SAHM Divorce Rights in Michigan: Protecting Your Financial Future

You spent years building a home, raising children, and supporting your spouse’s career. You managed schedules, handled emergencies, and made countless sacrifices so your family could thrive. Now you’re facing divorce, and you’re terrified about what comes next.

If you’re a stay-at-home mom—or any parent who left the workforce to care for your family—the prospect of divorce can feel overwhelming. How will you support yourself? Will you lose everything you helped build? Will the years you invested in your family count for anything?

Here’s what you need to know: Michigan law recognizes and values your contributions. Being out of the workforce doesn’t mean you leave your marriage empty-handed. Understanding your rights as a stay-at-home parent can help you approach divorce with confidence and protect your financial future.

At Boroja, Bernier & Associates, we help stay-at-home parents throughout Southeast Michigan navigate divorce and secure fair outcomes. Here’s what you need to know about your rights.

How Michigan Values Stay-at-Home Parent Contributions

One of the biggest fears stay-at-home parents face is that their years of homemaking and childcare won’t “count” in divorce. This fear is understandable but unfounded. Michigan courts explicitly recognize that non-financial contributions to a marriage have real value.

Under Michigan law, contributions to a marriage aren’t measured solely in dollars. When courts divide property and consider spousal support, they look at:

Homemaking and household management
Raising and caring for children
Supporting your spouse’s career advancement
Sacrificing your own career opportunities for the family
Maintaining the household so your spouse could focus on earning income

These contributions matter. A spouse who stayed home to raise children while the other spouse built a career made that career possible. Michigan courts understand this partnership model of marriage.

When dividing property, courts consider each spouse’s contributions—including non-financial ones. When awarding spousal support, courts consider the sacrifices one spouse made for the other’s benefit. Your years as a stay-at-home parent aren’t invisible; they’re part of what you bring to the negotiating table.

Your Right to Marital Property

Michigan is an equitable distribution state (MCL 552.401). This means marital property is divided fairly—and your contributions as a stay-at-home parent are part of what determines fair.

Marital property typically includes:

The family home and any other real estate acquired during marriage
Retirement accounts and pensions accumulated during marriage
Bank accounts, investments, and savings
Vehicles purchased during marriage
Business interests developed during marriage
Furniture, jewelry, and other personal property

The fact that your name may not be on certain accounts or titles doesn’t mean you have no claim. Property acquired during the marriage is generally marital property regardless of whose name is on it. The retirement account your spouse built while you raised your children? That’s marital property. The equity in the home? Marital property.

As a stay-at-home parent, you likely have a strong argument for a fair—often equal or near-equal—share of marital assets. Your spouse’s ability to earn and save was made possible by your partnership.

Protecting your share requires:

Full financial disclosure during the divorce process
Understanding all assets that exist (retirement accounts, investments, business interests)
Proper valuation of complex assets
Careful attention to hidden assets or income

If your spouse handled all the finances during your marriage, you may not know everything that exists. The discovery process in divorce allows you to obtain complete financial information. Don’t settle for less than you’re entitled to because you don’t know what’s there.

Spousal Support: What Stay-at-Home Parents Should Know

Spousal support—sometimes called alimony—exists partly to address situations exactly like yours. When one spouse sacrificed career advancement to support the family while the other built earning power, spousal support helps balance the scales.

Michigan courts consider multiple factors when awarding spousal support, and several favor stay-at-home parents:

Length of the marriage. Longer marriages typically result in longer or more substantial support. If you’ve been out of the workforce for 15 or 20 years, courts recognize you can’t simply jump back into a career.

Each spouse’s ability to work. Courts consider your age, health, education, job skills, and how long you’ve been out of the workforce. A 50-year-old who hasn’t worked in 20 years faces different prospects than a 30-year-old who took a few years off.

The standard of living during marriage. Courts try to help both spouses maintain a lifestyle reasonably comparable to what they enjoyed while married—at least during a transition period.

Contributions to the marriage. Your years of homemaking and child-rearing are contributions courts explicitly consider.

The disparity in earning capacity. When one spouse earns significantly more than the other can realistically earn, that gap supports a spousal support award.

Types of spousal support you might receive:

Temporary support during the divorce proceedings
Rehabilitative support to help you gain education or training to become self-supporting
Longer-term support when self-sufficiency isn’t realistic due to age, health, or marriage length

Don’t assume you’ll receive permanent lifetime support—that’s increasingly rare. But you should expect support that gives you a realistic path to stability, whether that means time to complete a degree, build work experience, or transition into self-sufficiency.

Child Support and Income Imputation

If you’ll have primary custody of your children—as many stay-at-home parents do—you’ll likely receive child support from your spouse. Michigan uses a formula based on both parents’ incomes, the number of children, parenting time percentages, and other factors (MCL 552.605).

A concept you should understand: income imputation.

When calculating child support, courts sometimes “impute” income to a parent—meaning they calculate support based on what that parent could earn, not what they actually earn. This can work in your favor or against you depending on circumstances.

If your spouse voluntarily reduces income to avoid paying support, courts can impute their previous or potential income. This protects you from a spouse who quits a high-paying job or takes a lower salary to reduce their obligations.

However, courts might also impute income to you. If you’re capable of working but choose not to, a court might calculate support based on your earning potential rather than zero income. This doesn’t mean you’ll be forced to work immediately, especially if you have young children, but it’s something to understand as you plan your future.

The good news: courts generally recognize that a parent who has been home with children for years needs time to re-enter the workforce. Imputing full-time income to someone who hasn’t worked in a decade isn’t realistic or fair, and courts understand this.

Challenges Stay-at-Home Parents Face—and How to Address Them

Divorce presents unique challenges when you’ve been out of the workforce. Anticipating these challenges helps you prepare.

Re-entering the workforce.

After years away, returning to work can feel daunting. Your skills may be outdated. You may lack recent references. The job market has changed.

Start thinking about this before your divorce is final. Consider:

What skills do you have that translate to employment?
What training or education would make you more marketable?
Are there flexible or part-time opportunities that work with childcare needs?
Can spousal support be structured to allow time for education or training?

Many stay-at-home parents successfully return to work, but it takes planning. Rehabilitative spousal support can provide a bridge while you build or rebuild your career.

Health insurance.

If you’ve been covered under your spouse’s employer health insurance, divorce ends that coverage. You’ll need to find your own insurance, which can be expensive.

Options include:

COBRA coverage (continuing your spouse’s plan temporarily, though costly)
Marketplace plans under the Affordable Care Act
Coverage through a new employer if you return to work
Medicaid if you qualify based on income

Factor health insurance costs into your financial planning. This is a real expense that affects your overall settlement negotiations.

Establishing credit.

If credit cards and loans have been in your spouse’s name, you may have limited credit history of your own. Before divorce is final, consider:

Opening accounts in your own name
Building credit history while you still have household income
Understanding what debts you’ll be responsible for

Housing.

Where will you live? Can you afford the family home on your own? Should you sell it and split the proceeds? Keeping the house isn’t always the best financial decision, even when it feels emotionally important.

Run the numbers carefully. Consider mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance, maintenance, and utilities. A house that was affordable on your spouse’s income may not be affordable on spousal support and whatever you can earn.

Custody Considerations for Stay-at-Home Parents

Being the stay-at-home parent often—though not always—positions you well in custody matters. You’ve been the primary caregiver, the one handling daily routines, school involvement, medical appointments, and emotional support.

Michigan courts focus on the best interests of the child, considering factors like:

The emotional bond between child and each parent
Each parent’s capacity to provide love, guidance, and care
Stability and continuity in the child’s life
Each parent’s involvement in the child’s daily life

Your history as the primary caregiver is relevant to these factors. Children who have spent most of their time with you, whose routines you’ve managed, whose needs you’ve met daily—courts consider this established relationship.

However, being a stay-at-home parent doesn’t guarantee primary custody. Courts also consider each parent’s ability to meet the child’s needs going forward, willingness to facilitate the other parent’s relationship, and many other factors. Your role as primary caregiver is important, but the analysis is broader.

Frequently Asked Questions for Stay-at-Home Parents Facing Divorce

Will I get half of everything in my Michigan divorce?

Michigan divides property “equitably,” which often means roughly equally—but not always exactly 50/50. Your contributions as a stay-at-home parent support a fair share of marital assets. The exact division depends on various factors including marriage length, each spouse’s contributions, and individual circumstances.

How long will I receive spousal support?

There’s no fixed formula. Duration depends on marriage length, your ability to become self-supporting, your age and health, and other factors. Longer marriages typically result in longer support. A judge has discretion to determine what’s fair in your specific situation.

Can I stay in the family home?

Possibly. Options include buying out your spouse’s equity share, selling and dividing proceeds, or other arrangements. Whether staying makes sense depends on whether you can afford ongoing costs (mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance) on your post-divorce income.

What if my spouse is hiding assets?

The discovery process allows you to obtain financial information. If you suspect hidden assets, tell your attorney. Forensic accountants can trace hidden funds, analyze business valuations, and identify inconsistencies. Courts impose serious penalties on spouses who hide assets.

Do I need my own attorney?

Yes. Even in amicable divorces, each spouse should have independent legal counsel. As a stay-at-home parent, you’re in a vulnerable position—you need someone advocating specifically for your interests, ensuring you understand your rights, and protecting your future.

Take the Next Step: Protect Your Future

You invested years in your marriage and family. Those contributions have value, and Michigan law protects your right to a fair outcome in divorce. Understanding your rights to property, support, and custody is the first step toward financial security and a stable future for you and your children.

At Boroja, Bernier & Associates, our family law attorneys help stay-at-home parents in Macomb County, Oakland County, Wayne County, and throughout Southeast Michigan navigate divorce with compassion and strategic focus. With our main office in Shelby Township and satellite offices in Troy, Ann Arbor, and Lansing, we’re here to help you protect what you’ve built.

To schedule a consultation with the Michigan family law attorneys at Boroja, Bernier & Associates, call our law offices at (586) 991-7611. We’ll help you understand your rights and build a path to financial security.