Who Counts as a Domestic Relationship Under Michigan Law

An assault is charged as domestic assault in Michigan when the complainant is the accused's spouse or former spouse, a person with whom the accused has or has had a dating relationship, a person with whom the accused has had a child in common, or a resident or former resident of the accused's household.^[1] Those four categories, set out in MCL 750.81(2), are the whole list.^[5]

The list is wider than many people expect in one direction, because it includes former partners and people who simply shared a home, and narrower in another, because it does not include relatives as such.^[2][3][5] This page takes each category in turn, then covers who falls outside and why the question matters.

The four relationships in MCL 750.81(2)

Category	Statutory wording	Does a past relationship count?	Do the two people need to have lived together?
Spouse	"the individual's spouse or former spouse"[1]	Yes[2]	No[6]
Dating relationship	"an individual with whom the individual has or has had a dating relationship"[1]	Yes[2]	Living together is not part of the definition of a dating relationship[7]
Child in common	"an individual with whom the individual has had a child in common"[1]	The wording is "has had"[1]	No[6]
Household	"a resident or former resident of the individual's household"[1]	Yes[2]	Yes; sharing a household, now or before, is the category[3]

Spouses and former spouses

The first category covers the accused's spouse or former spouse.^[1] Divorce does not end the coverage: the Court of Appeals has described the statute as applying if the two people "have ever been married to each other."^[2] The category may apply regardless of whether the two ever resided together in the same household.^[6]

A married complainant sometimes asks whether marriage gives a right not to testify. In a case that grows out of a personal wrong or injury done by one spouse to the other, the spousal privilege does not apply.^[8] See Spousal privilege in Michigan domestic violence cases.

People who are dating or used to date

The second category is a person with whom the accused "has or has had a dating relationship."^[1] The statute defines the term: "frequent, intimate associations primarily characterized by the expectation of affectional involvement." It "does not include a casual relationship or an ordinary fraternization between 2 individuals in a business or social context."^[7]

Unlike marriage or parenthood, this category depends on a definition that turns on how often the two people associated and what they expected of the relationship.^[7] It has its own page: The definition of a dating relationship in Michigan.

Parents of the same child

The third category is a person with whom the accused "has had a child in common."^[1] Like the spouse category, it may apply regardless of whether the two people ever resided together in the same household.^[6] Two people who were never married, never lived together, and are no longer in any relationship are therefore covered if they share a child.^[1][6]

When co-parents are involved, a criminal case can overlap with custody and parenting-time questions and with bond conditions that restrict contact. See No-contact orders and your children and Domestic violence and child custody.

Residents and former residents of the household

The fourth category is "a resident or former resident of the individual's household."^[1] In In re Lovell, the Court of Appeals said this category "applies to offenders who resided in a household with the victim at or before the time of the assault (or assault and battery) regardless of the victim's relationship with the offender." The case involved a 16-year-old daughter accused of assaulting her mother.^[3]

Because the category does not depend on the kind of relationship, the statute's wording covers people who are not romantic partners at all:

• Parents and their children, including adult children, who share or have shared a household.^[3]
• Brothers and sisters who share or have shared a household.^[3]
• Roommates and former roommates.^[3]

A caution about how firm that is. The statute and the benchbook used by Michigan judges do not use the words "sibling" or "roommate"; that application follows from the phrase "regardless of the victim's relationship with the offender," and the reported case involved a parent and child.^[3] The statute also does not define "household" or "resident" and sets no minimum length of time a person has to have lived in a home, so this guide states no rule for borderline living arrangements.^[9]

Who falls outside the list?

MCL 750.81(2) contains no category for relatives as such. A sibling, parent, in-law, or other relative who has never shared a household with the accused, and who is not in one of the other three categories, is not listed.^[5] The same is true of friends, neighbors, and coworkers who never lived with the accused, and of people whose only connection was a casual relationship.^[5][7]

Falling outside the list does not make the conduct legal. An assault on such a person is ordinary assault or assault and battery under MCL 750.81(1), a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days, a fine of up to $500, or both.^[5] What drops away are the consequences tied to the domestic relationship, described below.

Do not confuse this list with the "family or household member" list

A second list appears in MCL 400.1501(e), which defines "family or household member" for the statutory definition of domestic violence. It has seven categories, and it adds people in a current or past sexual relationship, people related or formerly related by marriage, and the minor children of the people listed.^[10] Other statutes borrow that definition, including the pretrial release statute and the self-defense presumption statute.^[11]

The two lists are not interchangeable. The criminal assault statute has four categories; MCL 400.1501 has seven.^[1][10] A person can be a "family or household member" for one purpose without being covered by MCL 750.81(2).^[5] The different uses of the term are laid out in What "domestic violence" means under Michigan law.

Where else the four-relationship test is used

The same four relationships appear in the aggravated domestic assault statute, the warrantless-arrest statute, and the deferral statute.^[12] Since February 13, 2024, they also appear in domestic versions of stalking, malicious use of telecommunications, malicious destruction of property, illegal entry, and fourth-degree vulnerable adult abuse.^[12]

The test for a domestic relationship personal protection order is similar: a petition may be filed against a spouse or former spouse, a person with whom the petitioner has had a child in common, a person with whom the petitioner has or has had a dating relationship, or a person residing or having resided in the same household.^[13] See Types of PPOs in Michigan.

Federal firearm law uses a different and narrower list. A Michigan conviction involving a household member who is not in one of the federal categories, such as a roommate, may not be covered by the federal definition.^[14] See The federal lifetime gun ban.

Why the relationship matters

The relationship is an element of domestic assault. The prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the complainant was in one of the listed relationships with the accused at the time.^[15][4] Where the relationship is disputed, the argument is covered in Challenging the domestic relationship element.

The first-offense maximum is the same with or without the relationship: 93 days and $500.^[1][5] What the relationship changes is everything around that figure:

• Arrest without a warrant. An officer may arrest for domestic assault without a warrant, and without having seen the offense, on reasonable cause to believe it occurred and that one of the four relationships exists.^[16] See Is arrest mandatory?
• Repeat-offense penalties. Second and third domestic offenses carry maximums of 1 year and 5 years.^[17][18] A prior only counts if the earlier victim was also a protected person, and the prosecutor has to establish that relationship for the prior.^[19]
• Firearms. A conviction under MCL 750.81(2) is a "misdemeanor involving domestic violence," which brings an 8-year Michigan firearm prohibition.^[20][21] See Michigan's 8-year gun ban.
• Deferral. The deferral under MCL 769.4a applies only where the victim was in a domestic relationship with the offender; it also requires no previous assaultive-crime conviction and the consent of the accused and of the prosecuting attorney in consultation with the victim.^[22]

The law applies the same way whatever the sex of the people involved; the statute speaks of "an individual" throughout.^[1] See Domestic violence laws apply to everyone.