Under Michigan law a Court has the authority to award spousal support if the property award is insufficient for the suitable support of either party and it is just and reasonable under the circumstances.

Temporary spousal support may be awarded to help the dependent spouse:

• make the transition to self-support ,
• seek full-time employment and self-sufficiency, or
• complete an advanced degree, or,
• obtain a marketable skill when he or she had worked while the other spouse obtained a degree.

Permanent support, i.e., until death or re-marriage, may be awarded in cases where the dependant spouse:

• has been in a long-term marriage with a spouse who has no career or marketable skills
• devoted most of her adult life to homemaker role, or,
• cannot support himself or herself because of a disability.