The information provided in the Self-Help Center is not legal advice.
The laws of Michigan do not allow the employees of the court or the
judge to give you legal advice. You should consult with an attorney
concerning legal issues, but you do not need an attorney to file a family
support case. If you proceed with a family support case without an attorney,
you are acting as your own attorney.
The following is a brief description of a family support case. There
is no specific information available in this Self-Help Center to aid
you with the entire legal process in a family support case. Because
of the importance of the outcome, it may be advisable to contact an
attorney.
There are usually two types of family support cases. One type of case
involves married parents who are separated but not divorced. The other
case type involves unmarried parents when the biological father has
signed a paternity acknowledgment. When a man signs a paternity acknowledgment,
he is declaring that he is the biological father of the child. See information
about paternity >>.
For information about the law, see the Family
Support Act >>.
Filing a Family Support Case Generally
If you are starting the family support action, you are called the
plaintiff and the other parent is the defendant. The plaintiff must
file a complaint asking the court to grant support. There is a filing
fee for this action. If a divorce or separate maintenance case is
already pending between the plaintiff and the other parent, a family
support case cannot be filed.
The family division of circuit court handles all family support cases
in Michigan. If you want to file a family support case, you must file
it in the county in which you live.
Many family support cases begin because two parents have separated
and one parent has applied for some form of state assistance such
as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). When this occurs
the county Department of Human Services (DHS) will send a request
(called a referral) to the county prosecutor asking that a family
support case be filed. However, a parent does not have to apply for
or be receiving state assistance to start a family support case. A
parent who would like to start a family support case and is not receiving
state assistance should contact the county DHS office and ask for
an appointment. See addresses and phone number of all county DHS
offices >>.
Processing Family Support Cases Generally
Most family support cases are processed in the same manner. A complaint
must be filed, fees must be paid, a summons must be issued, the parties
must be served notice of the complaint, hearings must be scheduled and
noticed, answers must be given, and hearings must be attended. The end
result of the case will be entry of an order. General information about
court forms, fees, service, hearings, finding legal information, and
how the courts operate can be found in this Self-Help Center by clicking
on any of the topics in the horizontal bar at the top of this page.
Specific information about processing a family support case is not provided,
but there are
more details about general case processing >>.
Certain procedures must be followed to get a court order for family
support. These procedures are stated in the Michigan Compiled Laws
and Michigan Court Rules, but keep in mind that courts may have local
practices in addition to these laws and court rules. You should check
with your local friend of the court office to find out what types
of services they provide with regard to processing your case.
Family Support Order
If family support is granted, a judge will order one parent to pay
child support to the other parent. You may want to view the Michigan
Child Support Formula Manual and MarginSoft
Child Support. You may also want to view the Model
Friend of the Court Handbook for some common child support questions
and answers. See details about custody
and parenting time >>.
If the parents are in agreement about custody and/or parenting time,
the judge will most likely include that agreement in the family support
order. If the parents are not in agreement about custody and/or parenting
time, the judge will order temporary custody and parenting time until
a hearing. The friend of the court may be asked to complete an evaluation
before the hearing. You may want to view the following regarding custody
and/or parenting time:
Michigan Custody Guideline
Michigan
Parenting Time Guideline
Custody
and Parenting Time Investigation Manual
A family support order can be changed if necessary. See details for
changing a child support
order, custody order,
or parenting time order
>>.
Enforcing the Order
Unless parties have opted not to receive friend of the court services,
the friend of the court will enforce child support,
custody, and parenting
time orders.
If a parent moves out of state, child support is still enforced.
You may want to view the State Court Administrative Office's publication
regarding the Uniform
Interstate Family Support Act.
