Quote Quoting BigDoug
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My question involves a marriage in the state of: MI, though we were married in a different state.

Hello everyone. After five years of ups and downs, my wife and I are likely getting a divorce. There is no known infidelity, just a general break down of the marriage relationship. I am trying to learn a bit about the process and who is entitled to what, to see if we can reach agreements BEFORE hiring an attorney, though that will be a step a bit further down the road. I want to keep the process as amicable as possible, but I do want to protect what I am entitled to, though also honor what she is entitled to. I would appreciate any advice you can offer.

The House: 2009, Prior to our marriage, I purchased a house for a sale price of $140,000. After the down payment, points, fees, etc, my loan amount was $112,000. This is just me so far. We met about 6 months later, she moved in 6 months or so after that. I continued to make payments throughout this time. We got married in 2012, and about 7 months later, 2013, we refinanced the house for a lower monthly payment. The refinance was in both of our names. The loan amount for the refinance, after fees, etc was $104,000. Today, 2017, we owe about $94,000. While this is somewhat complicated and will likely need to be reviewed by an attorney, are there any general pointers as far as how the house or its equity should be divided? I made a significant investment to the home equity prior to our marriage, and I want to protect that, but I also know that she is entitled to something as we were married for five years with combined incomes, I just have no idea how much. For the record, I do not know the exact value of the home at this time, but I expect it to be between $130k and $170k (comparing to similar homes, not an actual appraisal).
Did you add her name to the deed as well as the mortgage? If so, you gifted her half of the equity at the time, therefore she would be entitled to 1/2 of the equity now. Are you going to be able to refinance for enough to get her name off the mortgage AND pay out her share of the equity? If not, the house will have to be sold and the proceeds divided.

Retirement Accounts: I have a small pension (non-vested) through a former employer. Four years of contributions were premarital, but two years were during our marriage, I plan to cash it out someday since I am not vested. She had a similar pension from a former employer, three years premarital and five years marital, but has already cashed it out recently. She has spend some, and I do not know how much remains. We both have accounts with our current employers, though hers is significantly larger. I also have a separate account that was gifted to me from my parents, except for a couple hundred dollars of personal contributions. Would we each be allowed to keep our retirement accounts and assets, or would those likely be be broken apart 50/50?
You do not have complicated situation on the retirement assets however, in general, premarital retirement assets remain separate property and retirement assets that accrued during the marriage are divided 50/50. Assets spent during the marriage do not count. Therefore the account she cashed in and spent would not count.

Liquid Assets and Debts: We have cash assets distributed across various bank accounts. We have a combined account that we have used for majority of our bills and expenses that both of our paychecks deposit into, currently worth a few thousand. We have a separate savings account a little over a grand in it. We also each have a "personal" savings accounts that we keep our individual spending money in (from gifts, occasional allowances, my wife's former pension in hers) that we use for spending money, entertainment, gambling, etc. I tend to save mine, she tends to spend hers. I have $2000 saved up in mine, I have no idea what she has. Our credit card debit is about $5000. I would imagine that ALL of this would likely be divided 50/50, except for the fact that the money that used to be her pension should go to her. Would a judge differentiate these amounts, or is that something we would have to agree to?
Liquid assets and debts are generally divided evenly. Although in some circumstances one party will take on greater debt in exchange for keeping greater assets.

Also, in case it is relevant, our incomes are not equal. Her salary is about 30% more than mine at the moment.
You have not been married long enough for that to be particularly relevant.

After typing all of this out, I realize that it is very complex and a lot of information, and though I don't expect anything from anybody, I thought it would be worth posting here to see what advice I could get before we move to a more formal stage in the process. Thank you for reading through my information, and I appreciate any and all advice on any or all of my situation. Once again, I do plan to go to an attorney, but before I do, I wanted know a bit more about the process, and see if she and I could use this information to be on the same page.

On the topic of attorneys, any pointers on what to look for in an attorney, beyond just a google search? I have not been through this process before.

Thank you again for your time and any advice you are willing to offer.
The more you can agree upon the less costly the whole thing will be for both of you.