
Clean Financial Break
Some pension administrators, mortgage lenders, and tax preparers treat “still married” couples as one economic unit and divorce gives both parties a clean slate.
Closure
Emotional closure matters. A full divorce decree signals an indisputable end, preventing future disputes over marital status in probate or creditor actions. If your spouse counters or later files for divorce, you may pay two filing fees and attorney invoices instead of one.
Separate maintenance typically takes the same amount of time as divorce because all identical issues must be negotiated or litigated. If your spouse files a divorce counterclaim mid‑stream, expect an additional filing fee and perhaps more discovery.
6. Converting Separate Maintenance to Divorce Later
If you later decide divorce is unavoidable, you must file a new divorce action (or your spouse may). Property and debt already divided will generally stay as‑is unless both parties consent to reopen those issues. Child support and parenting‑time orders can always be modified if statutory criteria are met, regardless of which judgment you started with.
7. Practical Questions Clients Ask
“Will I lose my spouse’s health insurance if we get divorced?”
Almost always yes. Some plans permit COBRA coverage for up to 36 months, but premiums can be steep. Separate maintenance may keep you on the plan—double‑check with the benefits administrator before filing.
“Can we file taxes jointly after separate maintenance?”
Yes, you can if the judgment is entered before December 31 and you both agree. After divorce, only single or head‑of‑household filing is available.
“What if I become pregnant by someone else after we separate?”
Michigan presumes a child conceived or born while you’re still married is the legal child of your spouse. Separate maintenance keeps that presumption in place, which can complicate paternity. Divorce removes the presumption once the judgment is entered.
“Is separate maintenance public record?”
Yes—just like divorce filings, your pleadings and judgment are retrievable at the county clerk’s office unless sealed for extraordinary reasons.
Divorce vs. Separate Maintenance: Choose the Path That Serves You
Michigan’s family‑law framework gives you two very different tools for reorganizing your life: divorce severs the bond entirely, while separate maintenance redraws boundaries but leaves the marriage intact. Each path protects you in distinct ways—legally, financially, emotionally, and spiritually.
As a Michigan divorce attorney, my advice is simple: match your legal strategy to your highest‑priority goals. If religious doctrine, health insurance, or a genuine chance at reconciliation top your list, explore separate maintenance first. If closure, remarriage, or a definitive financial line in the sand matter more, a straightforward divorce may be the wiser route.
Either way, consult with a seasoned family‑law professional before filing. You deserve a clear roadmap—and a legal partner committed to safeguarding your future, whatever road you choose.