After my divorce in Michigan am I entitled to what I had before the marriage?

The state of Michigan does not divide property automatically upon a divorce and Michigan is not a community property state. The rules the court uses for property division are called equitable division rules, and this means that each spouse is entitled to whatever the court believes is fair. Usually, this means each party will be able to keep the property he had before the marriage, but this is not necessarily going to be a guarantee.  

If you wish to be entitled to keep all the property you had before the marriage, your best bet is to try to work out an agreement with your spouse where you divide up assets in an out of court agreement that the court can sign off on. That way, you can make sure you protect and get to keep the assets you care the most about. When this is not possible, then you will have no choice but to submit the issue to the court to use equitable distribution rules. In such cases, your best bet for trying to get to keep your pre-marital possessions is to have convincing proof that those possessions were yours before the marriage. 

It is important to seek the advice of a good divorce lawyer if you are concerned about your share of the property division. You should also hire a lawyer if you are concerned about proving which property may have been owned independently by you before the marriage took place; particularly concerning property such as retirement benefits or pension plans as it can sometimes be difficult to prove precise amounts of property value before versus during and after the marriage.