(1) An action for separate maintenance may be filed in the circuit court in the same manner and on the same grounds as an action for divorce. In the complaint the plaintiff shall make no other explanation of the grounds for separate maintenance than by use of the statutory language.
  (2) The defendant, by answer, may either admit the grounds for separate maintenance alleged or deny them without further explanation. An admission by the defendant of the grounds for separate maintenance may be considered by the court but is not binding on the court’s determination. The defendant may also file a counterclaim for divorce.

Terms Used In Michigan Laws 552.7

  • Allegation: something that someone says happened.
  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  (3) If the defendant files a counterclaim for divorce, the allegation contained in the plaintiff’s complaint as to the grounds for separate maintenance may be considered by the court but is not binding on the court’s determination.
  (4) If evidence is presented in open court that there has been a breakdown in the marriage relationship to the extent that the objects of matrimony have been destroyed and there remains no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved, the court shall enter:
  (a) A judgment of separate maintenance if a counterclaim for divorce has not been filed.
  (b) A judgment dissolving the bonds of matrimony if a counterclaim for divorce has been filed.
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