West Michigan Divorce

Focus and practice areas

West Michigan Divorce is a family law practice in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Its work sits inside one field: divorce and the matters that surround it. That narrow focus shapes what the firm takes on and how it presents itself.

The firm handles general divorce along with uncontested and flat-fee divorce for cases that are settled early. It also offers collaborative divorce and joint petition divorce, two routes built around agreement between spouses. Mediation and arbitration are part of the same menu, which gives clients options short of a full courtroom fight.

Beyond the divorce itself, the firm works on child custody, spousal support and alimony, and paternity. Child support is named within its child custody work. Post-judgment matters are also covered, so clients who need to revisit an order after a case closes can return to the same office.

Where it works

The firm represents clients in Kent and Ottawa Counties and the surrounding areas of West Michigan. That regional footprint matches the practical reality of family law, where cases follow the county courts. In my opinion, a firm that names its counties plainly is easier to place than one that claims a vague statewide reach.

How the team is built

Erica L. Auster leads the family law practice and is the attorney the site names. The firm states that she has practiced family law exclusively for over 20 years. That single-field record is worth noting for anyone weighing whether a lawyer splits attention across unrelated areas.

The firm was founded in August 2006 under the name Johnsen Wikander. Auster started it with Jennifer L. Johnsen, and the two ran it together for years. The history is stated on the firm's own about page, which grounds the founding date in a source rather than a guess.

In November 2024, Johnsen was elected to the Kent County Circuit Court. She took the bench on January 1, 2025. Auster continued the family law practice, which now operates as West Michigan Divorce. A co-founder moving to the bench is an unusual data point, and the firm treats it as a matter of record on the about page.

Administrative staff support the office, including an administrative assistant and an office manager who joined in 2018. The firm names that support directly. For a small practice, naming the people who keep the office running tells a client what the day-to-day looks like.

What the record shows

The firm's public record is built on named facts: a founding date, a founder, a practice area list, and a service region. Each of these appears on the firm's own pages, and the structured data on the site repeats them. As a reviewer, I put weight on listings where the claims are checkable against a source the firm controls.

The firm does not publish case results, settlement figures, or client counts, so this review does not report any. It also states no awards or rankings. What it does state is a long single-field track for its lead attorney and a continuous history back to 2006.

How cases can proceed

The range of divorce routes here is the most concrete detail on the site. A client can pursue an uncontested, flat-fee path when both sides agree. Collaborative divorce and joint petition divorce give structured alternatives for couples who want to settle the terms between themselves.

For disputes that need a neutral, the firm offers mediation and arbitration. These sit alongside the more traditional contested divorce work. Having both settlement tools and litigation capacity under one roof means a case can shift approach without a client changing firms.

Who this listing suits

The firm reads as a fit for people in Kent or Ottawa County facing a divorce or a related family law question. The practice areas cover the common needs that follow a separation: custody, support, alimony, and paternity. Someone who needs a post-judgment change to an existing order fits the same profile.

Because the firm keeps to family law, a client with an unrelated legal problem would look elsewhere. That focus is the point, and it is stated clearly on every page. The office keeps regular weekday hours and, per its own pages, arranges early morning and evening appointments when needed.

The firm has operated continuously since 2006, first as Johnsen Wikander and now under the West Michigan Divorce name. Its lead attorney has spent more than two decades on family law alone. Those two facts, both drawn from the firm's own pages, are the clearest measures a prospective client can hold this listing against.